History

St. Paul's Episcopal School is Oakland's private school with a public purpose.

The School was founded by the Vestry of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in 1975 to fulfill a need for a school that reflected the broad diversity of the Bay Area. St. Paul’s School's founders believed that students from different racial, socioeconomic, and cultural backgrounds would learn better in collaboration with each other. In order to secure socioeconomic diversity, they created a Sliding Scale Tuition Program where each family would pay tuition on a scale based on what they could afford. Initially, St. Paul’s enrolled students in grades K-6. In order to supplement the cost of tuition, St. Paul’s secured the financial support of foundations and individuals in the greater community.

Over the years, St. Paul’s has grown in breadth and depth. In the fall of 1982, the School added seventh grade, followed the next year by eighth grade. In 1986, St. Paul’s instituted a formal Community Service Program to develop a stronger relationship with the greater community by connecting directly with service organizations and projects in the City of Oakland. Students in all grades began to assume age-appropriate responsibilities outside of the School.

Throughout the 1990s, St. Paul’s expanded enrollment to include two classes each in grades 6-8 and purchased three properties. In the winter of 1993, the School received the prestigious Certificate of Merit from the Council for Religion in Independent Schools for the Service Learning Program. This was the first of nine national awards the School has received. Beginning in the late 1990s, St. Paul’s School began to expand its mission of public purpose by hosting many different events at the School such as Aim High, Facing History and Ourselves presentations, and Schools Attuned. In 2002, St. Paul’s co-founded the Bay Area Teacher Training Institute (BATTI).

In May 2002, St. Paul’s Board of Trustees approved a five-year Strategic Plan to ensure the strength and fiscal well being of the School into the future. This plan includes strengthening the School’s mission of academic excellence, diversity, and public purpose, as well as expanding enrollment, improving the physical plant, and ensuring the financial strength and future of St. Paul’s.

In 2003, St. Paul's commenced the enrollment expansion by renovating two classrooms and adding a second section of kindergarten. In each subsequent year, as these two sections are promoted, the School is increasing until full enrollment of two sections for all grades is achieved.

In September 2007, St. Paul's School completed construction on a new Middle School building and is currently in the final preparations to expand the Lower School campus with a new library and Kindergarten and First Grade Learning Center, as well as a new all-school gymnasium.