Saint Clare School is a Roman Catholic
elementary schoolAn elementary school or primary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as elementary or primary education. Elementary school is the preferred term in some countries, particularly those in North America, where the terms grade school and grammar...
operated by
Saint Clare ParishSaint Clare Parish is a parish in the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Jose in California. It is located in Santa Clara, California.The parish community of St. Clare originated from the Mission Santa Clara de Asís and can trace its history to Jan 12, 1777, when Fathers Thomas de la Pena and Joseph...
in
Santa Clara, CaliforniaSanta Clara , founded in 1777 and incorporated in 1852, is a city in Santa Clara County, in the U.S. state of California. The city is the site of the eighth of 21 California missions, Mission Santa Clara de Asís, and was named after the mission. The Mission and Mission Gardens are located on the...
, in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It serves families of the
Diocese of San JoseThe Roman Catholic Diocese of San José; in California is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the northern California region of the United States. It comprises Santa Clara County, and is led by a bishop. Its patron saints are Saint Joseph and Saint Clare of...
, from
kindergartenA kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...
to eighth grade.
Saint Clare School was founded in 1856 by the
Sisters of Notre Dame de NamurThe Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, is the name of a Roman Catholic order of religious sisters, dedicated to providing education to the poor.The order was founded in Amiens in 1803, but the opposition of the local bishop to missions outside his diocese led to the moving of headquarters to then...
and is located adjacent to
Santa Clara UniversitySanta Clara University is a private, not-for-profit, Jesuit-affiliated university located in Santa Clara, California, United States. Chartered by the state of California and accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, it operates in collaboration with the Society of Jesus , whose...
(formerly Santa Clara College).
St. Clare School is the oldest, operating primary school in Santa Clara County and is one of the
oldest schools in California-1847:* The first English-language school in California opened at Mission Santa Clara in 1847. It was founded by Olive Mann Isbell, who started the school with 25 pupils in a small adobe at the Mission Santa Clara for $2 a month. The school later moved that spring to Monterey.-1851:*California...
.
School Accreditations:
Western Association of Schools and CollegesThe Western Association of Schools and Colleges is one of six official academic bodies responsible for the accreditation of public and private universities, colleges, secondary and elementary schools in the United States and foreign institutions of American origin. The Western Association of...
Western Catholic Educational Association
Timeline
1856
Saint Clare School is founded as a primary school by the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur who came to create one of the earliest school systems in California. It is located next to Mission Santa Clara and the recently built Santa Clara College (1851) later known as the University of Santa Clara. The school was originally built as St. Mary's and then later Notre Dame Academy. The school started in the Forbes house located on the city block bordered by Lexington St, Santa Clara St, Lafayette St. and Washington St. The sisters also build and run a
secondary schoolSecondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
, Notre Dame High School (San Jose, California) for girls in nearby San Jose that is the sister school to Santa Clara Prep (later known as
Bellarmine College PreparatoryBellarmine College Preparatory is an all-male, private secondary school located in San Jose, California, USA. Founded in 1851, it is the oldest secondary school in California....
for boys).
1924
Saint Clare School moves across the street into a brand new school building that housed Kindergarten through eighth grade. A Marble Plaque on the front of the school proclaims "DEO OPTIMO MAXIMO IN HONREM SANCTAE CLARAE XXI OCTOBRIS A.D. MCMXXIV DEDICATA" which translates to "To the greatest and best God in honor of St. Clare. Dedicated October 21st, 1924."
1925
Saint Clare ParishSaint Clare Parish is a parish in the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Jose in California. It is located in Santa Clara, California.The parish community of St. Clare originated from the Mission Santa Clara de Asís and can trace its history to Jan 12, 1777, when Fathers Thomas de la Pena and Joseph...
is built on the site of the original brick school next to Sodality Hall (later renamed St Clare Hall). A fire in 1926 destroys the 96 year old Mission Santa Clara. The new parish becomes the focal point for catholic families that had been attending Mission Santa Clara.
1952
School raised $138,000 to build a new convent for the teaching sisters located across from the school at 725 Washington Street Santa Clara, CA 95050. This building is now the St. Clare Parish Offices.
1956
The School celebrates its 100th Anniversary. Ever increasing enrollment demands cause the
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San FranciscoThe Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the northern California region of the United States. It covers the City and County of San Francisco and the Counties of Marin and San Mateo...
to authorize the creation of nearby St. Martin School in 1955 and St. Justin School in 1958.
1958
August 7, 1958 - A new junior high school was built across Washington street from the school, next door to the St. Clare convent.
1998
Sisters transfer control of the school to lay leadership staff.
The School starts the innovative "Silver Boxes" program based on Ephesians, (4:29), "Do not use harmful words but only helpful words, the kind that build up and provide what is needed, so that what you say will do good to those who hear you."
2006
The School celebrates its 150th anniversary.
External links