St. Francis High School

I've seen some really great things at St Francis and my child was very happy. The only concern I have is with the counseling staff. We went through 2 counselors, both of whom were not supportive at all. Options were not made available, information was not made available. but rather, they told our child to forget about getting a letter of recommendation in the Junior year because they felt there was no chance of getting into a college. This made our job, as parents, even more difficult trying to convince our child to forget about what the counselor and go ahead and get the recommendations and apply to college. Lucky for us our child finally listened and has been accepted to 80% of the colleges applied to - including the first choice. Counseling department was the only headache we had to deal with. Teachers have nothing but high praise for our child so we know there is support. They really need to revamp the counseling department.
—Submitted by a parent

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

I am a Junior currently attending Saint Francis High School. Thus far I have felt that Saint Francis is a great place, which is diverse not only in ethnicity, but in socioeconomic standing, social interests, and school activities. The teachers are required to be involved in two of the many sports, clubs, and other activities on campus. Community Service is required and as a student, I found the mandatory religion classes to be completely open but help to induce moral behavior at once. The quality of education here is unparalleled and I highly reccomend it to any person who is interested in a diverse, safe, educational environment with involved teachers. To find out more, visit www.sfhs.com.
—Submitted by Matt, a student

Great school, great sports teams that build character and friendships. It's challenging and even to people of no faith like myself, it opens your eyes to a new type of lifestyle, even though it is your choice to accept it or not. Great people, good academics and great tradition and respect given.
—Submitted by saint francis student, a student

Even though St Francis high has a reputation as a jock school, they do provide a strong enough religious and academic curriculum for a student to succeed in Ivy league schools. The advantages of St Frances are: Its a large enough school to provide the varied academic courses that a student needs to succeed in college, a strict enough environment, an encouraging place for students to grow and try new things. St Francis disadvantages are: they do not accept any courses taken off campus to apply as credit for graduation, in other words a student may not take geometry in the summer and sign up for the next level for the coming fall. They also offer only a limited number of AP courses for accelerated students.
—Submitted by a parent

St. Francis not only has a great academic program, but mandatory each student takes a religon course no matter what their faith. This course teaches them good morals and basically the golden rule. My daughter graduated in 1998 and went on to attend a four year university where she continued to excel. She now works in the television industry and to this day continues to keep in contact with St. Francis. In addition, there are four students who have returned to St. Francis to teach. Now this says it all!
—Submitted by a parent

You get only one shot at high school so it should be the best, and St. Francis is clearly the best. This is my second child to attend and the first child (class of 92) is very successful in life because she attended St. Francis.
—Submitted by a parent

Strong sense of community at St. Francis. Teachers are very accessible and counselors the same. Great athletics program along with student activities. Very good school spirit. Excellent facilities.
—Submitted by a parent

We have a current sophomore at St Francis and believe that it is a great school. The system is generally challenging to our child and clearly tracks her educationally as well as socially (requirements for extracurricular activities as well as community service). All teachers (so far) have been engaged and interested in her progress although 'style' has been a concern with one. Overall, the school has clearly developed a system which educates the whole child and gives them an opportunity to grow.
—Submitted by a parent