What Sets Us Apart

Spiritually St. Paul’s Episcopal School incorporates Christian beliefs and practices into our college preparatory curriculum.          

Molly Smith Broders ’92 has joined our staff to coordinate, enrich and expand spiritual activities at St. Paul’s Episcopal School.

Students and teachers attend weekly and monthly Chapel and Church Services where our parents, grandparents and alumni are invited to worship.

Our school is committed to helping others through our Community Service Program, Service Leadership Courses and Philanthropy Ambassadors.

Our football team attends a special weekly Communion Service and the coaches lead a Bible Study on Thursdays.

Our Character Building Program in Lower School teaches good manners, the “Golden Rule,” sharing, honesty, being a good friend and making smart choices.

Girls Enrichment Ministries (GEMs) and Boys United in Christ (BUCs) are voluntary Bible Studies for Middle School students where parents lead the teaching of God’s word.

Morning Saints is a weekly prayer group, in which Upper School students come together and worship with prayer, Bible readings and discussions.

On Thursday mornings, the Headmaster leads a Morning Prayer service with St. Paul’s students, parents, faculty, staff and alumni.

St. Paul’s Episcopal School is one of 10 schools partnering with local law enforcement and juvenile court leaders in the Community Against Bullying Coalition to send a community-wide message that harassment will not be tolerated.

To kick-off the Middle School Character Building Program, St. Paul’s Episcopal School showed the Indie Film, Finding Kind, to all young ladies in the 5th-10th grades.

Academically The faculty at St. Paul’s Episcopal School is not only committed to teaching their subject area, they go above and beyond for our students in all areas of learning. St. Paul’s continually explores new methods, practices, programs and technologies, which give every student academic opportunities unrivaled by those of other schools.  

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Over the past three years, our students have earned more than $18 million dollars in merit-based scholarships to colleges and universities.

St. Paul’s has completed its pioneering edition of PreK-12 benchmarks (these identify what every child should know or be able to do in each class). This will strengthen the curriculum by ensuring that the content and skills students learn are reinforced and built upon more effectively.

The benchmarks are another step in establishing a curriculum that is innovative and cutting edge and one that continues to set St. Paul’s apart.

The faculty and administration are taking the current curriculum and making it even stronger by integrating community service, 21st century technology and educational principles and critical thinking skills, while maintaining the traditional core academic mission of the school – college preparation.

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Writer’s Stylus, a PreK-12 writing program currently being introduced, provides English teachers with a cohesive curriculum, which will give our students enormous advantages – higher standardized test scores in high school (AP, SAT and ACT) and college (GRE and GMAT), better college application essays and enhanced communication skills needed for a more competitive business world.

Our reading program, Foundations and Frameworks combined with Saxon Phonics and Spelling, incorporates teaching vocabulary, fluency, reading comprehension and critical thinking in methods that maximize the way the brain learns reading.

Our Lower School science instructor incorporates technology and hands-on activities in a developmentally appropriate Science Lab. Transitional Kindergarten was developed in 1994 to strengthen academic and developmental skills in children before 1st grade.

Grades PreK – 6 participate in real-life problem solving with the Everyday Math Program.

A speech pathologist is on staff at the Lower School, providing speech screenings for all students and speech therapy, while in school, for children who need additional speech and language instruction.

We consistently have state recognized Duke TIP test scores. We recently established the National Junior Hono r Society to recognize those who achieve academic excellence in the Middle School.

St. Paul’s has been a wireless campus for over 10 years, and this year our Upper School program is a fully integrated 1:1 program where every student has a laptop. Laptop courses are also offered to our 7th and 8th grade students.

St. Paul’s is expanding its technological capabilities by installing Epson projectors that turn any wall into an interactive whiteboard in classes from PreK-12.

St. Paul’s will continue to lead the way in technological innovation in the classroom, by increasing 21st century educational professional development opportunities.

Mrs. Kelli Etheredge is one of 11 teachers representing the United States at Microsoft’s Partners in Learning Global Forum for her winning project incorporating technology into teaching and learning.

St. Paul’s serves the needs of all students by offering a wide array of Advanced Placement classes (in which students score well above the national average), as well as focusing on the individual student through its Alternative Instruction Program (AIP). This program is for children with diagnosed learning differences.

Rosetta Stone, the world’s #1 language learning software, is used as a tool in grades 6-12 to enhance real-life foreign language.

Our Robotics team continually achieves winning ranks at the BEST Robotics Competition, progressing to the national level of competition.

The Advanced Communication Class explores the following areas of communication: advertising, public rel ations, sales, video and print journalism, publication design and public speaking.

The St. Paul’s Community is proud of our 11 National Merit High Scorers in the Class of 2012 – 4 National Merit Semifinalists, 6 National Merit Commended Scholars, and 1 National Achievement Semifinalist.

AP Calculus and French IV are taught as part of a dual enrollment course with the University of South Alabama.

Artistically The multi-faceted Fine Arts program at St. Paul’s Episcopal School offers many opportunities for students in both visual and performing arts. We encourage students to discover and develop their individual talents. St. Paul’s Episcopal School students and teachers are known throughout the state, region and nation for their excellence in the Visual and Performing Arts.   

Our Choral Program, including Middle School Chorus, Women’s Chorus, Men’s Chorus, Chamber Singers and Show Choir consistently achieve superior ratings with the Alabama Vocal Association.

In addition to our well-known Spring “Big” Show, we also offer Theater Performance and Production, which provides an avenue of creative expression, growth in self confidence and an outlet for creative energy.

The Visual Arts course of study includes Art, Drawing, 3D Design, Ceramics, Mixed Media, Photograp hy, 2D Design and Studio Art, and AP Courses in Art, 2D Design and Photography.

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In 2011, our Art and Photography students were recognized: as winners in every category in the Alabama Visual Arts Competition, 21 Gold Key winners in the Scholastic Arts Competition, an Art Scholarship to Savannah College of Art and Design, and the winning piece in the Jo Bonner Congressional Competition where the artwork is on display at the Capitol in Washington, D.C. The St. Paul’s Band including students in grades 5-12 achieve superior ratings with the Alabama Band Association.

The Marching Saints represent St. Paul’s Episcopal School at all football games, pep rallies and other community events. In November 2012, our Band is planning to perform in Hawaii.

Four St. Paul’s students auditioned for the prestigious Mobile Symphony Youth Orchestra and were awarded Chair positions. Two band students were selected for the Auburn University Marching Honor Band.

Our Strings program includes 43 students in Kindergarten-12th grade and many achieve recognition at the Alabama Orchestra Festival.

In December 2012, our Chamber Strings will participate in the American Celebration of Music in Austria with performances in Prague.

Athletically St. Paul’s Episcopal School takes great pride in teaching good sportsmanship and teamwork to all of our students. Our coaches are dedicated to continuing the tradition of excellence in Athletics.    

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Our Athletic Program boasts 159 Athletic State Championships (more than any school in the state of Alabama) earned in 35 years of competition.

Over 450 student-athletes participate in grades 7-12 competing in more than 50 teams.

St. Paul’s Intramural Programs fielded over 30 teams involving 300 students in grades PreK-6. This program encourages participation and teamwork and teaches the basics of the game.

In 2011, accolades from the Press-Register included: Outstanding Female Athlete of the Year, Boys Track & Field Runner of the Year, Girls Tennis Player of the Year, Boys Soccer Player of the Ye ar, and Boys Golf Player of the Year.

Other accolades include the Gatorade Outstanding Female Track Athlete of the Year for the state of Alabama, the Mobile Coaches Association’s 2A-5A Boys Basketball County Player of the Year, and the MVP of the South All-Star Softball Team.

Nine student-athletes represented St. Paul’s in Montgomery during All-Star Sports Week.

Many of our coaches achieve recognition at the local, regional and national levels. Recently our Cross Country/Track & Field Coach Jim Tate was named the National Coach of the Year, inducted into the AHSAA Hall of Fame and spotlighted in an ESPN article. Soccer Coach Chad Harrelson represented St. Paul’s in the All-Star Sports Week games this past summer as the South Boys Head Coach and won. Our Volleyball Coach Kelli Hillier (a St. Paul’s Alumna), has won five out of the last six State Volleyball Championships. Football Coach Jimmy Perry was selected as the 5A Coaches Association Coach of the Year in 2010.

Fifteen seniors signed letters of intent to play sports at the collegiate level last year. Approximately 45 St. Paul’s Alumni are playing at the collegiate level.

If you would like to tour St. Paul’s Episcopal School, please contact Julie Taylor in the Admissions Office at 251-461-2129 or jtaylor@stpaulsmobile.net.