St. John Paul II Catholic School is an independent Catholic school located in West Houston near Eldridge Road and Briar Forest Drive. The school was established in 1988 as a private independent Catholic School. The School is a registered, non-profit corporation in the state of Texas with a corporate Board of Directors. St. John Paul II opened with 56 students in Pre-Kindergarten through third grade in the fall of 1988. Today enrollment exceeds 700 students in grades Pre-Kindergarten through eighth grade. St. John Paul II is committed to academic excellence while focusing on traditional Christian values. St. John Paul II is dually accredited by the Texas Catholic Conference of Education Department a division of the Texas Education Agency and AdvancED (formerly SACS) and is affiliated with the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston.
As the student population has grown, new programs, facilities and staff have been added. A new 1.2 million dollar classroom building was opened in the fall of 1994. Additional classrooms and a gym were added in the fall of 1998. In 2004-2005, we opened the next addition to our facilities with more classrooms, a library, and a space dedicated to fine arts.
In August 2011 we added the newest phase to our facilities with over 20,000 square feet. Our new student activity center has a full kitchen, cafeteria, stage and choir classroom. The gym was remodeled with a PTO workroom, PE offices, and storage, and girls and boys locker rooms. New offices, a science lab, art room, and chapel now connect the main building to the gym. Construction included covered walkways along the front of the campus for carpool.
During the 1996/1997 school year and again in 2008, St. John Paul II was named a National Blue Ribbon Exemplary School by the U.S. Department of Education, one of only 50 private schools to be so honored nationally. Poised for future growth, St. John Paul II moves forward as a unique Catholic school. Its graduates are currently enrolled in public and private high schools in the area including Duchesne Academy, St. John XXIII, St. Agnes Academy, St. Thomas High School, Strake Jesuit, St Pius X, and Incarnate Word Academy.
In 2014, John Paul II was canonized a Saint by Pope Francis. The name of our school was officially changed to St. John Paul II Catholic School.
