St. Francis High School

As a parent of a sophmore at St. Francis, I couldn't be happier. All aspects of the school, teachers, administration, and students have been stellar. The campus is beautiful. The new student center is under way and will be completed soon. The academics are superb. The athletic program is top notch. All the programs are fantastic. There is something for every student. The school is wonderful, and you can see it reflected by the students....great, happy kids. We have to commute 30-40 minutes to get to St. Francis, and there's not one complaint about it. I'd travel twice that for my children to have this opportunity. Way to go, St. Francis!
--Submitted by a parent

I am a senior and will be crying at graduation because I have to leave. The teachers, and students are great. However, remember that every school has their problems not matter how loved.
--Submitted by a student

I think St Francis is in a class all by itself in helping students to achieve academic excellence. My daughter loves this school.
--Submitted by a parent

SFHS is a tremendous school. Top end academics, clubs, activities, great athletics, and amazing school pride among the parents and students. They provide a safe, caring environment with a diverse population in terms of academics, ethnicity, religion, and socio-economics. We could have gone to great public schools like Gunn or Mt View, but we are glad we are at St Francis. It's worth the money, even in tight times.
--Submitted by a parent

Great education, tons of social activities and clubs to join, awesome teachers who care, A+ sports facilities, winning coaches, excellent curriculum
--Submitted by a parent

Compared to some of the public schools in the area, saint francis is lacking in AP math and sciences, both in quality of teaching and availability of classes. I had to learn a lot of material in college that some of my friends already knew. Also, acceptance rates to high-end engineering colleges were much lower my year than public schools in our area.
--Submitted by a student

SFHS is amazing. I'm a current freshman. The teachers are really great, they all seem to love what they are teaching and to care about their students. With such a diverse student body (1600) , I thought it would be hard to get 'accepted' at the school, meaning to sort of become part of the school. But it wasn't hard at all. Very few sophomores and other older students actually teased or annoyed us freshmen. Some I could name went out of their way, and still go out of their way, to give us whatever advice we ask for. And the non-Catholic students are also very accepted, no problem. Their extracurricular is great - I'm in the speech/debate program and loving it. I would absolutely recommend SFHS to any student considering it. It's a wonderful school.
--Submitted by a student

St. Francis accepts almost anyone. It used to be a good high school perhaps, but not any more. You can get in with poor GPA. It's like a paid public school, I won't recommend it.
--Submitted by a parent

I am a graduate of St. Francis High School and I highly recommend it. The curriculum is quite challenging especially the upper level sciences (chemistry & physics) and calculus. In fact, I used my St. Francis calculus notes in my calculus classes at UCLA.
--Submitted by a former student

This school is one of the mroe unique high schools in the Bay Area. It is one of those rare schools that has highly reputable academic and athletic program. In terms of a quality education, Saint Francis (SFHS) is top notch. With that being said, there are a few things about the administration that tends to irk the student body. This school is quite strict when it comes to rules. They sometimes tend to ignore student opinions. Petitions and other other means of reform are swiftly shut down. (High lunch prices for low quality food, dress code, etc.). Another complaint is the lack of ethnic diversity (though that is changing). Students feel very safe on campus, but they also feel confined(no off-campus lunch). Nonetheless, as a premier Catholic high school, a SF diploma is very well-respected amongst colleges in the world of academia.
--Submitted by a student