Elizabeth Seton High School is a private

Private school

Private schools, also known as independent schools or nonstate schools, are not administered by local, state or national governments; thus, they retain the right to select their students and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students' tuition, rather than relying on mandatory...

, all-girls Roman Catholic high school

High school

High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....

 in Bladensburg, Maryland

Bladensburg, Maryland

Bladensburg is a town in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The population was 7,661 at the 2000 census.Bladensburg is from central Washington, DC...

. It is located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington is a particular church of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States. It comprises the District of Columbia and Calvert, Charles, Montgomery, Prince George's and Saint Mary's counties in the state of Maryland....

. Elizabeth Seton High School was incorporated March 15, 1957 and opened with an enrollment of 138 freshmen and a faculty of six Daughters of Charity in September 1959. As early as 1965, the Maryland State Department of Education issued a Certificate of Approval to the school and in 1968 the Middle States Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools accredited Elizabeth Seton High School.

Elizabeth Seton was named one of ten private schools of distinction by The Washington Post

The Washington Post

The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...

in 2005.http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A11194-2005Mar29.html

Background

An all girls school, Elizabeth Seton was founded in 1959. It covers grades 9-12, and has about 650 students.

The school was named in honor of American Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton

Elizabeth Ann Seton

Saint Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton was the first native-born citizen of the United States to be canonized by the Roman Catholic Church . She established Catholic communities in Emmitsburg, Maryland....

. School colors are scarlet, gold and white. The mascot is a roadrunner. The school motto is "Light to know, grace to do."

Enrollment

• Grades 9-12: 650
• Student/teacher ratio: 13-1
• Average class size: 18
• Student/computer ratio: 7.5-1
• Class of 2011: 161

Academics

100% of graduates continue in higher education immediately following high school with the majority attending four-year colleges and universities. Scholarship and grant money awarded to graduating seniors has consistently exceeded $8 million annually.

Service Learning Program

Seton has a Service Learning Program based on its identity as a Catholic school, in accordance with the Vincentian Spirit and the Mission of the Daughters of Charity. Students must complete a minimum of 20 hours of service per school year, 10 of which must be given to the disadvantaged. Most students exceed these minimum requirements.