St Mary Magdalen School

If you are looking to send your kids here, keep looking. They can’t keep the school open. They blame Covid but it’s because they don’t have enough teachers and staff. Other schools in the area have not closed. They are also mask crazy. Horrible leadership!

As a student, SMM completely prepared me for highschool and college. I am now a brain surgeon! I ended up going to O'Hara for high school and The University of Pennsylvania for college. At SMM, I developed such a strong bond with my grade of 28 students. The teachers could sometimes be strict, but that's what I needed! Thanks SMM!

As a student, I can say that St Mary Magdalen is not a very good elementary school/middle school. I went from Kindergarden to 8th grade and fell that the quality of education had gone down tremendosly. While the curriculum is rigorous and effective, many teachers and staff are horrible. Many of my teachers did not teach very well and some were ridiculously mean. The school dealt with bullying as a joke, and would never do anything to intervene...even when confronted by parents. The school spent a lot of money on unnecessary things and did not offer many programs for helping students. The size of the school has gone down tremendously. Class sizes went from being an average 55 kids per grade to 38. The school refused to put in a recycling program until one student actually went to the Archdiocese to complain. Overall, the school did prepare me for highschool, but the environment was very bad and there are better schools out there.

I have had several children graduate from St. Mary Magdalen. They have all received various scholarships to excellent high schools, and are doing very well in high school and college. I think it's a beautiful community and there is much love and dedication to the well being of every child. The Pastor is exceptional and is very dedicated to supporting the school. We are so thankful for our years at SMM.

The teacher staff is great, and most kids that graduate are fond of their eighth grade teachers. They are oftentimes awarded with scholarships, including multiple Neumann champions. Students grow in their education as well as their faith, attending a First Friday mass every month during the school year. There are Theology classes four days a week, so students learn about their Faith and graduate with a good stock of knowledge in their minds. The school has also replaced some teachers with better ones, making the experience much more enjoyable for the children. These students are commonly preferred to many competing schools' when high school applications come around. I have become aware of some of the 'elitist' thinking among some students or parents, as my children, though pretty much top of the class, attend an Archdiocesan high school. On the whole, though, the students are accepting and friendly.