St. Stephen's School

History

St. Stephen’s School was incorporated and held its first session as a preschool in 1978 under the guiding leadership of founding Headmistress, Sharyl Leggate. The preschool became the foundation for the growth of an elementary program of Preschool through sixth grade. In 2003 seventh and eighth grades were added.

For thirty years, St. Stephen’s School has served our community of learners. Dedicated to providing the highest quality Episcopal education, the faculty and staff provide a challenging and nurturing environment for the children to grow academically, spiritually, emotionally and physically. Initially St. Stephen’s School was a parish school of St. Stephen’s in the Field Episcopal Church. In 1991 the School became a Diocesan School in the Episcopal Diocese of El Camino Real. The school first held classes at the Church but growth necessitated a larger facility. The school began leasing facilities in Blossom Valley from Oak Grove School District in 1989, first on Shawnee Lane in South San Jose and then at the present site on Allegan Circle since the fall of 2004.

Mission Statement

St. Stephen’s is committed to enriching our community with students confident in mind, body and spirit. Grounded in the Episcopal tradition, St. Stephen’s caring and diverse community values the potential and dignity of every person and welcomes all faiths. St. Stephen’s builds academic foundation, nurtures the emotional well-being, and encourages the social and spiritual development of each child.

St. Stephen’s seeks to grow each child’s natural curiosity into a lifelong ability to be reflective, creative, collaborative, and a disciplined learner. St. Stephen’s partners with families and community to ensure our children are thoughtful contributors to society, empowered to learn, to serve, and to lead.

Curriculum Mission Statement

A St. Stephen's education is designed to assist students to develop reflective, creative, collaborative and disciplined approaches to learning. The curriculum builds a foundation for future academic success by intentionally creating coherence and connectedness to everyday life experiences through interdisciplinary, integrated and cross–curricular approaches to learning.

The program guides children to develop positive self-concepts and to grow into thoughtful contributors to society, with a capacity to learn, to serve, and to lead. This is achieved by a dynamic teaching staff who incorporate a variety of methodologies in a climate of high expectation enveloped by a nurturing Episcopal environment that honors the needs of the individual learner.

Core Values

Having high expectations for itself, the community of St. Stephen’s Episcopal School, constantly pursues its commitment to learning and growth.

IN MIND	By valuing each person’s unique learning style, creativity and measure of accomplishment By respecting each person’s potential for understanding and critical thinking to a breadth of knowledgeBy challenging each person’s ability to experience excellence,By exposure to a holistic experience of learning.
IN BODY	Seeking each child’s personal balance of health, development and ability, Supporting each child’s sense of safety and security.
IN SPIRIT	Developing each person’s sense of independence and inter-dependence, Nurturing the consistent expectation for ethical behavior, moral responsibility and development of character, Encouraging the personal connection with friends, family and God, within the Christian and Episcopal tradition, By delivering a child-centered community that demonstrates acceptance, tolerance, respect and empathy for diversity.

Episcopal Values

The values that guide our community are grounded in Episcopalian faith. We welcome and honor students of all faiths and backgrounds. Our goal as an Episcopal School is to nurture the moral, religious, and spiritual development of each child. We strive to meet that by being models of God’s love and grace. We invite all who attend and work in the school — Episcopalians and non-Episcopalians, Christians and non-Christians, people of no faith tradition — to seek clarity about their own beliefs and religions and to honor those traditions more fully and faithfully in their own lives.

St. Stephen’s community is built on the values of love, honesty, forgiveness, hope, compassion, and empathy. Furthermore, in the Anglican tradition that values faith and reason, St. Stephen’s places significant value on the attributes that will aid our students into the future. Values such as discipline, respect, responsibility, integrity, and honor are stressed. These virtues are drawn together in a community that recognizes the intrinsic value and gifts of each person in and atmosphere of exploration and discovery.

Our Episcopal values are expressed in four areas. Children attend child appropriate worship services once or twice a week. Beginning in first grade, all students take a religious education course one period a week. A third pillar of our identity is a commitment to serving others. All students engage in a variety of community service projects during the year. Finally, the priority we place on our collective community life is the fourth pillar of our Episcopal identity.