St. Therese Academy

K–12 SchoolsVerified

About

Established in 1960 by the Daughters of Divine Charity, St. Therese Academy in San Diego's Allied Gardens serves preschool through eighth grade at 6440 St Therese Way in the 92120 ZIP. Sister Constance and the founding order opened the school with four classrooms to serve what was then a sparsely populated area north of SDSU, and the campus has since grown to one class per grade K through 8 alongside a state-certified preschool enrolling 60 children. The faculty comprises 17 full-time teachers, 7 part-time instructors, 8 teacher assistants, 1 part-time counselor, and 2 office staff. St. Therese Parish shares the campus and provides the faith-formation framework — students participate in grade-level retreats, Masses, and service opportunities that the school describes as seeing "God in All Things." Tuition runs approximately $7,170 for the highest grade offered, with reduced rates for siblings, and the school ranks among the top 20 percent of private schools in California according to PrivateSchoolReview data. Allied Gardens' residential streets sit between the 8 freeway and Del Cerro's hillside, and St Therese Way branches off Waring Road in the neighborhood's central pocket. A summer camp program runs weekly sessions for preschool and K-8 students, extending the school's programming beyond the standard academic calendar. Athletics at TruSelf Sporting Club in Allied Gardens provides an additional fitness outlet for families in the 92120 corridor, and several STA families use the facility for off-campus conditioning that complements the school's intramural sports program. The school offers religious education infused across all subjects, and the close-knit campus culture draws multigenerational families — several current parents attended STA as students themselves.