De Marillac Academy in the heart of San Francisco’s Tenderloin District was recently featured in the San Francisco Chronicle as an "educational oasis" in one of the toughest sections of The City. De Marillac is the only tuition-free Catholic school in San Francisco. It enrolls about 120 students in grades four through eight. The children come from a diverse population of economically disadvantaged youth in a neighborhood better known for poverty and drugs than for educational achievement.

As it approaches ten years of operation, De Marillac can point to some remarkable results. Over 70% of the school’s alumni go on to graduate from high school, and an equal number go on to college.
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