MISSION OF
St. Matthew's
Episcopal Day School

THE SCHOOL'S MISSION IS TO
to provide a solid foundation for
life-long learning, to instill a
sense of social responsibility,
and reinforce a commitment
to excellence through an
academically challenging
course of study permeated
with Christian principles.

Accreditation
& Memberships

California Association of
Independent Schools (CAIS).
The Association awarded
us the maximum six-year
accreditation term in 2004

National Association of
Independent Schools (NAIS)

National Association of
Episcopal Schools (NAES)

Educational
Records Bureau (ERB)

Council for the
Advancement and Support
of Education (CASE)

The Association for
Supervision and Curriculum
Development (ASCD)

The National Association
of Elementary School
Principals (NAESP)

History

The present Church of St. Matthew, located at the corner of Baldwin and El Camino, dates back to 1865. At that time, San Mateo boasted a modest population of 150, with a corner grocery, blacksmith, railroad depot, one Roman Catholic Church, an old schoolhouse and about 25 houses spreading from San Mateo down to Belmont.

One year before ground was broken on the church, the Rev. Dr. Giles A. Easton writes in his diary, The first service of our Church was held in the public school house, April 24, 1864 - the first Eucharist on June 5. It seems fitting from this humble beginning in a schoolhouse, that the long and venerable history of the Church of St. Matthew be linked to education.

Almost simultaneous with the construction of the Church was the founding of St. Matthew's Hall, a full-fledged military school for boys. The original site was a two-story building on Baldwin in San Mateo, adjacent to today's St. Matthew's Church (where the Mills Medical Arts Building now stands). Under the leadership of the Church Rector and School's founder, the Rev. Alfred Lee Brewer, the School flourished as a military finishing school offering a classical English education and strict military discipline.

In 1882 the school was moved to an 80-acre site at the upper end of Barroilhet Avenue. Enrollment averaged 120 boys a year and in its 49 years, approximately 3,000 students passed through the school. Most of the students were boarders who came from around the West and the Pacific. Three Hawaiian princes, nephews of Queen Kapiolani, were schooled there and prestigious academic institutions like Stanford, the University of California and a dozen Eastern colleges accepted graduates without further examination.

In 1915, faced with plans from the town of Hillsborough to construct a major thoroughfare through the school's 80-acre site, the Rev. Brewer chose to close the school. This abrupt end left a void, and it would be close to 40 years before the Church of St. Matthew would again venture to open another school.

In 1953, Episcopal education was again introduced at St. Matthew's when the Sisters of the Transfiguration, an order of Episcopal nuns from Ohio, accepted an invitation from the Rector, The Rev. Lesley Wilder Jr., to start a school on the church site. Starting with a preschool and adding grades each year, the school eventually grew to include the seventh and eighth grades. In 1957, the main school building was completed, and the school continued to flourish, graduating 25 to 28 students each year. After 1970 and the departure of the last of the Sisters to their home in Glendale, Ohio, St. Matthew's Episcopal Day School turned to lay teachers and shaped itself into the school that exists today.

While honoring many of its traditions, the school day today looks very different from 1953. While the curriculum continues to emphasize the essential skills necessary for communication and problem solving (reading, writing, mathematics), a high level of technology integration and critical thinking is built into the academic program at every grade level. Students are enriched by studies in Spanish, music, art, drama, religion and physical education. Daily chapel helps to build a strong sense of school community and provides a formal opportunity to explore issues in the moral and spiritual development of students in the Episcopal tradition. The curriculum reflects an approach designed to help students understand the inter-connectedness and interdependence of the disciplines they study.

A constant over time has been the prominence that the Church of St. Matthew and St. Matthew's Episcopal Day School have had on the Peninsula. The 2003-2004 school year marked the 50th anniversary (1953-2003) of the Day School in its present form. Today, the lovely setting, intimate classes and a pervasive atmosphere of learning all make St. Matthew's a unique place to learn and grow. In keeping with its founding principles, students at St. Matthew's are expected to become caring, compassionate leaders in their school community as well as the larger community beyond the School.

www.episcopalstmatthew.org