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Saint Mary's Hall of San Antonio began, over 100 years ago, as an Espicopal school. Today, SMH is a secular school serving students of all religious faiths, including Muslim and Hindu students. SMH has a beautiful campus that looks like a small college. The library and computer resources are exceptional. Classes are small. Students work very hard...perhaps too hard. A typical SMH middle school or high school student puts in 70 hours to 80 hours per week in classes, labs, homework, studying, and in activities such as theatre, speech, debate, or sports. Every student from 7th grade to 12th grade has the opportunity to be on an athletic team each semester, and the great majority chose to do so. Last year, 95% of the graduating class enrolled in college, and many were offered substantial scholarships. SMH grads do well in college because they have learned how to 'out study' most
SMH is an excellent school that has a first-class curriculum that is both challenging and timely. The educators truly care about their students and want them to succeed. As to the 'snooty' factor, one will find that anywhere. The 'special parking places' were purchased through an auction fundraiser called Passport which is held every three years. Overall, we do an outstanding job in preparing your child for college and for life.
I began my education at SMH when I was four and continued there until my freshman year when a difficult family situation forced me to switch to Reagan (public, NEISD). Honestly, I was so bored and unmotivated in even an acclaimed public school environment that my parents sent me right back to SMH a year after I left. The difference is HUGE: nowhere else do you get the sort of individual attention from instructors, the lifelong bonds with everyone in your class, or the challenging but engaging and genuinely interesting sort of work that SMH provides. Not only does the SMH student body have an insane amount of integrity (we leave our backpacks laying in the halls during lunch and no one steals anyone else's iPod), we also genuinely care about intelligence and actually commit ourself to our education because our teachers have demonstrated that it is both valuable and enjoyable.
I'm a senior at Saint Mary's Hall, and the six years that I've been there have been an experience. Not only did I receive a fantastic education in the humanities and sciences, but I also learned how to interact in a certain social setting. I understand that SMH may not be for everyone, but if you have the resources you should seriously consider investing in your child's future. The reaction to Saint Mary's Hall depends on when you attend; for example, middle school was probably not the most ideal time for me at SMH. In fact, I don't think middle school anywhere is easy to transition to, socially. Don't worry though--high school tempers the snobby attitude SMH kids are known for. It's still somewhat present though, honestly. As for sports and extracurriculars, the school leads nationally in it's Lacrosse and Tennis programs. I would go on, but there's a world limit.
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