Our Mission
Saint Isabella School is committed to providing an education that challenges students to responsibly live out the Catholic faith in service to God, family, and society. The school provides a solid foundation for the spiritual, scholastic, social, and physical development of its students.
Our Philosophy
The philosophy of Saint Isabella School is to partner with parents and offer an education that promotes the spiritual, scholastic, social, and physical development of its students. The school fosters:
- the spiritual development of its students through the message of the Gospel, Catholic teachings, service to others, community, and worship
- the scholastic development of its students by offering a rigorous, comprehensive course of studies that takes into account various modes of learning and learning differences
- the social development of its students by helping them develop self-esteem, leadership qualities, self-discipline, self-censorship, acceptance, tolerance, a moral conscience, and an appreciation for the gifts of others
- the physical development of its students by offering a safe environment, a comprehensive physical education, health programs, and organized sports opportunities.
A Sense of Community
At Saint Isabella School, students develop a strong bond with their fellow students, their teachers, their school and their church to create a strong sense of community. In the classroom and through service opportunities and extracurricular activities, students develop close, healthy friendships with others. They come to understand that everyone is unique and valuable regardless of cultural and socio-economic backgrounds.
Our families come to us from all over Marin as well as Petaluma and the East Bay. There is a real sense of fellowship, a sharing of common attitudes and goals between parents, students and faculty. Parents take an active role in their children’s education by volunteering their time to support the school by helping with field trips, volunteering in the classroom, participating on our School Advisory Board or Parent Club Board, and by attending and participating in school programs and events.
For many parents, their involvement at Saint Isabella School becomes a highlight of their social life and they develop lifelong friendships with other families. This sense of community is one of the things we are proudest of at Saint Isabella School and is what sets our school apart from many others.
Parent Involvement
We believe that one of the main strengths of Saint Isabella School is the involvement of our parents. We encourage and welcome parent involvement as it not only strengthens the bond between parent and student when the parent takes an active role in the student’s education, but it also helps to further build our strong community.
Some of the ways parents participate include:
- Chaperoning on field trips, including overnight trips to Yosemite, Alliance Redwoods and Walker Creek
- Assisting in the classroom, particularly in the primary grades
- Serving as Room Parents
- Volunteering at our community building events
- Serving on our Parent Club Board (PCB), which is the fundraising vehicle of the school, or on the School Advisory Board (SAB), which assists the Principal in setting the long-term goals of the school.
Small Class Size
Saint Isabella School is the perfect size to provide our students the best learning environment. We offer one class for each grade, Kindergarten to Eighth Grade, with dedicated teacher aides in the Kindergarten to fourth grade classrooms and a shared aide for grades five through eight. The size of our school ensures that teachers, administrators and students know one another well and develop strong interpersonal bonds.
Each elementary class typically has between 18 and 24 students with an average 10:1 student to teacher ratio. Each middle school class typically has between 24 and 35 students. The K-8 structure allows our students to benefit from Saint Isabella School’s caring, nurturing environment for their entire elementary to middle school experience.
A school is only as good as its teachers
And that’s why Saint Isabella School is a great school – we have great teachers!
Consider the following:
- Our teachers are experienced, averaging over twenty years of teaching experience, and many with over ten years teaching at Saint Isabella School
- Many of our teachers have taught various grades during the course of their career, giving them a broader perspective on what and how students learn at different stages in their academic lives
- Our teachers are dynamic and can incorporate all students, regardless of learning style or ability, fully into the classroom experience.
