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High School

St. Monica Academy

Catholic Classical Liberal Arts High School Program

We are now enrolling incoming St. Monica Academy students!   

In 2020, St. Monica Catholic School initiated a small, unaccredited high school pilot program to meet the needs of families who desired a Catholic Classical Liberal Arts curriculum that moved beyond the Logic stage (middle school) into the Rhetoric stage (high school).

Through intellectual friendship with a close group of classmates and faculty, students systematically explore the universal human questions that have occupied Catholic culture and thought throughout two millennia. We seek to help families form young people who pursue joy, beauty, and virtue in their learning and their relationships. Our aim is to nurture clarity of thought and love for truth, guided by the wisdom of the Catholic Church.

During its first three years of existence, St. Monica Academy has operated as a pilot program under the Catholic Archdiocese of Seattle and a homeschool extension under Washington State law. We recently received news that the school will be granted canonical status and will enter an abbreviated accreditation cycle with the Western Catholic Education Association. We’re excited to continue to grow the mission of educating high school students in the true, the good, and the beautiful.

AN INTRODUCTION TO ST. MONICA ACADEMY

Classical Education

The contemporary revival of classical education is an attempt to return to the methods and content that marked education in the West from the early Church to the early 20th century. Emphasis is placed on great works of literature, integration of knowledge across disciplines, and inculcation into a living tradition. At St. Monica Academy, education is focused on primary sources, exploring and refining thinking through frequent Socratic seminars, and evaluating diverse visions of the good life by comparison with the Magisterium. St. Monica is a member of the Institute for Catholic Liberal Education, a network of Catholic classical schools across the nation.

Schedule & Descriptions 2022-2023

Click the tabs below for the St. Monica Academy curriculum overview, current schedule and course descriptions. The 2022-2023 schedule will follow the Medieval Year course plan.

Faith life

In addition to coursework in Catholic theology and spirituality, students participate in the faith life of the larger St. Monica Catholic School. Students attend Mass each Friday and spend time in Eucharistic Adoration on the first Monday of each month. Students and families are also encouraged to attend daily Mass at the parish before school Monday through Thursday. This year, we will be adding a service-learning component and retreat experience.

Class size

St. Monica Academy currently enrolls 10 students in a single cohort. Our enrollment will never exceed 20 students per grade (or 80 students total) in order to facilitate the kind of intellectual friendship necessary for classical conversations.

Extracurricular activities

The social atmosphere at St. Monica Academy resembles that of a family. In lieu of conventional offerings such as homecoming, prom, or student government, our school parents have organized gatherings that support students’ friendship in Christ and maturity as young men and women. These include weekly picnics, a pumpkin-carving evening, a Christmas party, service projects, and an Easter celebration. As we grow, we hope to offer extracurriculars such as theater, choir, and debate.

Athletics

Our present size precludes organized sports for the most part. Under WIAA policy, students are able to compete for their local public high school in any sport of their choosing. If the program were to grow to capacity (60-70 students), we would explore fielding small teams or partnering with other independent Mercer Island high schools to do so.

Tuition

Tuition for St. Monica Academy for the 2022-2023 school year is $10,400. This is considerably lower than the existing Catholic high schools in the Seattle area, where tuition ranges from $18,275 to $39,500. We do have tuition assistance available and try to make St. Monica Academy accessible for all families.

Tuition and Fees

Dates

Applications now open for 2023-2024 school year.
Applications due: May 1st, 2023

APPLY NOW

Contact

For information regarding curriculum and program development, please contact Marybeth Bohm, Principal at mbohm@stmonicasea.org or Brett Bertucio, Vice Principal, at bbertucio@stmonicasea.org.

For information and inquiries regarding application and enrollment, please contact Jamie North, Advancement Director, at jnorth@stmonicasea.org

SCHEDULE A TOUR
 

Schedule & Descriptions

Parent Perspectives
A few thoughts from some of our current parents:
 
“We are so grateful to be in our second year at Saint Monica Academy! Our son is engaged and challenged in his studies, and has a strong bond with his fellow classmates. The teachers are brilliant and care wholeheartedly about the students, encouraging them to grow in virtue on a daily basis. SMA is a blessing to us and fills a unique need in the diocese for a Catholic classical high school program.”
 
“We’ve had the privilege of having our oldest children attend St Monica Academy and they were beautifully inspired by the teachers, the materials and the environment. We have two children currently enrolled, and we are grateful for the continued opportunity for them to learn and be challenged by an authentic Catholic vision of the human person through the beauty of a classical curriculum approach. There is no other institution offering this unique approach in the Seattle area, and we look forward to the rest of our children benefiting from the awesome work that St Monica Academy is undertaking.”
 
“SMA has been a game changer for us. I wanted a classical Catholic education for my daughter and could find nothing within the area. Previously my daughter went to a public school and the difference in safety, inclusion, Christ centered teaching and the level of learning has been phenomenal. There is nothing like it in the area if you want an exceptional education centered on Christ!”