At a Glance 2011-2012

                                    

Enrollment: 625
Ethnicity of students:
Caucasian 70%, Asian/Pacific Islander 12%, African American 8%, Hispanic 7%, Native American 1%, Multi-Racial 2%
St. Mary's families of the Catholic religion: 48%
Financial aid awarded: $1,119,033
Families receiving financial aid: 40%
Average financial aid package: $4,450
Average graduates bound for higher education: 99%
Merit-based scholarships offered to 2011
graduates: $8.4 million
Faculty: 51
Faculty with advanced degrees: 84%
Student/teacher ratio: 13:1
Average class size: 22
SAT Scores: SMA 1811; Ore 1540; National 1500

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 129 accomplished young women comprising the Class of 2011: Five National Merit® Scholarship Program Finalists, 11 National Merit® Scholarship Program Commended Scholars, and one National Black American Scholar. These seniors earned seven National Art Honor Society Honor Cords, 30 Service Honor Cords, 22 Scholar Athlete Cords, 21 Thespian Honor Cords, 28 Tri-M Music Honor Cords, 22 OSAA Music Scholar Cords and 53 National Honor Society Stoles.


• Eighty-one percent of students earned a three or better on Advanced Placement exams with 32% 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 18 OSAA State Championships in five different sports and two Oregon Girls' Lacrosse Association State Titles. The Blues also have won four academic state titles, twice winning the OSAA/POWERade Scholar Athlete award with the highest percentage of senior student athletes with a 3.50 GPA and above. At the conference level, St. Mary's teams have earned 67 titles, 41 as members of the Metro League, 26 in the Mt. Hood Conference and two in the OGLA PDX League.


• Eighty-eight percent of the student body is involved in extra-curricular activities.


• St. Mary's boasts computer technology throughout the building in classrooms, three computer labs, a computer presentation room and three specialized mobile laptop labs in foreign language 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.


• As an added benefit of St. Mary's downtown location, SMA students visit several nearby museums and galleries and also volunteer their time at organizations including Blanchet House, Hands Across Generations, Downtown Chapel and the Macdonald Center.


• Advantages of an all-female education include the removal of gender bias in the classroom, the 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