St. Paul's Episcopal School is an independent coeducational K-8 school in Oakland, across the bay from San Francisco, California. St. Paul's Episcopal School is a separate, independent entity that builds on the progressive tradition of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Oakland since its founding in 1871. St. Paul's School was founded in 1975 by Rev. Canon David R. Forbes - who was the founding headmaster of San Francisco's Cathedral School for Boys - and Rev. Donald W. Seaton. Our founders believed in the moral requirement to serve others and discovered that Service Learning is a powerful way to teach critical thinking, math, writing, history, and science.
Families at the School are from all faith traditions, or none. The weekly Chapel is non-denominational and student-run. Chapel presentation topics include Rosh Hashanah, Chinese New Year, the Day of the Dead, and Ramadan.

The School is accredited by California Association of Independent Schools (CAIS) and Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC).

Head of School Karan Merry is a past board chair of the National Association of Independent Schools. She currently serves on the boards of College Preparatory School, Aim High, and California Association of Independent Schools.

Location

St. Paul's School is located in the Adams Point neighborhood on the northwest corner of Lake Merritt Lake Merritt

Lake Merritt

Lake Merritt is a large tidal lagoon that lies just east of downtown Oakland, California. It is surrounded by parkland and city neighborhoods. A popular 3.1 mile walking and jogging path runs along its perimeter...

, the oldest wildlife sanctuary in North America.

Lake Merritt is our laboratory. Third graders perform the longest running census of migratory waterfowl and report their findings to the Rotary Nature Center. Sixth graders study the eco-system of Lake Merritt and the surrounding watershed, including analyzing water quality, using physics to measure the speed of the current in other bodies of water, and removing debris - 20 tons of debris in the last dozen years. All students spend time at the Lake every week. On Tashlich, the School goes to the Lake to cast bread into the water to symbolize the letting go of errors of the past.

Our founders believed that a school must not live in isolation from its community. St. Paul's students walk to the Oakland Museum of California to view performances and exhibits, walk to the Oakland YMCA for swimming, and take BART to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Zeum, and Asian Art Museum.

The campus is composed of three sites: the Lower School (grades K-5) campus on Montecito Avenue at Bay Place, the Middle School campus 1-1/2 blocks away on Grand Avenue, and administrative offices next door to the Middle School.

Program

Graduates of St. Paul's School are sought by the top tier of high schools. High school acceptances for last year's eighth graders included Head-Royce, Lick-Wilmerding, Athenian, Bentley, and College Preparatory School. College acceptances for our most recent college applicants, the Class of 2007, included Barnard College, Reed College, Stanford University, University of California at Berkeley and University of Chicago.

Small class sizes allow teachers to interact closely with students to ensure mastery. Students learn through a structured program that emphasizes fundamental skills and concepts. Hands-on projects, group discussions, field trips, and individual exploration of subjects of particular interest are part of every classroom.

The curriculum is informed by academic guidelines established by the California State Educational Framework. Our approach to learning is informed by the approaches of programs including Responsive Classroom, Differentiated Instruction, and Schools Attuned.

Service Learning and Public Purpose

St. Paul's has been devoted to the value of Service Learning since long before the concept came into vogue. Since the founding of the School, students have served the community and brought their experiences into the classroom through discussion, writing, art, and critical analysis of our world. Each year, St. Paul’s students in all grades provide more than 7,000 hours in service to more than 24 different organizations. Our partner service organizations include Clausen House, St. Paul's Towers, Saint Vincent Day Care, Age Song at Lakeside Park, Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency (BOSS) shelter, and Harrison House family shelter.

St. Paul’s School serves as a site for Aim High http://www.aimhigh.org, a summer learning and social development program for Oakland public school students. The School is affiliated with Facing History and Ourselves and is a co-founder of the Bay Area Teacher Training Institute.

Arts, Athletics, Spanish, and Technology

A complete education includes fine arts, music, performing arts, physical education, foreign language (in this case, Spanish), and technology. All St. Paul's students receive instruction in these areas. Students in grades K-2 receive music and performing arts instruction twice a week, and students in grades 3-7 receive music instruction twice a week. All students K-8 study percussion and choral singing.

Awards and honors

(selection)

September 2011: Les Petites Chanteurs (The Little Singers) and Chamber Ensemble of Port-au-Prince, Haiti visit St. Paul's School to kick-off the Bay Area segment of their national tour.

September 2011: Civil rights icon Ruby Bridges visits the School and talks to students.

May 2010: St. Paul's Episcopal School website wins two Summit Creative Awards in the youth website category.

October 2008: Sixth Grade Choir is invited to perform at the Oracle Arena as part of a national choir competition.

February 2008: Certificate of Appreciation from Keep Oakland Beautiful and City of Oakland Public Works Agency for cleaning Lake Merritt

September 2006: Daily Points of Light Award

April 2006: Community Service Recognition Award for Classroom and Community Partnership from the Council for Spiritual and Ethical Education (CSEE)

May 2004: Excellence in Service Learning Program Award, focusing on the issues of hunger and poverty, from the Council on Spiritual and Ethical Education (CSEE)

March 2004: National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) Leading Edge Award for Community Involvement

April 2002: Community Service Network Recognition Award from the Council of Spiritual and Ethical Education (CSEE) for “Overall Excellence in creating and sustaining a K-8 environmental program that is integrated into the curriculum”

June 2000: Volunteer Organization of the Year Award from ARC (formerly Association for Retarded Citizens) in the Bay Area

March 2000: Community Service Recognition Award from the Council for Spiritual and Ethical Education (CSEE) for “Overall Excellence in creating and sustaining a K-8 Hunger Program that is integrated into the curriculum”

March 1999: Target's Outstanding Schools Award

March 1996: Certificate of Merit from the Council for Religion in Independent Schools (CRIS)

March 1992: Certificate of Merit from the Council for Religion in Independent Schools (CRIS)