About Us
St. Mary School students learn and thrive beyond a traditional Catholic school education.
Parent Testimonials
Our Mission: Faith. Family. Future.
St. Mary School students learn and thrive beyond a traditional Catholic school education.
Inspired by a vision of academic excellence rooted in a foundation of faith, and as the first and only Ohio Designated STEM School in Geauga County, our students from Preschool through Junior High are exceedingly prepared both academically and spiritually for their futures.
We strive to develop each student's unique potential through an environment of Faith, in cooperation with the Family, and with a vision for the Future.
Our Values: Affordable Catholic Education Built on Academic Excellence
Developing faith formation through knowledge of Catholic doctrine and inspiring students to grow in their commitment of service to God and others.
Fostering an awareness of social justice principles through outreach within the school, parish, community, and world-wide church.
Providing a safe, structured, positive learning environment for each child.
Building a solid foundation in core curriculum through quality education in which individual needs are met and enriched.
Incorporating best practices through STEM and 21st century learning to foster lifelong learners.
Encouraging each student to be self-motivated in all areas of academics and to build positive social skills to maximize personal growth with the support of the parents.
Our Catholicity: Faith Formation & Sacrament Preparation
Catholic Identity
In its original context, the word Catholic means "according to the whole" or "universal". A Catholic identity implies integration, wholeness, alignment, and cohesion of all the parts of our humanity. Our Catholic identity is formed and deepened through a personal encounter and relationship with the person of Jesus Christ, the beloved Son of the Father, who invites us to receive our identity in him as beloved sons and daughters. We prioritize our relationship with Christ as the heart of our Catholic identity and education.
Faith Formation
A Catholic education seeks to form the whole person according to the life of Christ. Faith formation happens in every part of our day and curriculum as we together walk with Christ. As our partners, parents are the primary educators and formators in the faith. The environment our school offers supplements the students' learning and growth provided in their home life. We teach the doctrinal, moral and social justice teachings of the Catholic Church to form the minds and hearts of our young disciples. We are committed to providing our students a time and place for enrichment in prayer to nourish
their relationship with Christ. Visit our Religious Education page to view curriculum highlights.
Sacramental Life
Mass and the Sacraments are at the heart of our Catholic education since these celebrations offer us a unique and transformational environment to encounter the person of Jesus Christ. We celebrate Mass as a school community each week where we listen to God's Word and receive the Eucharist. Students plan these Masses and serve in a variety of ministerial roles. We offer opportunities twice a year for the Sacrament of Confession. We work with students and parents to
provide formation for Baptism, Eucharist, and Confirmation.
We minister to a number of families and students who are not Catholic, respecting their faith convictions while also inviting them to learn about the riches of our Catholic faith. Based on their positive experience partnering with our school, some of our families and students even decide to become Catholic. If you or anyone in your family are interested in learning more about belonging to our Catholic faith, please reach out to one of our priests or deacons, or contact the school or parish office for more information.
St. Mary School History
From the earliest days of the parish there was a desire to provide Catholic Education. However, with only a small number of children, the remoteness of the parish and its parishioners, the poor quality of the roads and the lack of mass transit, it was nearly impossible to provide a Catholic Education in a rural setting.
In 1948, the Sisters of Notre Dame bought property in Munson Township. In 1957, they opened a Kindergarten classroom in a converted chicken coop. This is the beginning of Catholic Education in Geauga County. Soon the school grew to include Kindergarten through eighth grade. In 1964 a Montessori school and the Sister’s Novitiate rounded out the Geauga Campus. Father Maher purchased 21 acres on North Street across the road from the rectory in 1952 for the future development of the parish school. The land included a house and several outbuildings. The house was rented out and later sustained a fire. Father Walsh, who was then the pastor of St. Mary, inquired about the suitability of renovating the damaged house and turning it into a school. Unfortunately, this plan was rejected due to not meeting the required code.
Three schools were opened in Geauga county: In 1961 St. Mary School opened with first through fourth grade classes. In 1962 St. Helen in Newbury opened a school. In 1963 St. Anselm Parish in Chesterland opened a school. All three schools opened in the care of the Sisters of Notre Dame.
St. Mary School Chardon is a fully accredited, Roman Catholic Elementary School in Chardon, Ohio. Over the past 60 years, St. Mary School has been serving Preschool through eighth grade. Many capital improvement projects were undertaken to update the school. These projects included new administrative offices, converting the former church into a new gymnasium, as well as expanding and remodeling the library. The computer lab was redone and a science lab was added. Classrooms were updated with Newline Interactive Touch Display, and all students in Kindergarten through eighth grades are using chromebooks provided by the school for instruction, projects, and assignments. Preschool and PreK students are using iPads.
In 2017, St. Mary School became the first designated Ohio Department of Education STEM school in Geauga County. As one of the school’s student-led STEM projects, a greenhouse was built out of two liter pop bottles on school grounds. Students are growing plants, fruits and vegetables around the year. Our amazing Makerspace room allows our students to create, explore, learn and promotes critical and creative thinking to foster lifelong learning.
A sensory room was added in 2019. It helps our students improve their visual, auditory and tactile processing, as well as fine and gross motor skills. By providing a sense of calm and comfort, our sensory room helps students learn to self-regulate their behaviors. This ultimately improves focus, so they can be better prepared for learning and interacting with others.
