St. Anthony High School announced this week that it has received with open arms its largest freshman class in over 20 years. The school began its 95th year with 142 incoming freshman students, the largest enrollment of freshmen since 1993 when St. Anthony High School had a freshman class of 128 students.

“St. Anthony High School’s steady enrollment growth is due to several factors which make the school highly attractive to families,” said Gina Rushing Maguire, president of St. Anthony High School, in a statement. “First, the students themselves demonstrate, as they graduate and go on to higher learning and community contribution, the value of a faith-based high school experience that balances academics, athletics, extra-curricular activities, and service.”  

The second factor fueling this growth, says Maguire, is the school’s community’s investment in campus renovation, the implementation of one-to-one technology in the classroom and the expansion of curriculum in Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math.

“All of this, when combined with St. Anthony’s small school size (525 students) and 95-year tradition, provides a compelling option for many families in the greater Long Beach area,” Rushing Maguire said. 

Last week, on St. Anthony High School’s first day of school, August 24th, the school’s new two-story science building was fully occupied by high school classes for the first time in 15 years, according to the release. The new building includes a MAC/Multi-Media Lab, technology lab and three new science labs, as well as a full-service kitchen providing daily fresh food service.

This year, new programs such as robotics, computer coding and film production build on the high school’s highly successful “iPads for All Program,” enabling all students to be technologically prepared for success as they continue their education.  

Recent developments also include the nearly complete construction of the high school’s new street-facing campus and gymnasium windows, funded with a $391,000 grant from the Port of Long Beach’s Community Mitigation Program.

According to the release, the school’s new windows are double-paned with ultraviolet protection to reduce noise and heat in the outer classrooms on Seventh Street and Olive Avenue and in the gymnasium on Alamitos Avenue.  They are also retrofitted to preserve the school’s historic appearance, an aspect critical to the school that is celebrating its 95th Anniversary this year.

“The new windows from the Port of Long Beach have really made a difference in quieting the noise from the street and pedestrian traffic noise quite a bit,” said Kelly Jondle, facilities manager at St. Anthony High School in a statement. “We are so grateful for the generosity of the Port of Long Beach.”

In the past five years, the Port of Long Beach has also gifted St. Anthony High School air purifiers for all of its rooms, three electric vehicles, and a solar generation system, a total of over $1,039,000 in awarded grants.

St. Anthony High School has served as the city’s sole Catholic high school since it was founded in 1920. For the past six years, 100 percent of St. Anthony High School’s graduates have gone on to higher education or to proudly serve in the military, and over 70 percent go on to attend four-year colleges or universities each year.

For more information, please visit St. Anthony High School’s website here.