Boarding Schools  Santa Catalina School

Santa Catalina School www.santacatalina.org

Founded in 1950 and set against the scenic California coast in Monterey, Santa Catalina School is where you can discover the true you. Our boarding and day school is where inspired, powerful, active learning happens—in the classroom, on the field or the stage, and in the dorms. Catalina girls take ownership of their academics—including a marine ecology program that takes advantage of Monterey Bay—and they pursue their passions. True sisterhood creates a community that is fueled by curiosity, kindness, and confidence.

Santa Catalina’s all-girls environment is ideal for young women to build confidence, leadership skills, and strong, lifelong friendships. Here, all the speakers, writers, singers, and athletes are girls. All the doers and leaders are girls. Seeing fellow young women in positions of responsibility inspires confidence and shows our students that they can step up and lead in every capacity.

 Academics

Our academic program is designed to expand your mind and inspire your curiosity and desire for lifelong learning. With 11 Advanced Placement and 18 Advanced Topics classes, teachers will push you further than you thought you could go. Whether discussing the life of a cell or American foreign trade, our faculty will encourage you to think for yourself, to ask questions, to find answers. The classroom has no confines. Learning happens at the beach, on the sprawling front lawn, in the science lab, in the dining hall, on the playing field, and in the dorms.

 Special Highlights

Marine Ecology Research Program. Santa Catalina sits just two miles from the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, and because of our location, our three-year Marine Ecology Research Program provides an intensive focus on marine science for a select group of students beginning in their sophomore year. Students study in and around the ocean, doing research, learning by observation, testing hypotheses, and experimenting in the bay itself.

Theatre Arts. Catalina dancers, singers, and actors captivate audiences in the 500-seat Performing Arts Center, staging two musicals and one dramatic play each year. Students build confidence as they transform observation, sensitivity, and imagination into believable stage characters. Off-stage, students operate the state-of-the-art sound system, computerized lighting, and full-fly scenery equipment in all three full-scale productions. Our certificate program in the performing arts guides students through a comprehensive, four-year course of study that expands as well as refines each student’s artistic repertoire.

 Top colleges attended by students

Boston University, University of California at Berkeley, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Chapman University, Carnegie Mellon, Saint Mary’s College of California, Stanford University, Texas Christian University, University of Oregon, University of San Diego, University of Southern California

 What the school looks for in students…

“We seek girls with intellectual curiosity and adventurous spirit and select students who indicate they can succeed here, not only academically, but as contributing members of our community.”