With the 2023-2024 school year starting, Noozhawk’s Private & Independent School Guide is sure to make things easy when planning for your child’s education! Our school guide provides you and your child with all the necessary information about local private schools in Santa Barbara County.
To give parents the tools to help make informed decisions about which school is the best fit for their kids in Santa Barbara, Noozhawk has conducted a series of interviews with representatives of local private & independent schools for this year’s school guide.
In this interview, Noozhawk spoke with Emily Diaz, Director of Admissions at Bishop Garcia Diego High School to learn more about what their school has to offer.
Bishop Garcia Diego High School
Question: What is the name of your school and what grade levels do you offer?
Answer: Bishop Garcia Diego High School and we offer grades 9-12.
Q: How is your school operated or governed?
A: Bishop is a private Catholic high school, independently governed by a local Board of Trustees.
The school’s president, Ms. Karen Regan, and principal, Mrs. Jacqueline Sienkowski, are responsible for the successful overall operation and sustainability of the school and the implementation of the spiritual, academic, and co-curricular programs.
Together with the Leadership Team, Faculty, Staff, Students, Parents, and Alumni, they work to fulfill the mission and philosophy of Bishop Diego.
Q: What curriculum is available and taught at your school?
A: Bishop Diego is proud to offer a diverse and rigorous college preparatory curriculum that allows students to individualize their course of study and meet their objectives, needs, and interests.
Advanced Placement and honors courses are available as well as a wide selection of electives across all academic disciplines. In addition, students are required to complete 100 community service hours to graduate.
However, at Bishop Diego education goes beyond academics. Students are motivated to discover their God-given gifts, their calling to serve their communities, and their value as unique individuals.
Our graduates embody a joyful respect for others, the ability to persevere, and are young men and women with compassionate and empathetic hearts.
Q: What is your student to teacher ratio?
A: 9:1
Q: Can you describe a typical day for a student at your school?
A: As students and families pull up to campus, they are warmly greeted by Bishop’s principal, Mrs. Sienkowski and other members of the faculty or staff. From there, students gather in the Quad or library to greet friends, meet with teachers in classrooms for daily office hours, or start their Period 0/1 workout in the weight room.
At Bishop, traditional school bells do not ring, rather the start to the school day at 8:20 is marked with a brief prayer and Pledge of Allegiance over the loudspeaker.
Students rotate through their periods with a mid-morning break. You’ll find the BDTV production crew getting the daily broadcast up and running, students digging into a literary discussion about their current novel in English, or Biology students starting a lab in osmosis.
The art classrooms and garden come alive with students sculpting their latest creations in Ceramics or sketching out their next project in Art. In Acting, small groups might try out a new technique while members of the World Cultures class head outside to the field for a yoga session.
As a closed campus, all students remain safely on-site for the entire day, helping to foster the sense of community and family for which Bishop is known.
During breaks and lunch, students spread out across the beautiful Quad, play ping pong in front of the gym, gather in the library, join a club meeting, or head to the Mission Center to play video games, air hockey or complete puzzles.
Some students bring their lunch, while others visit our Cardinal Cafe for popcorn chicken, burritos, and more. Teachers can often be found on the Quad as well, enjoying lunch outdoors among the students.
After rotating through their final periods, the academic portion of the day comes to a close at 3:05 p.m. Again not with a bell, but with the peace prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi and the words, “Remember Bishop, God loves you.”
With that final thought, Cardinals head out the door, many to athletic practices or games. The fields and gyms come alive with activity as students participate or stay to cheer on their peers. Spring and fall will see a handful of students rehearsing for their next production or performance.
Wherever our Cardinals go after school, they go with a sense that they are loved, supported and valued members of the Bishop community.
Q: How does your school select/hire teachers and how does it invest in their continuing education?
A: Bishop seeks to hire mission appropriate, highly qualified and experienced professionals with a demonstrated passion for their field.
We look for those whose philosophy of education matches our mission to educate the whole person, with an academic emphasis on teaching critical thinking skills in order to equip students with the ability to succeed in college and in the workforce.
Bishops utilizes our community network to find and recruit teachers as well as posting positions to respected industry websites (EdJoin, CAIS, etc.) and post graduate education programs.
Much of the current continuing education for Bishop faculty centers around the Rigor-Relevance Framework developed by the International Center for Leadership in Education.
It is based on traditional aspects of education, yet encourages a move to application of knowledge instead of focusing exclusively on acquisition of knowledge.
This allows for a fresh approach to looking at curriculum standards and assessment which pushes students to apply and demonstrate knowledge across disciplines, and to both predictable and unpredictable real-world situations.
In addition, continuing education on a variety of topics is provided via on and off-campus learning opportunities, conferences, in-house training and workshops, online courses and training, and more.
Q: How does your school measure student progress?
A: At Bishop, we take pride in the strength of our academic standards. Our program is designed with a mind, body, spirit focus, ensuring students are wholly prepared for success at any college or university they wish to attend.
Emphasis is placed on critical thinking skills and students thrive in an environment that offers exploration, discovery and inspiration. Bishop utilizes a traditional grading scale and teachers work in partnership with the students under the umbrella of our core values of Respect, Perseverance, and Compassion.
Q: What sports or extracurricular activities does your school offer?
A: Bishop Diego students are encouraged to be involved members of the school community by participating in a variety of clubs and activities. The programs and extracurriculars offered support students in developing leadership skills that will enable them to be of service to others and to adopt productive roles in their families and communities.
Bishop’s legacy of athletic excellence is characterized by an emphasis on the physical, psychological, and social benefits gained from participation. We offer approximately 21 different sports and all students, regardless of experience or ability, are invited to participate.
Through the performing arts, Bishop students share their talents on a wider stage. This year, traditional spring and fall productions are collaborative efforts with two other local private schools.
Bishop’s multimedia, film, and digital sound departments offer opportunities for students to create and produce short films and other content. Bishop is always looking for new ways to engage our students and remain relevant in the areas of most interest to our applicants.
In addition, Bishop offers campus ministry, National Honor Society, California Scholarship Federation, National Art Honor Society, a wide variety of clubs, yearbook, music ministry, peer tutoring, student government, and STEAM Society.
Q: How does your school address special education needs?
A: Bishop Diego High School is committed to meeting the individual academic needs of all students. Because of this commitment, students with documented learning disabilities are eligible to receive services under the direction of the Resource Specialist.
The resource program is designed to provide minor adjustments to qualified students. Through this program, students are offered the tools and adjustments necessary for academic success.
Q: What opportunities do you provide for parent involvement?
A: Committed to working in close partnership with our families, Bishop invites and welcomes parent involvement on many levels throughout the school community.
The two primary parent groups are the Parent Advisory Board, composed of elected parent representatives who coordinate efforts to support and fund a variety of school activities, and the Cardinal Club, a service organization whose purpose is to assist the athletic and educational programs of the school.
A number of parents sit on the Board of Trustees. In addition, there are numerous opportunities for parent volunteers, from helping at events and sporting competitions to participating on planning committees. And parents are always invited and encouraged to join us for monthly mass, spirit rallies, sporting events, class luncheons, and more.
Q: What is the cost or tuition to attend your school? Do you offer scholarships?
A: While the cost to educate a student at Bishop is $25,000, we have a generous financial aid program designed to support families at all income levels. Close to 80% of our student body receives some level of financial assistance via our Personalized Tuition Model or a scholarship award.
The application for the Personalized Tuition Model is due at the same time as the application for admission, no later than January 31, 2024 for priority consideration. Criteria for Independent Scholarship Awards varies, but all students are required to write an essay to be considered.
Details can be found on our website on the Independent Scholarship Awards page. Deadline to apply is January 17, 2024.
To learn more about Bishop Garcia Diego High School click here.