President's Message >>

Welcome to St. Bernard’s Catholic School, the only independent Roman Catholic pre-school through twelfth grade school in Humboldt County.  By invitation from the Bishop of Sacramento, Mother Bernard Gosselin accompanied with other Sisters journeyed into Redwood country to open the first Catholic elementary school in Eureka, California.  On August 12, 1912, the Sisters of St. Joseph established Nazareth Academy (now St. Bernard Catholic School.)  The arrival of the Sisters marked an historic day in Humboldt County. The Sisters’ devotion, their love of the Church and children, has served our community for over nine decades.
In 1949 an elementary school was built at 222 Dollison Street and staffed by the Sisters.  In 1954 the Sisters opened St. Bernard’s High School and celebrated the first high school graduation in 1957. Today, we continue the vision of the Sisters and focus our mission on Faith, Intellect, and Service. The students of St. Bernard’s are not much different than the original children first enrolled in 1912. Our students strive for excellence through guidance, determination, perseverance, self discipline, faith, and community involvement.

Parents are the primary educators of their children; this is not a new concept but a belief that began close to 150 years ago when the first Catholic school was established in Baltimore. We believe the family unit is as essential to the success of a child’s education as the daily instruction one receives. Therefore, a partnership between the parent, the administration, and the faculty is critical to the success of a child’s education.

In 2003, St. Bernard’s established a partnership with an academy in Seoul, Korea to dorm international students. The partnership has been beneficial to Korean as well as American students. The conversion of the convent to a dormitory required the support of St. Bernard parish and the Diocese of Santa Rosa. The partnership has opened doors of opportunity for American students as well as for the community. The cost of boarding is reasonable compared to other West Coast boarding schools.

The natural beauty, historical landmarks and small town atmosphere is attractive to many who come to visit and decide to stay. The culmination of our Faith, a liberal arts curriculum, a successful co-curricular program, and an ideal geographic location is a benefit to any prospective family. Universities and colleges continue to visit our school, not only because of the success we have placing students in college, because of the passion of our Deans and faculty, as well as the history of our school.

I welcome you to continue to view our website and to forward questions and comments to sharp@saintbernards.us.

God Bless,


David Sharp
President