A Brief History of Alma Heights
Alma Heights Academy was founded in the 1950s as a boarding school in a rural, unincorporated part of San Mateo, CA. known as Pedro Valley. In the following decade, it transitioned into an elementary and day school. Pedro Valley was developed as part of a newly incorporated suburb of San Francisco named Pacifica, and many families moved into the area. The school was renamed Alma Heights Christian Academy — "Christian" was added to reflect the distinction between Alma Heights and Catholic schools in the area, as well as to identify it with other Christian schools in the emerging California Association of Christian Schools.
Alma Heights maintained membership with CACS, and then WACS (Western Association of Christian Schools), and then ACSI (Association of Christian Schools International). By the mid 1970s, a second campus across the street from the original boarding school was built and enrollment grew. Additional classrooms and campus housing for teachers were added during the 1980s and 1990s, and the high school was developed. Enrollment in the high school has grown from 8 students in 1990 to 90 students, and the total enrollment for the school is just over 300 students, with an average of 23 students per grade. Alma Heights achieved accreditation with the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, and the school is seeking duel accreditation with WASC and ACSI within coming years.