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Crossroads Christian Elementary School Pacifi c Point Christian School Contact Information: St. Catherine of Alexandria School 17500 Peak Avenue • Morgan Hill • stcatherinemh.org/ St. Mary School 7900 Church Street • Gilroy • stmarygilroy.org Pacifi c Point Christian School 1575 Mantelli Drive • Gilroy • pacpoint.net Crossroads Christian Elementary School 145 Wright Avenue • Morgan Hill • crossroadschristianschool.org Crossroads Christian Elementary School 92 athletics including girls’ and boys’ volleyball and basketball teams, flag football, track, and softball. Annual fundraisers like the St. Mary spaghetti dinners held in May and October help support sports programs and other student activities. St. Mary School has implemented the Drexel school system. According to Greteman, “It’s a different structure that’s being looked at around the country because of its success here in the Bay Area. It started here with seven schools in the Diocese of San José.” The Drexel system provides opportunities for teachers from other schools in the diocese to collaborate at monthly meetings. Greteman said she’s looking forward to the positive benefits of those collaborations trickling back into St. Mary classrooms. The school’s adoption of the Drexel system led to a $25 million grant to fund tuition assistance for student families with financial need. Annual tuition for the 2017-18 school year is approximately $7850 per student, with a discount for families with more than one student enrolled. “Anyone who is interested in a Catholic education for their children, it should be available to them,” Greteman said. St. Mary School is accredited by WASC (Western Association of Schools and Colleges) and WCEA (Western Catholic Education Association) and follows the Diocese of San Jose and State of California education directives. GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN Pacifi c Point Christian School and Pacifi c West Christian Academy merged to operate as one under the Pacifi c Point name. The school’s educational heritage dates back to 1995. According to School Principal, Curt Goris, “It started as a ministry of South Valley Community Church. We spun off, and we have our own school board and school superintendent now. All of our teachers are well qualified, they all have a bachelor’s degree, a teaching credential.” Pacific Point’s Kinder enrollment includes 227 elementary, 130 junior high/high school, and 55 preschool students. The preschool offers transitional kindergarten and pre-K classes. Among Goris’s goals is incorporating more technology in the classrooms. He said “We want to make sure it’s appropriate developmentally…not gimmicky. There’s no substitute for Kindergarteners playing with blocks.” For academic testing, Pacific Point participates in Terra Nova, a national standardized test utilized by Christian schools. Goris said Pacific Point’s students “do very well in terms of reading and language.” Academic achievement starts early: The school’s Kindergarteners are “always in the top ninety percentile” according to Goris. He noted that the school keeps classes small, capping at 24 students per class with most averaging between 18 and 20 students. The school’s staff includes full-time teachers as well as a Physical Education specialist, a music specialist, and the JULY/AUGUST 2017 gmhtoday.com