Thousands of children have received a quality education since St. Agnes School opened its doors in 1914. St. Agnes Parish School continues to be an energetic and thriving component of the Parish and maintains its tradition of academic excellence.
St. Agnes Parish School was founded in 1914 at the request of Father Clement Molony, its first pastor (1903–1949) and Bishop Thomas Conaty, Archbishop of Los Angeles. Staffed by the Sisters of the Holy Cross, the school opened for 1st-8th grade in September 1914. The very first class to receive the Sacrament of First Holy Communion did so on Thanksgiving Day of the same year. On the Feast of St. Agnes in the year 1915, that same class received the Sacrament of Confirmation. On June 25, 1915, St. Agnes Parish School ended its first school year with the Solemn Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. This ceremony set a precedent that has been followed every year since: solemn, dignified commencement exercises. A ninth grade opened September 1916 and the remaining highs school levels were added in subsequent years. In 1953, a new church and school were built to meet earthquake standards of the day and the high school was eliminated.
In 1990, a full-day kindergarten program and a “Writing to Read” computer lab opened to better serve the early literacy needs of the primary grades. In the last two years, the school has received several grants to upgrade computers, add multimedia equipment and extend lab hours for all grades.
The Sisters of the Holy Cross were administrators of the school and served as a majority of the faculty until 1998 when the first lay principal in the history of the school was assigned to St. Agnes Parish School. Although the Sisters no longer teach at the school, their spirit of compassion for the poor and commitment to educating God’s children remains the cornerstone of our mission today.