St. Mary's Mission School

St. Mary’s Mission has served the Red Lake Indian Reservation in northern Minnesota for over 150 years.

Our school, founded in 1888, provides a quality pre-school-6th grade Catholic education in a safe and healthy environment where children are immersed in learning, surrounded by the strength of our community’s faith, the power of our prayer and the living witness of our belief and values.   Many young students are accompanied to school by their grandparents, who graduated from St. Mary’s! 

Every child needs and deserves a good education, don't you agree?  And when that education comes within a welcoming and nurturing environment that reinforces family and cultural values, parents know that their children are getting the best education possible.  That's what we strive to provide here at St. Mary's Mission School. 

From the moment they walk through the school doors in the morning, students are greeted with delight by every adult they meet—telling them just how special and loved they are.  Throughout the school day, we celebrate the Ojibwe culture of our students.  We want every student, their families and everyone in our community to celebrate what’s right with our students and the people of Red Lake—to believe in themselves and have the courage to soar!

Our school provides a safe haven for students where they can have fun while they learn.  And learn they do—test scores verify the significant academic progress our students are achieving.    

Our guided reading and math programs provide individualized attention and a variety of approaches to support and reinforce learning.   Because reading and math skills are essential for future academic and life success, we focus on helping students to be confident and adept at using math skills, to fall in love with reading and become lifelong readers.  We want our students to have the skills, knowledge and confidence to grow up to be whatever they want to be!

Your support helps our students and our school excel!  Red Lake is situated far from any major economic center.  Given high poverty and lack of economic and employment resources here in Red Lake, many families who enroll their children at St. Mary's Mission School struggle to pay even part of the nominal $475 tuition fee.

We keep tuition costs very low so that families can send their children to St. Mary’s.  Despite a tight operating budget, tuition payments do not cover our costs. (This year, the actual annual cost of educating one child is $5,778).  No child is turned away from St. Mary's Mission School because of their inability to pay tuition. 

That's why we turn to you for help.

We depend on the generous donations of individuals, businesses, churches and foundations off the reservation to help our school thrive and our students pursue their dreams.   

While many on the Red Lake Indian Reservation struggle with poverty, families who send their children to St. Mary's are not poor when it comes to dreams for their children.  They know that St. Mary's provides the best possible education; they want their children to have a strong academic foundation that helps them to be both wise and good to prepare them for a positive and successful future. 

Will you invest in their hopes and dreams with a gift to today?    

Miigwetch!

 

 

 

 

 

 

St. Mary's is a special place.  Check out this blog written by visitors from Catholic Extension who were here at the start of the school year. 

 http://www.catholicextension.org/blog/2012/09/14/we-must-do-better