At a Glance 2012-2013
Enrollment: 640
Ethnicity of students:
Caucasian 71%, Asian/Pacific Islander 12%, African American 6%, Hispanic 6%, Native American <1%, Multi-Racial 5%
St. Mary's families of the Catholic religion: 52%
Financial aid awarded: $1.16 million
Families receiving financial aid: 42%
Average graduates bound for higher education: 99%
Merit-based scholarships offered to 2012 graduates: $11.8 million
Faculty: 51
Faculty with advanced degrees: 82%
Student/teacher ratio: 15:1
Average class size: 23
SAT Scores: SMA 1752; OR 1542; National 1498
ACT Scores: SMA 24.9; OR 21.4; National 21.1
Profile of Distinction
- Founded in 1859 by the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, St. Mary’s Academy is Oregon’s oldest continuously operating secondary school, with nearly 10,000 alumnae.
- St. Mary’s is the only school in Oregon to have received three U.S. Department of Education Blue Ribbon Schools Program Awards.
- St. Mary's celebrates the achievements of the 152 accomplished young women comprising the Class of 2012: two National Merit Scholarship Program Finalists, seven National Merit Scholarship Program Commended Scholars and two National Hispanic Recognition Program Scholars. These seniors earned nine National Art Honor Society Honor Cords, 57 Service Honor Cords, 44 Scholar Athlete Cords, 19 Thespian Honor Cords, 21 Tri-M Music Honor Cords, 14 OSAA Music Scholar Cords and 64 National Honor Society Stoles.
- On Advanced Placement exams, 92 percent of students earned a three or better, with 35 percent of students earning the highest score of a five. Tests are scored from one to five, and a score of three or better will earn college credit at many universities.
- St. Mary’s Academy has won 19 OSAA State Championships in six different sports and two Oregon Girls' Lacrosse Association State Titles. At the conference level, St. Mary’s teams have earned 69 titles, 41 as members of the Metro League, 28 in the Mt. Hood Conference and two in the OGLA PDX League. St. Mary’s volleyball team won the OSAA/Dairy Farmers of Oregon Academic All-State Competition at the 6A level in Fall 2011 with a team average GPA of 3.90.
- Eighty-eight percent of the student body is involved in extracurricular activities.
- St. Mary's newly upgraded wireless system delivers advanced access to technology throughout campus. Classrooms are equipped with LCD projectors, document cameras and interactive whiteboards. Each faculty member now has an iPad to enhance curricula and further integrate technology into classroom instruction. St. Mary’s offers four computer labs, as well as three specialized mobile laptop labs to support instruction in world languages and science.
- The entire student body, faculty and staff participate in the school’s community service program, providing direct service to the poor and disadvantaged, and 86 percent of the student body is involved in non-mandatory community service.
- St. Mary’s offers two unique mentoring programs: Teaching, Integrating and Exploring Science (TIES), a science mentoring program pairing St. Mary’s Academy students with fifth-grade girls from local parochial schools, and the Alumna-Student Mentorship Program, where sophomore and junior students are paired with St. Mary’s alumnae for leadership development and college and career advice.
- As an added benefit of St. Mary’s downtown location, SMA students visit several nearby museums and galleries and also volunteer time at organizations including St. Andre Downtown Chapel, Blanchet House, the Macdonald Center, NW Pilot Project, Goose Hollow Family Shelter and Terwilliger Plaza.
- Advantages of an all-female education include the removal of gender bias in the classroom, the greater ability for students to build self-confidence and the continual opportunity to empower young women.
Click here to download a PDF of the Profile of Distinction