St. Bernard Prep is ranked first as best Catholic high school in Alabama and is among the state’s top private schools and most diverse. 

Niche, an education and neighborhood research website, placed St. Bernard third out of 51 for the state’s most diverse private high schools and 11th out of 74 for state’s best private school schools. 

Founded in 1891 on the picturesque grounds of St. Bernard Abbey, Benedictine monks lead the Catholic school and educate students in seventh through 12th grade. 

Liberal arts — languages, literature, history, mathematics, science, theology, and the arts — are highlighted in its college-preparatory curriculum, according to St. Bernard’s website. Administrators emphasize the ability to think, read with understanding, “express oneself with precision and grace” and creatively and effectively solve problems.

St. Bernard students consistently score well above the national averages for college placement tests, including the SAT and ACT. Touting a 100 percent graduation rate, most graduates go on to his or her first choice of colleges and universities across the country. It also boasts a low student-teacher ratio of 10:1. 

“We’ve always been aware of what we do here, but it’s still nice to be recognized,” said Father Joel Martin, St. Bernard Prep president. “In a way, we feel like we’re a best kept secret. We’re just grateful for the recognition and to our benefactors who make it possible. We have some many students who benefit from the education they receive here, and it’s because we have the support of those benefactors and alumni.”

St. Bernard is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and is a member of the Association of Boarding Schools, the Southern Association of Independent Schools, and the Secondary School of Admission Test Board.

In time for its 125th anniversary, the school renovated the Liberal Arts Center and Heidrich Library, and each April, the campus welcomes thousands for the annual Bloomin’ Festival. 

Niche says it “rigorously analyzes dozens of public data sets and millions of reviews to produce comprehensive rankings, report cards, and profiles for every K-12 school, college, and neighborhood in the U.S.”

The company derives its scoring based on analysis of data from the U.S. Department of Education, test scores, college data and ratings collected from millions of Niche users. Additional data is also collected from schools directly. 

Niche ranks nearly 4,000 private high schools based on statistics and millions of opinions from students and parents.

The following metrics are weighted accordingly: composite SAT/ACT Score (30 percent), top colleges score (25 percent), college enrollment (15 percent), culture and diversity(10 percent), parent/student surveys on overall experience (10 percent) and student-teacher ratio (10 percent).

This is the first year, Niche has developed rankings for STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math) high schools, online high schools, private K-12 schools, boarding schools, Jewish schools, and charter elementary and middle schools. 

To read St. Bernard’s full profile, go online to https://k12.niche.com/st-bernard-preparatory-school-cullman-al/

A-: Diversity

B+: Teachers

A-: College Readiness

B-: Clubs & Activities

B: Sports

Source: Niche

1893: The State of Alabama charters the school, which at the time was primarily a college preparatory school, including middle school grades. St. Bernard regularly conferred a few bachelor’s degrees.

1929: The Board of Trustees establish a formal junior college program in addition to the high school. Twenty years later, a senior college was established. 

1962: The preparatory school program is discontinued while the post-secondary school continues until 1979. 

1984: St. Bernard reopens the prep school as a co-educational secondary school for boarding and day students. 

2007: Seventh and eighth grade students are admitted to the new middle school, returning to St. Bernard’s late 19th century roots and the Minims (middle school) program that was in existence for decades.