About the Madeleine

  • School Profile
  • History

School Profile

Mission

School of the Madeleine is a Catholic elementary school with a vibrant Dominican tradition of education and service in the Diocese of Oakland. The mission of School of the Madeleine is to inspire students to grow as educated, morally informed individuals. The school community empowers and supports parents to fulfill their role as the primary moral educator. The school expects students to develop into young adults who are spiritually, academically, and socially prepared to become responsible citizens and leaders.

Philosophy

The School of the Madeleine community honors the history and traditions of the past, embraces the challenges and values the accomplishments of the present, and looks to the future with hope and an ever abiding faith in God.

We provide a Catholic education defined by gospel values, marked by high academic standards, and enhanced by a commitment to social justice. We acknowledge the parents as primary educators of their children. With a firm dedication to the education of the whole child: spirit, mind, and body, we strive to embrace our cultural diversity and guide each student to the fulfillment of their unique potential.

Graduates will demonstrate self-confidence and resilience and strive for and develop a love of learning, awe of God’s creation and a desire to foster peace and justice in the world.

History of the Madeleine
 

Father Daniel O'Brien, O.P., Pastor of St. Mary Magdalen Parish, invited the Dominican Sisters of Mission San Jose, in 1928, to conduct the catechism classes of the parish. By 1930, the catechism enrollment had increased to 100 children. This led to plans of building a convent and school in the near future. After seven years of fundraising and a period of construction, Father H.H. Kelly and the Sisters opened the School of the Madeleine.

The school was blessed by His Excellency, the Most Reverend Archbishop, John J. Mitty of San Francisco on August 22, 1937, and school opened the next day with 156 students in eight grades. Each of the four sisters had a combination class of two grades. By 1939, the faculty had increased to five Sisters and five classrooms. Enrollment reached 260 students in 1944 and a sixth classroom and teacher were added. In 1949, Father William T. Lewis, O.P., Pastor, had two classrooms and a library added and eight single grades were taught for the first time.

Father William A. Norton, O.P., completed the construction of the kindergarten and enlargement of the school yard. In September 1955, the school opened with 440 students in kindergarten through eighth grade. This also was the first year a school cafeteria was opened to serve lunches.

In 1986, an Extended Care program was established to meet the growing needs of working parents.

The Dominican Sisters of Mission San Jose staffed and administered the School of the Madeleine from 1937 to 1988. A lay person was administrator from 1988 through 1990. The Dominicans of the Western Province assumed the administration from 1990 to 1993. Recognizing the long tradition of quality education, stability of the staff and dedication of the parents, the Dominican Sisters of Mission San Jose withdrew at the end of the 1991-1992 academic year. The Dominican Fathers maintain that presence with a lay staff.