Ramona Convent Secondary School is a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

college preparatory A college-preparatory school (often shortened to prep school, preparatory school, college prep school or college prep academy) is a type of secondary school. The term refers to public, private independent or parochial schools primarily design ...

school for girls grades 9–12, located in

Alhambra, California Alhambra (, , ; from "Alhambra") is a city located in the western San Gabriel Valley region of Los Angeles County, California, United States, approximately east from the downtown Los Angeles civic center. It was incorporated on July 11, 190 ...

, a suburb of

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. Sponsored by the

Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary The Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary (Soeurs des Saints Noms de Jésus et de Marie) is a teaching religious institute founded at Longueuil, Québec, Canada, in 1843 by Blessed Mother Marie Rose Durocher for the Christian education of ...

. Established in 1889, Ramona is one of the oldest continually operating schools in the same location in California. Today, more than 7,000 alumnae located throughout the world serve their communities both professionally and personally. Ramona is fully accredited by the

Western Association of Schools and Colleges The Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC ( )) provided accreditation of public and private universities, colleges, secondary and elementary schools in California and Hawaii, the territories of Guam, American Samoa and Northern ...

, the Western Catholic Education Association and was a

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recipient in 1993 and 1998. Ramona was voted "Best Catholic School" in the San Gabriel Valley Readers' Choice Awards in 2018 and again in 2019.

High school program

99–100% of Ramona graduates enter college directly after graduation. Ramona offers a rigorous and personalized college-prep program with a wide array of Advanced Placement, Honors, Arts, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math), and elective courses, including the AP Capstone Program with its emphasis on college-level research, writing, and presentation skills and AP Computer Science Principles. Principles of social justice, service, and leadership are infused throughout the program. Ramona Convent recently created a two week long program calle
"J-term"
which takes place right after winter break and started up in 2024. During these two weeks students take enrichment classes instead of there usual courses in order to give students a break and allow them to make a smooth transition into the second semester. Ramona Convent created J-term to teach students everyday tasks such as cooking, finance classes, and math based classes so that students can take these lessons and use them throughout their lives. They also offer students to go off campus and intern for two weeks in order to use these two weeks to the best of their ability in furthering their education.

History

Ramona Convent Secondary School's first building was dedicated at Ramona Acres, on January 29, 1890 on the expansive property that was later called Shorb, and is now part of the City of Alhambra. The Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary came from

Oakland, California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...

at the request of several prominent

San Gabriel Valley The San Gabriel Valley (), sometimes referred to by its initials as SGV, is one of the principal valleys of Southern California, with the city of Los Angeles directly bordering it to the west and occupying the vast majority of the southeastern ...

families interested in the Catholic education of their daughters. The James de Barth Shorb family donated of the of the original property. The first building to be built was a four-story red brick building on the knoll that dominated the Convent grounds. The dedication ceremony was presided over by the Right Reverend Bishop Mora of Los Angeles on January 29, 1890. The first commencement exercises were held on June 23, 1891. The groundbreaking ceremony for the major part of the school, took place April 18, 1910. In 1939, were sold to the State of California for the San Bernardino Freeway (

Interstate 10 Interstate 10 (I-10) is the southernmost transcontinental highway in the Interstate Highway System of the United States. It is the fourth-longest Interstate in the country at , following I-90, I-80, and I-40. It was part of the origina ...

). In 1967 a Master building plan was developed and implemented, first adding the library with computer and language labs in 1967. Approximately of the southwestern section of Ramona's property were sold In 1979 in order to help fund further implementation of the Master Plan. Due to extensive damage caused by the October 1, 1987

Whittier Narrows earthquake The 1987 Whittier Narrows earthquake occurred in the southern San Gabriel Valley and surrounding communities of Southern California, United States, at on October 1. The moderate magnitude 5.9 blind thrust earthquake was centered several miles ...

, the main buildings built between 1889–1912 were demolished. A building to house administrative offices, kitchen and dining facilities, and a chapel was dedicated on November 12, 1989, the beginning of Ramona's second century. The Marie Rose Science Center was opened in 2008, and the MakerSpace was opened in 2015. Ramona received

status from the

in 1993 and again in 1998.

Co-curricular activities

More than 30 clubs and student organizations are offered including the California Scholarship Federation, the National Honor Society, the International Cultural Society, Interact, the International Thespian Society, the Peace and Justice Society, the Art Club, the Science Club, Book Buddies, and others. Theater, music, and dance performances are presented throughout the year. Ramona's

FIRST Robotics Competition FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) is an international high school robotics competition operated by ''FIRST''®. Each year, teams of high school students, coaches, and mentors work to build robots capable of competing in that year's game. Robots c ...

team, one of only a few all-girl teams in competition, is sponsored by Northrop Grumman, Caltech, SpaceX and generous benefactors. As a member of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary School Network of Schools, Ramona students participate in the Youth Justice Forum, a solutions-oriented youth conference that includes high school students from the United States, Canada, and Africa. Ramona athletes complete on 13 teams in seven sports: basketball, cross country, soccer, softball, swimming, track & field, and volleyball, in the Horizon League under the

California Interscholastic Federation The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) is the governing body for high school sports in the U.S. state of California. CIF membership includes both public and private high schools. Unlike most other state organizations, it does not have s ...

Notable alumni

Lucille Roybal-Allard Lucille Elsa Roybal-Allard (born June 12, 1941) is an American politician who served as a United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative from California from 1993 to 2023. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic ...

, Member of US House of Representatives from California. *

Loretta Young Loretta Young (born Gretchen Michaela Young; January 6, 1913 – August 12, 2000) was an American actress. Starting as a child, she had a long and varied career in film from 1917 to 1989. She received numerous honors including an Academy Awards ...

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

-winning actress of film and television. *

Marisa Ramirez Marisa Maguire Ramirez (born September 15, 1977) is an American actress, known for her work on television soap operas and for her role on the police procedural television drama series ''Blue Bloods'' as Detective Maria Baez. Early life Ramir ...

, American actress *

Melissa Villaseñor Melissa Anne Villaseñor ( ; born October 9, 1987) is an American comedian, actress, musician, and illustrator. First garnering attention for her stand-up shows and impressions, Villaseñor found wider success when she was hired to join the cast ...

, American actress, stand-up comedian, and impressionist. * Marquise Aura (born 2006), Thai-American dancer, singer and contestant for Dream Academy: The Debut

Notes and references

External links