St. Mary's Grade School, Located in Clarksburg, West Virginia

St. Mary's School is a co-educational Catholic elementary school with a pre-kindergarten and grades K-6. The school operates on state-mandated minutes of instruction daily. Religion is a required subject. The school is accredited by the State of West Virginia. Enrollment is open. The curriculum at St. Mary's School provides learning experiences in Religion, Reading, Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Physical Education, and Fine Arts at each grade level. Computer instruction is also an integral part of the curriculum. Religion classes are taught daily in each grade, and Gospel values are integrated throughout the entire school day.

Tuition is required of all students. There is a single child rate and a family rate, based on the number of students in the family attending Catholic school. As an example, a Catholic family with one child in the fifth grade would pay $1,950 annually. A non-Catholic family with a child in the fifth grade would pay $2,850 annually. With a budget of approximately $1-million for Notre Dame and St. Mary's, the average cost of educating a student is $3,400. The parents of one child in the fifth grade will pay 46-percent of the actual cost of his/her education. A non-Catholic family of one child in the fifth grade will pay 69-percent of the actual cost of education.

MISSION:

The Harrison County Catholic School System (St. Mary's) is based on the educational philosophy in which faith, culture, and life are brought into harmony. In conjunction with the parents and the community, we educate, spread God's Word, and contribute to the formation of a morally sound and healthy lifestyle among our students.

PHILOSOPHY:

St. Mary's School welcomes families who accept the values promoted by Jesus Christ--faith, hope, love, peace, and justice. The faculty strives to nurture students in reaching their full potential. Together with the family, we share the responsibility of preparing each child for the future, a future with strong Christian values.

ACADEMIC ACTIVITIES:

Students participate in School and Harrison County Science and Social Studies Fairs, WV Challenge, Spelling Bee, and Math Field Day. Students enter the Catholic Daughters of America Contests and the Modern Woodsmen of America Contest. The Christmas Pageant and a spring music concert are the highlights of the music program.

In 2000-01, St. Mary's students won first place in the Elementary School Division of the West Virginia Challenge competition in Harrison County. West Virginia Challenge is an academic competition among students from all the public and private schools in Harrison County. On the Team Level, St. Mary's had the second place team in the Elementary Division.

SAT 9 test scores at St. Mary's Grade School are well above the state, national, and local average. The testing, which takes place in April, is part of the West Virginia statewide assessment program. For accreditation purposes, 50-percent of Stanford Achievement Test scores must be in the top quartile, and less than 15-percent of the scores may be in the bottom quartile. At St. Mary's, a total of 84.4-percent of the scores were in the top two quartiles in the 2001 test year, and only 3.1-percent were in the bottom quartile. In the third grade, 100-percent of the scores were in the top two quartiles, and the class's total basic skills score was an 89 mean percentile (they scored better than 89-percent of the other students taking the test).

SERVICE:

St. Mary's School encourages all students to serve their school and community by volunteering their time to various projects. Many are altar servers in their parish church.

CHRISTIAN FORMATION:

With a full time Religion teacher, all students are required to participate in Religion classes daily. Gospel values are also integrated into the regular curriculum.