The work of St. Anne’s took its frst breath with a relentless commitment to the care of children and the pursuit of seeing them thrive in their lives, their careers, and the wider world.
We have had the privilege of contributng to this legacy for over seventy years. This is stll our work today.
In 1929, three Episcopal nuns stepped of a train at Denver’s Union Staton with the purpose of helping the city’s poor and sick.
Our sisters, like many monastcs, were not motvated by power or infuence. They were content living on the margins of both society and the Church, pursuing service to the poor, the weak, and the neglected. This is how St. Anne’s began: a convalescent home for children recovering from tuberculosis and polio.
In 1950, subsequent to the groundbreaking administraton of the polio vaccine,only a small number of children stll necessitated full-tme care at St. Anne’s, so Mother Noel instructed Sister Irene (who would become Mother Irene) to start a school to help children who were not being served by the public schools. Their original teaching mission centered on providing individual atenton and keeping classes small. The Sisters’ work shows us that unconditonal love and humble service is a fundamental expression of faith.
Our founder, Mother Irene, was known for her positvity, passion for literacy educaton, eye for beauty, love of baseball, and good food. Simplicity, devoton, compassion, and treatng everyone as sacred stll inspires everything we do at St. Anne’s today. Since its incepton, the school has grown into a captvatng bucolic campus tucked away amidst the urban bustle of Denver. We contnue to provide an outstanding educaton and a warm, supportve community for our students and their families. Upon the very gardens, grounds, and orchard that our founders lovingly tended, their legacy contnues to blossom, enriching the lives of the children who thrive here today.
When individuals or families choose to join St. Anne’s, they are joining a collectve story and a bigger mission, not a religious sect. And while “Episcopal” is an indelible part of our legacy that is stll easy to notce when walking around campus, we gladly and proudly welcome people of all religious and spiritual backgrounds.
Our only requirement is respect for the dignity of every person and willingness to build a loving community across any and all diferences. This love equally compels us to do what we can to know and to love our neighbor, especially those who sufer.
We strive to educate our students for their future and prepare them to thrive in the world where they will live and work. We recognize that the world our students will enter is changing rapidly, and we must ensure that our approaches and programs contnue to evolve. By integratng the best of contemporary, research-based teaching methodologies and consistently reviewing our curriculum and practce, we cultvate deeper learning for all our students. The impact of a St. Anne’s experience is designed to encourage critcal thinking, apply knowledge to real-world situatons, and build the foundaton for lifelong intellectual curiosity.
OUR FOUNDING VALUES
COMMUNITY
We foster a sense of warmth and belonging among our students, staf, families, and the wider community. We embrace collaboraton, inclusivity, and the shared responsibility to create a positve and enriching school environment.
CURIOSITY
We intentonally cultvate a drive for truth and knowledge, encourage creatvity and exploraton, and foster a love of learning. We teach students to think critcally, be problem solvers, embrace challenges, and realize their intellectual potental.
FAITH
We honor our Episcopal identty and heritage by honoring all faith traditons and beliefs. We promote an Episcopal school culture that embraces trust, open-mindedness, and spiritual wellness.
COMPASSION
We act out of love by treatng everyone with dignity, empathy, and respect. We create an environment that nurtures kindness with an appreciaton for the richness of human experiences.
HUMILITY
Guided by humility, we encourage refecton and self awareness. Our students embark on a journey of self-discovery that fuels their personal growth. They learn that they are part of something bigger than themselves.
FAITH AT ST. ANNE’S
St. Anne’s is one of many Episcopal schools around the country that are well-known for their high-quality, holistc educaton. As an independent school, we are not afliated with any church or religious organizaton, but we honor our Episcopal founding and identty by providing nondogmatc religious educaton and fostering a community life that supports the spiritual development of every child. Individuals and families of all traditons, beliefs, and identtes are warmly welcomed at our school.
Our spiritual life on campus is most notably marked by chapel services at each grade level, as well as monthly all-school chapels. These gatherings follow a modifed Episcopal liturgy that includes interfaith elements to refect the diverse stories within our community. We have families who are practcing and non-practcing, atheist, “spiritual but not religious,” and families who observe two or more traditons in the same household.
It is also important for us to acknowledge the land we inhabit, recognize the Indigenous wisdom around us, and practce being in a balanced relatonship with the Earth. We aim to be ever-loving, compassionate, non-judgmental, peace-making, collaboratve, empathetc, and confdent in reaching out across diferences. We remain in service to each other and the greater world. Our primary hope, when it comes to religious and
spiritual life at the school, is to allow every student to explore their faith—be it in a higher power or themselves—so that they leave St. Anne’s strengthened in whatever spiritual traditon is practced at home or discovered beyond.
When individuals or families join our community, they choose to become part of a collectve story and a larger mission inspired by our founders, but not a church. While the religious heritage of St. Anne’s Sisters is deeply meaningful to us, we will always be inclusive of people of all religious and non-religious backgrounds and social identtes. This is the Episcopal faith at its best: traditonal and forward-thinking, acceptng and inclusive, where the dignity of every person is respected, and diversity is genuinely appreciated as a gif.
We would like everyone to feel excited and comfortable considering St. Anne’s. Please feel invited to reach out to us with any and all questons.
PORTRAIT OF A GRADUATE
Grounded in the values and tradi ons of our Founding Sisters and empowered by their sense of belonging, St. Anne's graduates know themselves, care for others, and strive to serve and improve their communi es.
Respect Themselves, Others and Their Environment
Communicate Effec vely
Are Commi ed to Learning
Are Humble in Successes
Play, Laugh, and Build Friendships Are Resilient Through Challenges
Are Morally Grounded Advocate Courageously
Are Empathe c and Inclusive
Seek Balance Through Reflec onand Gra tude
Think Cri cally and Crea vely
WHAT OUR GRADUATES SAY
“To this day, St. Anne’s contnues to be a small but mighty community of young students, dedicated teachers, thoughtul administrators, hardworking staf members, and invested parents, each of whom is commited to upholding the founding virtues of the school and cultvatng a space where students learn not only how to be good students, but how to be good people. I am forever grateful to have been part of such a special community.”
- Alumna and “May Queen”
“What St. Anne’s gave me was a love of learning and a curiosity about the world that carried me through high school, university, and onto my master’s and set me out into the world to live and travel through six of the seven contnents.”
- Alumna ‘90
“Our heritage and the Sisters’ early work strongly fostered a dedicaton and humility we stll see in our current graduates.”
- Alumna ‘87, Former Trustee
“Overall my success serves as a testament to the power of a strong foundaton in creatve freedom and hands-on learning.”
-Alumnus ‘04
“Love to me doesn’t just mean afecton; it means helping others, being selfess and most of all always being there for someone else. St. Anne’s helped me grow as a person, making sure that I was always on the right track in academics or sports. My teachers constantly looked out for me, almost like a second family. The selfessness of the teachers and students at St. Anne’s is what I call love. The amount of kindness and support, the willingness to stay in touch even afer I graduated, is what I call love. Supportng me was a priority at St. Anne’s even when it meant having difcult conversatons and shedding a few tears. My tme at St. Anne’s was flled with loving, supportve, selfess people who really cared.”
- Alumna ‘21
COMMUNITY & BELONGING AT ST. ANNE’S
At St. Anne’s Episcopal School, we believe that the cornerstone of a thriving educatonal community is a deep sense of belonging rooted in equity and love. We understand that students fourish when they feel valued, respected, and connected to their peers and teachers in a nurturing and equitable environment. Our school is dedicated to fostering an atmosphere where every student can discover their unique strengths and passions, embrace diversity, and encourage open dialogue to promote both intellectual curiosity and personal growth.
Social justce is at the core of our educatonal philosophy, emphasizing the importance of empathy, advocacy, humility, and common humanity. We are commited to instlling in our students a profound understanding of equity and the need to challenge injustce in an ever-evolving world. Through a curriculum designed to both educate and empower, we inspire our students to become compassionate leaders who are prepared to address global challenges. By engaging in service-learning projects, exploring diverse perspectves, and collaboratng with local organizatons, our students learn the importance of contributng to a more just and equitable society.
Our school’s heartbeat thrives on the meaningful human connectons that enrich our students’ experiences. We prioritze strong relatonships between students, teachers, and families, as we believe that these bonds are vital for creatng a vibrant and dynamic learning environment. Our dedicated faculty and staf not only serve as educators but also as mentors, guiding and inspiring students on their educatonal journey. We invite parents to be actve partners in their children’s educaton, fostering a collaboratve and supportve community grounded in equity, belonging, and love. Together, we cultvate a network of care and support that transcends the classroom, ensuring each student feels valued, connected, and empowered to serve and enrich our world.
Thank you for considering St. Anne’s as a school to guide your child’s educatonal journey and as a community for your family. We look forward to the adventures ahead and wish you an enriching, meaningful, and joyful journey.
CHRIS COX Head of School
OUR MISSION
Grounded in our founding values, we cultvate a community of curious and compassionate learners who are inspired to serve and enrich our world.
