|
Since 1859 when the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary came to Oregon to establish St. Mary’s Academy, a pioneering spirit has pervaded its walls. St. Mary’s produces intellectually prepared, spiritually grounded young women who will take their places as tomorrow’s leaders in our society. The school boasts many firsts. St. Mary’s Academy was the first site in the state to have a harp and a sewing machine; it opened the first women’s liberal arts college in the Pacific Northwest; it is the first and only school in Oregon to receive three U.S. Department of Education Blue Ribbon Schools Program Awards; and most recently, it is celebrating the 10th anniversary of another innovation – its Teaching, Integrating, and Exploring Science (TIES) program.
The brainchild of St. Mary’s alumnae Maggie Gardner ’98, the TIES mentoring program pairs SMA students with 5th grade girls from local Catholic elementary schools to meet on school nights and weekends and “do science”. The SMA mentors plan activities, guest speakers, field trips, and women-in-science activities with the goal to inspire girls to continue to study science through college and consider science as a viable career option. The program also aims to raise self-confidence, promote leadership skills, and dispel negative stereotypes about women in science, mathematics, engineering, and computer fields.
As further acknowledgement of the school’s success in promoting female interest in science, St. Mary’s recently secured a $236,000 grant from the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust to fund a science wing expansion project increasing the school’s science laboratory/classroom space and upgrading technology. Visual presenters, SMART boards, ceiling projectors, and other technological advances were added to enhance the rooms for the growing number of students taking science courses.
“The girls at our school have been taking an increasing number of advanced science classes,” says Principal Pat Barr. “We’re thrilled that we can offer them a sophisticated and specialized setting in which to learn and we’re so proud that they, in turn, spend time teaching younger girls to enjoy the field.”
St. Mary’s concluded the 2005-06 academic year on a high note, receiving the KATU School of the Year Award, acknowledging the school’s excellence. This year St. Mary’s celebrates capacity enrollment of 635 young women, the highest enrollment the school has experienced in the past 25 years.
Founded in 1859 by the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, St. Mary’s Academy of Portland, is Oregon’s oldest continuously operating secondary school and one of 716 all-female schools in the country. The student body represents a diverse background of young women from over 30 urban, suburban, and rural communities in Oregon and Southwest Washington. |
