Aliso Viejo Schools Global Outlook Draws Executives Kids EDUCATION: St.

Marys has apparel, tech, real estate families SHERRI CRUZ Sunday, May 15, 2011 Lisa Vogel went to public school and did alright for herself. Shes copresident of Raj Manufacturing LLC, a Tustin-based swimsuit maker. But ongoing public school cuts have prompted her to think again about where to send her own kids. About a year ago, she began looking at private schools for her oldest son, who had been attending a school in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District. Vogel and her husband considered Carden Hall in Newport Beach, The Pegasus School in Huntington Beach and Harbor Day School in Corona del Mar, among others. The Vogels ultimately decided on St. Marys, a Christian school in Aliso Viejo where her oldest son is in first grade and her youngest son is a preschooler. I quickly became very passionate about the school and thought we had this under-the-radar gem, she said. Vogel now is on St. Marys board. Other executives who send their kids to St. Marys: Shawn Baldwin, partner at Newport Beach-based real estate company Sunrise Co.; former software executive Sam Auriemma; and Dave Kinney, founder of Irvinebased real estate investor Madison Street Partners LLC and chair of St. Marys board of trustees.

The schools six-acre campus is known for its International Baccalaureate program, which prepares students for global business through study of foreign languages and global cultures, among other teachings. For me, as a businesswoman who works in a global business, it clicked and made sense, Vogel said. We live in a world where were preparing our children for careers that dont exist in this day and age. Tuition Annual tuition at St. Marys is about $12,500. The school has a yearly operating budget of $9 million. Two annual fundraisers make up the $2,300 gap per student. St. Marys teaches preschool through eighth grade and has about 650 students. Graduating students typically go on to one of a handful of private and public high schools including JSerra Catholic High School in San Juan Capistrano, Sage Hill School in Newport Beach and Laguna Beach High School. The school, founded by Father Ernest Sillers in 1994, holds religious service in the gym every Monday. Students begin school days with a prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance. All of our students and families have to be open to hearing Christian religion and being taught values from the standpoint of the Old Testament and the Gospels, said Jennifer Risner, director of admissions. We dont teach doctrine or convert students. The school is nondenominational and has students from at least 16 religious backgrounds, including Jewish and Hindu, or none at all.

Religion wasnt the draw for Vogel, she said. Were kind of agnostic, she said. But I still believe its important for them to be exposed and learn how to navigate the tough times by having a good moral compass. The school draws about a third of its students from Laguna Niguel and Aliso Viejo. Others come from Newport Beach, Tustin and Irvine. Class Size This year, St. Marys enrolled 130 new students. There are about 20 kids per class. Before the downturn, St. Marys had about 800 students. The school has adapted, according to Risner. The school plans to max out at 750 students, which would give it 22 students per class through sixth grade and 18 in junior high. Former software executive and parent Auriemma said he likes the small class sizes. The more time teachers can spend with fewer students, especially at the early ages, the more thats going to foster learning, he said. Auriemma has a long history with the school. He and his wife have a daughter who graduated from St. Marys. Shes now a junior in college. The Auriemmas have three other children who attend St. Marys. The school has been really positive for the kids, he said. The administration is active and visible.

St. Marys employs 50 full-time teachers. Good teachers is what its all about, said John OBrien, headmaster. OBrien, whos been with the school for three years, said he tries to recruit passionate teachers. They dont need an IB background. There is training for that, he said. The school has teachers from Italy, Canada, Singapore and England, among other countries. The IB program tends to open up thinking for the kids, Auriemma said. There are a few public schools in Orange County that have IB classes. St. Marys is one of the few private schools that mixes a religious component and IB. Approach IB methods, which emphasizes students working together, are woven into the classes. It essentially has three parts: foreign languages, cross subject learning and a global perspective. Students learning about the rainforest in science may write an essay about the rainforest in Spanish and then paint it in art. We focus on global issues outside the sphere of Orange County, so children begin to get a sense beyond themselves, OBrien said. As part of the IB program, students are required to take Spanish in kindergarten through fifth grade. In the middle grades, French, Italian and Mandarin Chinese are offered.

Languages arent taught as an elective but as a core subject, Risner said Students also are involved in service learning. After the Japan earthquake and tsunami, St. Marys students raised $200 by selling coffee to parents in the courtyard, according to Kay Fernandez, marketing and communications director for the school. Fernandez and her husband have three daughters enrolled at St. Marys. Parents Parents are present on campus and are required to volunteer about an hour a week. If your kids see youre visible in their education theyll think it must be important, Auriemma said. His wife volunteers on campus. In the morning, parents dont usually just drop off their children, Vogel said. Ive never seen a school where as many parents hang around and talk to each other as on this campus. Its such a warm and welcoming community. Its very unpretentious.