Academics

St. Mary’s School is a fully-accredited school with a state-recognized curriculum. Our small class sizes, technology focus, and experiential learning provide an outstanding environment for academic success. All grade levels use a combination of independent study, collaborative projects, public speaking, and hands-on experiments to help each student find his or her best learning experience.

Technology plays a big part in stimulating students’ curiosity and desire for knowledge as well as creating new ways to learn and research. 3rd – 8th grade students use Chromebooks for a communication, research, and textbooks for two subjects. K – 2nd grade students use iPads for learning games, research, and fine motor practice. SmartBoards in every classroom give teachers wonderful flexibility in working along with the students during class and even having students confidently work out problems in front of the class. Weekly computer class also helps students learn proper keyboarding as well as solid aptitude for desktop publishing and presentation software.

Balancing the high-tech aspects of St. Mary’s are good, old-fashioned books, pencils, reading, handwriting, and math facts. We never underestimate the importance of cursive writing, reading success, and listening and studying skills in the classroom and in the world. It is the combination of varying teaching methods and tools that find the sweet spot for each student’s most successful learning style.

Field trips are especially important to St. Mary’s students as a way to see real-world application and evidence of their areas of study. Whether it is an art field trip to the New Cathedral in St. Louis or a trip to NASA Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama, students will learn and remember their experiences for their whole lives. Thanks to our small class sizes, traveling by car or bus to Springfield, Illinois to complement coursework about Abraham Lincoln is as doable as a class walking architectural tour of Historic St. Louis Street right here in Edwardsville.

In addition to the core curriculum of Mathematics, Science, Language Arts, and Religion, St. Mary’s School has weekly classes in Art, Computers, Spanish, Music, and P.E. for all grade levels. Our diverse curriculum and experiential learning environment results in St. Mary’s consistently scoring in the top 25% of national scores on standardized tests. Our strong Junior High curriculum ensures that our 8th grade graduates succeed in high school — most of them excelling in honors classes.

We are St. Mary’s – a school to believe in!

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