Guide to Enrolling in Catholic Schools in San Antonio for 2024–25

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Catholic schools in San Antonio have a long tradition of high quality education, as well as faith and character formation. In recognition of Discover Catholic Schools Week, November 12–18, 2023, and Celebrate Catholic Schools Week, January 28–February 3, 2024, we have prepared a guide to San Antonio Catholic schools—including a spotlight on St. Gregory the Great Catholic School—to help you learn more about them, as well as discover how to enroll your children and apply for financial aid.

About Catholic Schools in San Antonio

Catholic schools are an essential part of the history of education in San Antonio. The first Catholic school in San Antonio, Ursuline Academy (now the UTSA Southwest Campus), was founded in 1851; Central Catholic High School was founded in 1852. Guided by the Archdiocese of San Antonio, Catholic schools “foster Catholic formation along with intellectual, physical, social, and emotional growth,” according to Marti West, Superintendent of Catholic Schools at the Archdiocese of San Antonio.

What are the distinctive features of Catholic school culture? Around each school, families, teachers, and students form a Christ-centered community, expressed through acts of service. The schools partner with parents and parishes, and students engage in their local communities and beyond. 

Catholic schools strive for academic excellence, and also work to make their programs affordable for more families. Hope for the Future is a tuition assistance program that raises money for scholarships. 

Catholic schools have a track record of success, especially for students of color. Data show that 99 percent of Catholic school students graduate from high school on time; of those, 88 percent attend a four-year college. A study found that a black or Latino child is 42 percent more likely to graduate from high school and 2.5 times more likely to graduate from college if they attend a Catholic school; they are also less likely to be incarcerated.

Students who grow up in Catholic schools are more likely to keep their Catholic identities as adults through daily prayer, church attendance, and charitable giving. Also, studies show that Catholic school graduates are more civically engaged and more likely to vote than peers who went to other schools. As adults, they are more likely to serve their communities. 

To read more about Catholic schools in the news, we recommend that you click on the articles linked at the bottom of this post. Also, we invite you to join the San Antonio Charter Moms discussion group on Facebook and ask questions; the group includes current Catholic school families who can comment with answers based on their own experiences.

San Antonio Catholic Schools boy student library horizontal

Spotlight on St. Gregory the Great Catholic School

Let’s have a closer look at St. Gregory the Great Catholic School, which was founded in 1955. The campus is located in the heart of San Antonio, located near the Medical Center and downtown San Antonio. St. Gregory the Great serves students in PK3 through eighth grade. This year, the school opened its doors to an early learning program serving children from 18 to 36 months old.

Here is the school’s mission statement: “We, the faith community of St. Gregory the Great Catholic School, in keeping with the Catholic tradition, nurture in our children and one another, spiritual, personal, and academic growth through prayer and Christ-like service.” This mission guides the curriculum, activities, and interactions of every student, faculty and staff member. The school continues to build on a strong tradition of Catholic identity and academic excellence that truly brings the mission of St. Gregory the Great Catholic School to life. 

St. Gregory the Great believes in meeting students where they are and the school’s commitment is to nurture and develop every facet of student life: spiritual, academic, and extracurricular.

Spiritual formation: St. Gregory the Great fosters an environment that is rooted in faith and Catholic values. Catholic identity is visible throughout the campus, in the classrooms, and through the interactions amongst faculty, staff, and students. The faculty and staff are truly committed to the mission of Catholic education, which is evident when over 65 percent of the faculty and staff had a child attend and graduate from St. Gregory the Great Catholic School.

Academics: St. Gregory the Great is committed to the development of each child according to his/her intellectual aptitude, with a goal of achieving academic growth in every child. A parent recently said, “St. G is so far ahead of the game when it comes to the day-to-day quality attention and education every student receives.” St. Gregory the Great Catholic School is the only school in the archdiocese to offer the Success For All literacy program for students in kindergarten through fifth grade. This is a research-based reading curriculum that is proven to increase reading and comprehension skills and propels students to mastery and beyond. The program also utilizes a built-in tutoring component, Lightning Squad, that reinforces phonemic and comprehension skills for students in kindergarten through third grade.

Extracurriculars: St. Gregory the Great offers a variety of after-school programs like drama, mariachi, ballet folklorico, gardening, and STREAM. The athletic program strives to develop disciplined minds, healthy bodies, competitive spirits, and a desire to excel. 

The culture at St. Gregory the Great Catholic School is rooted in community. The school endeavors to partner with families to shape future leaders and contributors to society. The school community includes the pastor and principal, school council, PTC, faculty and staff, parents/guardians, and students in the overall goals and success of the school. There is a true sense of unity and a commitment to build a strong and nurturing school community where all are valued and all live in a spirit of collaboration and cooperation, which supports and enhances the mission of the school.

preschool early childhood program St Gregory the Great Catholic School San Antonio

Catholic Schools in San Antonio

As of the 2023–24 school year, there are 35 schools in the Archdiocese of San Antonio, including eight high schools. 

San Antonio Catholic Schools map

At sacatholicschools.org, there is a user-friendly school finder tool with a map and filters to help you narrow down your search among schools in the Archdiocese of San Antonio.

Like all private schools in Texas, Catholic schools in San Antonio do not administer state mandated standardized tests, so there is no accountability data or school report cards to share. However, San Antonio Catholic school students do take assessments through NWEA.

Central Catholic High School San Antonio

Enroll at San Antonio Catholic Schools

Discover Catholic Schools Week in November is a good prompt to do research into San Antonio Catholic schools; similarly, Celebrate Catholic Schools Week in late January/early February is a good reminder to submit your applications because many Catholic schools conduct registration in February for the upcoming school year. Catholic school applications may ask for records such as birth certificates, report cards, and standardized test scores. They may also interview students and their families, and ask students to take an academic readiness test. For students with special education needs, the schools will meet with the students and their families to determine whether the school can meet the students’ needs. Catholic schools may ask for Baptism and First Holy Communion records, and give priority to families who are parishioners.

Each campus conducts its own registration process, so it’s best to check with each school for details about procedures, fees, and deadlines. Church newsletters and bulletins can be good sources of information. Social media can also offer a glimpse in to school events and celebrations; we recommend following these accounts:

In addition, please join the San Antonio Charter Moms discussion group on Facebook to post questions and search previous discussions about San Antonio Catholic schools. For more information about enrolling at private schools in San Antonio, visit our private schools page.

Catholic schools offer tuition assistance to students based on need. Hope for the Future is the financial aid program of the Archdiocese of San Antonio; applications open in January for the upcoming school year. The generosity of parishoners helps lower the cost of tuition at Catholic schools. 

Catholic schools in San Antonio are full of tradition and culture, and help students grow in academic knowledge as well as faith and character. We hope that Discovery Catholic Schools Week and Celebrate Catholic Schools Week inspire you to take a closer look at the high quality schools in the Archdiocese of San Antonio.

Charter Moms Chats

Watch Catholic school parent Lindsay Clavere speak with Inga Cotton on Charter Moms Chats on January 31, 2023 at 4:00 PM Central live on Facebook and YouTube.

Eddie Romero is the Chief Operating Officer at Centro San Antonio and is responsible for a $6 million contract managing maintenance, landscaping, and hospitality services for the Public Improvement District (PID). His leadership across 530 acres of Downtown San Antonio and 10 miles of the San Antonio River impacts 850 property owners and millions of visitors and residents annually. He has invested the past ten years leading Centro in multiple capacities, including membership, events, marketing, community engagement, and district operations. A first-generation college student, Eddie earned a B.S. in mass communications from Texas State University in San Marcos and an M.A. in interactive communication and design from the University of the Incarnate Word. Eddie worked in the service industry throughout his college and post-graduate career, building on his understanding of empathy and human connection. Eddie’s work ethic is rooted in the weekends and summers of his childhood working for his father plumbing. He is married to his middle school crush, and they have two daughters who attend Blessed Sacrament Catholic School.

Lindsay Clavere serves the Blessed Sacrament Catholic School community as their Parent Engagement Specialist, a position she began in September of 2022. In this role, she helps connect parents with the school community to bolster the educational experience for students through intentional programming and communication. Lindsay moved to San Antonio in June of 2022 with her husband, Javier, and their youngest son, Sebastian, who is a fifth-grade student at Blessed Sacrament. Before moving to Texas, Lindsay worked for the Catholic Church in New York, New Jersey, and Ohio. For the past eleven years, she was an associate professor of music at Berea College in Berea, Kentucky and holds degrees from Xavier University (bachelor’s), the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati (master’s) and the University of Kentucky (PhD). Lindsay’s upbringing as a member of the LDS church in Utah, combined with her conversion to the Catholic faith at age 20, have informed her perspective on the values of faith-based formation and education. Lindsay is the mother of three sons—ages 23, 21, and 11—and is especially thankful that God granted her the courage to ask her husband (classmate at the time) to take her out to lunch on their first date nearly twenty-seven years ago.

Watch Ana Cortez, Principal at St. Gregory the Great Catholic School, speak with Inga Cotton on Charter Moms Chats on November 17, 2022 at 4:00 PM Central live on Facebook and YouTube.

Ana Cortez is the Principal of St. Gregory the Great Catholic School in San Antonio, Texas.

Read More About San Antonio Catholic Schools

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