Accreditation
St. Mary's School is a Catholic Elementary School in Henrico County and is part of the school system in the Catholic Diocese of Richmond. It is duly accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) and the Virginia Catholic Education Association, whose accreditation process has been approved by the Virginia State Board of Education. It received the U.S. Department of Education's Blue Ribbon School Award in 2004.
Saint Mary's is authorized to offer the Middle Year's Programme of the International Baccalaureate Organization (MYP - IB). The MYP offers an internationally recognized world class education to all St. Mary's students grades 6 - 8.
History
Founded in 1965 with just four classrooms, St. Mary's has expanded into 20 homerooms, including two sections for each grade, Pre-K - 8. A new academic facility, including eight new classrooms, was added in 1998 along with a newly renovated fine arts center. This includes an automated library, fully equipped computer lab, as well as new music and art facilities. The entire school, including classrooms, is networked with Internet capability. With the completion of the newest worship space in 2008, St. Mary's added 6 Early Childhood Classrooms for the Pre-School Preparation, Pre-School, Pre-Kindergarten, Kindergarten and First Grade classes.
During the past years, St. Mary's has been blessed with excellent leadership and tremendous parental support. Volunteers are seen as a gift to the school, a gift that is invaluable to the children's educational process.
St. Mary's School is pleased to provide an educational environment where students can be challenged academically in a Christian setting. In this atmosphere, children are taught to respect the dignity of each human being, to recognize their own God-given gifts and to develop these gift to their highest potential.
We are a community within a wider community. In this context, we promote an integrated approach to education. The family, school, and parish share in the responsibility of educating the whole child - mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually.