History

Founded in 1893 by the Dominican Sisters of Mission San Jose, Saint Elizabeth Elementary School has been serving children of the Fruitvale neighborhood in Oakland for over 125 years. St. Elizabeth has provided quality education for children from transitional kindergarten through eighth grade for over five generations.

In 1892, St. Elizabeth Parish was created and staffed by the Franciscan Fathers to serve the German-speaking Catholics of Oakland. One year later, on October 24, the Dominican Sisters of Mission San Jose opened St. Elizabeth Elementary School with an enrollment of 20 students. The population of the school increased slowly during the first decade, but by 1913, St. Elizabeth School was educating more than 400 students.

The Dominican presence continues to be strong at Saint Elizabeth Elementary School with two Dominican sisters on the staff. Currently, one Dominican sister serves as the Development Director, and the other is our Technology Coordinator. The school is an affiliate of the Dominican Sisters of Mission San Jose Congregation. Through our affiliation, we receive yearly professional development from the Sisters. St. Elizabeth School is part of the Vision of Hope network of Dominican schools, which provides generous funding for tuition assistance and many other needs of the school. In addition, we are blessed to have two Sisters from the Society of the Sacred Heart Congregation serving in our school community.

As part of the Lumen Christi Academies (LCA) network within the Diocese of Oakland, Saint Elizabeth Elementary School benefits from a forward-thinking model of Catholic education. Established in 2018 by Bishop Michael Barber, LCA is a Community of Excellence dedicated to academic innovation, efficient operations, and strong spiritual and instructional leadership. Students across LCA schools—including Saint Elizabeth—experience a dynamic learning environment that integrates social-emotional wellness, blended learning, and a deeply rooted Catholic identity.

Our students engage in daily practices that promote emotional resilience and self-awareness, including classroom community circles, reset spaces, and daily affirmations. Through our blended learning partnership with Loyola Marymount University, students receive individualized instruction and grow as confident, tech-savvy, and morally grounded learners.

Just as we invest in our students, we also invest deeply in our educators. Teachers at Saint Elizabeth participate in weekly Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) with colleagues across the LCA network to share ideas, refine curriculum, and strengthen their practice. They receive individual coaching, ongoing support from instructional leaders, and regular feedback through classroom walkthroughs. This professional culture of collaboration, innovation, and continuous growth ensures that our teachers are supported, inspired, and always striving to give their best to our students.

Saint Elizabeth Elementary School is a Catholic faith community committed to teaching the Gospel message in a safe, loving and academically rigorous environment, grounded in the Dominican and Franciscan educational traditions of truth and peace. Parents, as primary educators, teachers and staff strive to educate the individual with dignity by challenging all students to reach their full potential, stimulating intellectual curiosity and fostering service. Charism through the Dominican sisters is based on four pillars: we pray, we learn, we serve, and we preach the good news.