Southside Family Charter School vs. St. Helena School

Southside Family School (SFS) is a small urban k-8 program dedicated to academic excellence, innovation in curriculum, and parent and community involvement.

We offer small class sizes that concentrate on individualized instruction and a warm and safe learning environment.

We focus on a social justice curriculum that teaches students to be independently minded citizens who respect themselves and others.

We stress basic skills, encourage creative expression and offer a range of electives.

In an atmosphere free of racism, sexism, classism and homophobia, we honor diverse cultural identities, encourage volunteer participation, use the community as a classroom, develop curriculum, advocate for families, and engage children in issues of social justice, decision-making and problem solving.

It is the mission of St. Helena Catholic School to assist parents in the spiritual, academic, emotional, and physical development of their children.

Catholic schools are unique expressions of the Church's effort to achieve the purposes of Catholic education among the young.

They are the most effective means available to the Church for the education of young people.

As a community and an institution, the school necessarily has an independent life of its own.

However, a Catholic school is also a community within the wider community, contributing to the parish upon which it depends, and integrating it into its life.

The curriculum at St. Helena School is structured according to recommendations made by the Archdiocesan curriculum committees.

However, in addition to meeting the recommendations of the Archdiocese, the curriculum also reflects the St. Helena faculty, children and parents.