Marymount of Santa Barbara was formed as a secondary schools for girls in 1938 by nuns who were members of the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary (R.S.H.M.), an order founded in France in 1848.

Marymount of Santa Barbara was one of many institutions based on the model of the original Marymount, opened by Mother Marie Joseph Butler of the R.S.H.M. in Tarrytown, New York, in 1908. By the time Marymount of Santa Barbara began operating, Marymount schools and colleges existed in New York City, Paris, Rome, and Los Angeles. Other Marymounts subsequently opened in Quebec, England, and Virginia.

In 1942, Marymount of Santa Barbara moved from Montecito to a new campus on Mission Ridge Road in the city's historic Riviera district --- very close to the Santa Barbara Mission. Formerly an estate known as "El Cerrito," the new Marymount campus offered considerable space and amenities, including extensive garden areas, graceful buildings in the Old Spanish style and a swimming pool that continue to be enjoyed by Marymount students today.

The nuns built several new buildings on the new campus, and modified many of the existing structures to serve the School's needs as a convent and boarding and day facility for girls. During the early years, Marymount of Santa Barbara was actually separated into two schools: the Junior School, for girls in Kindergarten through eighth grade, and the Senior School, for young women of high school age.

The R.S.H.M. also purchased two pieces of property adjoining the original campus in 1954 and 1958. The house on the first property was used as a novitiate, and when the order became popular in the late fifties, a second novitiate building was constructed on the more recently purchased piece of land.

Marymount was growing.

Like many other Catholic organizations, however, the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary re-examined the nature and purpose of their order following the Second Vatican Council. Many nuns left their orders during the sixties, and the overall number of women joining the R.S.H.M. declined. Although Marymount of Santa Barbara continued to thrive, and was treasured as a community resource, the nuns who ran the School decided to close it in 1971.

That same year, a group of parents, eager to keep Marymount's tradition of excellence alive, decided to form an independent non-profit corporation called Marymount Academy, Incorporated. The new non-profit, still recognized under the name Marymount of Santa Barbara, was to be an elementary and middle day school, owned and operated by a voluntary Board of Trustees. The School is run by trustees to this day.

The last three decades of the twentieth century saw Marymount emerge as one of Santa Barbara's premier elementary and middle schools. Boys and young men brought their own brand of youthful energy to the campus when the school became entirely coeducational in 1976. More and more of the teachers applying to this independent school came from nonreligious, or "lay" backgrounds, bringing with them exceptional qualifications. Today, every Marymount classroom teacher and associate teacher possesses a California State teaching credential, and many have masters degrees as well.

Perhaps the greatest change in the school has come about as the result of the changeover from religious to lay teaching. While remaining true to the spirit and values of its Catholic roots, Marymount has widened its curriculum to embrace children and families of all faiths. In the late 70s, the school broadened its study of spirituality and service learning through a unique two-track religious studies program. Marymount students may, if they wish, pursue the traditional Catholic course of study. They may also engage in a track which explores all the major world religions, emphasizing the commonalities that unite them. Whichever course of study a Marymount student chooses, however, he or she can be assured that greater issues of values, ethics, and service to others will always be part of his or her Marymount education.

Of course, physical changes have also made their mark on Marymount. The John Pitman Library, Battistone Hall (a large meeting venue and theater) and the Marymount Mustang Sport Court have all been added in the past thirty-five years. Most recently, an enormous construction and renovation project on the Upper Campus culminated in the grand opening of Dolores E. Pollock Hall, a superb classroom facility named in honor of retired Head of School Dr. Dolores Pollock, who served Marymount for over twenty-five years.

Marymount has changed; but Marymount has always changed. The very first Marymount was a result of Mother Butler's efforts to explore a new standard of excellence and nurturing in education, and the innovations at Marymount schools continued throughout her lifetime and even after her death. New buildings, new programs, and new traditions have been a part of Marymount of Santa Barbara since it first opened its doors over sixty-five years ago. The spirit of community that has always defined Marymount, however, remains joyfully and firmly in place.