St. Stephen School

401 Eucalyptus Drive

San Francisco, CA 94132

23 Reviews

School District
Grade

PK-8
Type

private

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Reviews

Submitted by parent on May 26, 2024

The principal is horrible. She is a bully, demeaning, self-serving, petty, and belittling. She needs to be replaced. Until that happens, avoid this school. The school has experienced an extremely high level of staff turnover. If you question anything about the school, teachers, or other staff, the principal takes it as a personal attack and yells at you until you regret bringing anything up to her. She is a class-a bully!
Submitted by parent on April 20, 2023

We have been at St. Stephen School for 5 years. The teaching staff work really hard and try their best to provide a positive learning environment for the students but the administration and office personnel desperately needs to change. There has been a high turnover of staff these past few years, in particular teachers and office staff. The principal has a derogatory attitude, is confrontational with parents, and it is obvious that she makes the school staff miserable. This year the office has transitioned from a warm welcoming environment to one where parents are not welcomed and are ridiculed when they ask a question or express a concern. Consistently there has been one particular office staff member a gray-haired lady who is rude and dismissive of parents and students and does not seem to possess any social skills to work in a school environment. The school has some positive attributes, parents try hard to build a community, fundraise, and students seem to be happy there. We have loved this school, but the constant changeover of staff and the bully-type behavior of the principal and some staff members is something that needs to be dealt with. Unfortunately, we no longer recommend St. Stephens to our friends.
Submitted by parent on November 12, 2022

Our experience here has been awful. The principal is mean to staff and parents, parents volunteer their time to get yelled at by the principal. Teaching Staff are not happy and most have left. The school building is not maintained, the classrooms are old, and the schoolyard is small for the number of students using it. At recess students have a small few balls to play with that are usually flat. The school hosts many fundraisers but we are never told where the money goes, at these fundraisers the principal chooses where people sit and has control over everything, she needs to retire and the Archdiocese needs to get involved. Most students have to get outside tutors to help as the education provided is lacking.
Submitted by parent on September 03, 2020

Our experience has been fantastic at this school. This is our 3rd year and we are very pleased with leadership, staff, and student body. Our child loves her school and these days misses all her classmates. We are confident she is receiving excellent education without all the stiffness of private school. Our child is thriving socially, physically and academically in a well balanced way. We feel so lucky to be a part of this fantastic institution.
Submitted by teacher on August 16, 2019

Many parents are supportive... teachers generally friendly.. turnover of outstanding teachers in the past 4 years is telling.
Submitted by parent on March 09, 2019

I think that the admin needs to change because it is negative and too high stress. Attending a school with more classes per grade (like most of the other schools in this city) is better so that your child can have more children to play with and develop relationships with. You pay for everything here well above the tuition amount because they cannot pay off thei new gym building and are now opening a preschool. They need families and students to pay off their bills, not to educate or be a part of something bigger.
Submitted by parent on July 09, 2018

If you decide to go the Catholic School route this is one of the better choices. The principal is a strong decisive leader who will do what she can for the students and parents and has implemented positive changes. It is well organized, the communication is clear, the academics and teachers are good and the events are very nice. There is mandatory parental involvement which is the hallmark of a good school. The down sides are some of the parents and students are extremely competitive so if you have a child who struggles academically or isn't a super athlete, the other kids will make them feel bad about themselves. Some of the parents are very cliquey and will talk about each other behind their backs while being nice to each other in person. There is bullying among both the parents and students which is amplified in the small environment and there aren't a lot of diverse family situations. The worst part is committing nine years to a Catholic school doesn't guarantee placement into a Catholic High School so some kids end up having to go to public schools where they don't know anyone and is a completely different culture. To stay competitive the Catholic high schools will accept non Catholic public school kids who live outside of SF before taking care of their own. If I were to do it over I would have moved to a city where the public schools are better than private schools and has a closed enrollment.
Submitted by parent on January 23, 2018

Overall negative. Have had 2 sons through this school and wish I had moved them earlier. Expensive and not worthy of the price. Unwelcoming and judgmental admin and some staff and teachers creating an environment of bullying among children and adults/parents. Left school mid year due to this and loss of teachers that made middle school worse.
Submitted by parent on July 19, 2017

Fantastic. Both our children are happy, adjusted and thrive here day by day. The teaching staff is top notch and always mixing it up so every child learns and has fun. The amount of aides and specialty subject teachers are phenominal!
Submitted by parent on May 31, 2017

We have a first grade boy at St. Stephen and couldn't be happier with it! We were hesitant to send him there in K because he was very active and we worried that a Catholic school wouldn't be the right fit. We have had such an amazing experience these past few years. The Kindergarten teacher was so great with our son and would meet with me for as long as I needed to discuss any concerns. I had. The teachers all seem very happy and there is a very dedicated parent community that plans events, outings, and do so much to support the school. I have made some amazing friends and have a wonderful support system at the school. Mrs. Allen is gregarious and so dedicated to these children. She is always there with a smile in the morning to greet the children. The children literally come up and hug her after school which says a LOT! The academics are top notch. This is proven by the amazing high school admissions our 8th graders receive. They are going to top schools and are prepared for their high school experience.
Submitted by parent on October 05, 2016

AMAZING school!! I have a 3rd grader and Kindergartner and we couldn't be happier. The teachers and all staff are incredible!
Submitted by parent on September 16, 2014

This is one of the worse schools I have ever experienced. The principal yells at parents and teachers. Parents are actually afraid of the principal. Some teachers yell at the children to the point where some were afraid to go to school. The school is also very "clicky" for the children and the parents. It was like a time machine back to high school. If you are not in the "cool" crowd expect to be sat in the back at the fundraisers and to be ignored during soccer games. There was a lot of bullying by the children and if the bully's family is a high contributor to the fund raising being praised below, well be prepared for no action and a lot of excuses. The kids also eat outside with seagulls flying overhead. They need to try to avoid having the birds eat their lunches and not get bombed while they sit and eat on the concrete playground. Academics were subpar (especially Math) and there is no real computer education class (like Scratch at good private schools). They do have computers but only to do mathletics or other homework sites. Children are not allowed to express themselves. Sad, sad school. Amen to being done.
Submitted by parent on May 08, 2014

Amazing leadership and administrative team! Everything they do they do for the kids. Their fundraising efforts are some of the best I've ever seen. The parents are so involved and create such a welcoming enviroment.
Submitted by parent on April 11, 2014

This school has a very "clicky" parent group. If you are not in with the in crowd you and more importantly your child is on the out skirts. It is very difficult to connect with the parents. The principal is hard nosed and does yell at parents and teachers in front of others. Seems like everyone is afraid of her. Teachers seem mostly ok, but many yell and demean the kids to get them in line.
Submitted by parent on January 13, 2013

It is an ok school I've seen much better and my sons grades did not improve at all so during middle school me and my husband have sent him to presidio middle school and once we sent him there he was doing much better than when he went to st.stephens presidio middle school is much better than st.stephens school plus st.stephens told my child that they cannot be an astronaut and that crushed my sons dreams I bet not any parent in the universe would want someone else crush their daughters or sons dream and now he improved so well when he transformed to presidio in st.stephens he use to get F's and D's but now he has B's and A's when he comes home with his report card so don't send your child to st.stephens and make the wrong choice choose presidio middle school Instead!
Submitted by teacher on May 26, 2011

St. Stephen is an excellent school with high academic standards and very dedicated teachers and staff. Our principal is a professional who is knowledgeable, supports her faculty and staff, loves her students, adapts to change. and continues to strive to keep our school at the highest level possible. Our school continues to have a "waiting list" every year. Our school motto is "The Children Are Our Future."
Submitted by other on May 16, 2011

It's very interesting how all of the honest reviews posted in 2011 have been deleted! The truth always prevails! You cannot erase the fact that the administration needs an overhaul.
Submitted by parent on May 16, 2011

Amazing school. Incredible community. Dynamic principal. Would give 6 stars if I could. We couldn't be happier.
Submitted by parent on April 02, 2011

Yeh! way to go, St. Stephen just got all new Apple computers for their technology lab, thanks to the money raised at the resent Auction. The school is hoping to get smart boards for all the class rooms. This is a cutting edge school and has gone from strength to strength thanks to the guidance and energy of its principal Mrs. Sharon McCarthy Allen. It is no wonder the school scored so highly on its accreditation survey a few weeks ago.
Submitted by parent on April 01, 2011

Mrs. Allen has been such a sincere and intricate part of our school community for nine years, her record alone reflects her abilities as an educator and a leader. Our school has gone from strength to strength; we are probably the most desirable elementary school in our district. Our class ratios for boys and girls are evenly balanced. Our extra curricular activities and programs are unequaled and we recently scored the highest rating achievable on our credentialing and accreditation. These successes are due mainly to the hard work and dedication of Mrs. Allen. It is the best environment for our children s education, the safest, bully free school. Mrs. Allen is dependable, hard-working; peace-loving, courteous and most importantly the children love her. I know my children go to school happy every day. They love their environment, they love their teachers and while the teachers change from year to year, the constant has always been Mrs. Allen. She greets the children first thing every morning and says good bye every afternoon. She knows them all by name and their parents and siblings too. I would strongly recommend St. Stephen School to anyone luck enough to get a place there.