St. Martin’s was founded in 1947 in the developing suburb of Metairie, as part of its namesake mission church. St. Martin’s was the first Episcopal school established in the area. Quickly, it began to grow in popularity and size. By 1949, the expanding school had outstripped the facilities at St. Martin’s Church. Plans to add a high school required new space, and the church acquired the Green Acres Farm along what is now Airline Drive, stretching from the road to the lake. In 1950, the school moved to its current 18-acre site, and in 1951, graduated its first senior class. In 1963, St. Martin’s Church transferred ownership of the school to the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana, and St. Martin’s became a diocesan school.

For 60 years, St. Martin’s Episcopal School has built a reputation for excellence among New Orleans’ independent college-preparatory schools. Though located in the suburbs of New Orleans, St. Martin’s has been committed to serve as a metropolitan school not limited to or dominated by a particular neighborhood, area, or social grouping. This metropolitan approach has been an integral part of the school’s history and remains a consistent element of the school community today. Leadership is nurtured here by a distinctive faith-based approach to learning. At the heart of its mission, the school focuses on developing the whole child within the context of a Christian community, a family atmosphere, and a coeducational environment.

From a single class of kindergarteners, the school has grown to nearly 1,000 students, faculty, and staff. Over time, many facilities have been augmented. St. Martin’s has separate buildings for the Lower, Middle, and Upper Schools, as well as two gymnasiums, the chapel, two libraries, a swimming pool, athletic fields, and administrative space. The school successfully carried out a two-phase Capital Campaign beginning in 1998 (Celebrating the Spirit-Crafting the Vision), which added a performing arts theater, visual arts center, new dining hall, new 4th and 5 th grade classroom building, and an early childhood development center, the George Cottage, for children 18 months to 3 years old. This year we celebrate the installation of a new all-purpose gym floor and an all-weather track. In a city where wide-open spaces are not the norm, St. Martin’s is blessed with an expansive campus with ample outdoor space and, most importantly, abundant green space which provides gathering space for students to play and learn in the heart of the campus.

In addition to facilities growth, St. Martin’s has grown its programs over the years in order to maintain an educational program of “excellence in the balance.” St. Martin’s offers 17 athletic programs, a prize-winning speech program, swimming state championships, choral accolades, and a stellar performing arts program. Enrichment and summer programs make St. Martin’s campus available to the greater New Orleans community throughout the year.