My family withdrew from Holy Name of Mary after only one year, and I want to share our experience…read moreso other parents understand why. Our decision is based entirely on the conduct and leadership of the principal, Mrs. Berumen, which we found consistently unprofessional, dismissive, and completely misaligned with the values a Catholic school should uphold.
At the beginning of the school year, I raised a concern about comments made by my daughter's teacher during Open House. She spoke about visiting shamans during her travels and's other religious leaders and placed those trinkets from those visits at the prayer section of the classroom. This is the section where the children go pray near at the crucifix. I found this inappropriate for a Catholic learning environment. When I brought this to the principal, she dismissed my concern and told me that Holy Name of Mary "is a liberal school and welcomes all religions." I explained that while that may be appropriate in a public school, I specifically pay for a Catholic education rooted in Catholic teaching. The concern was brushed aside.
As the year went on, the situation worsened.
During the 7th grade overnight camp, my daughter witnessed three girls taking photos of a classmate while she slept and drooled, mocking her and laughing. According to my daughter, this classmate has been excluded and ridiculed for a long time. My daughter reported the incident because she believed it was the right thing to do.
Months later, my daughter came home begging to leave the school. When I met with the principal to understand why, the interaction was shocking. She looked directly at my daughter and said, "Now Victoria, you know why the girls don't like you. Tell the truth." My daughter was stunned. The principal continued, saying that Victoria should not expect to be liked if "the first thing she did as the new girl was tell on the other girls."
Instead of addressing the bullying or modeling Christian leadership, the principal suggested that my daughter simply stop spending time with the girl who was being bullied, saying, "She will understand." This was deeply disappointing and completely inappropriate for someone in a leadership role at a Christian school.
Towards the end of the year and when we had already made it clear we were moving schools the following year, my daughter was repeatedly written up for minor or unclear reasons, often without proper communication. She felt singled out and alone. When I emailed the principal expressing concern and asking her to stand down as we are leaving next year and there was only less than a month left of the school year, her response was once again unnecessarily rude and dismissive. Her closing statement was especially troubling:
"We ask that you respect our team during this transition. If this is not possible, we suggest transitioning Victoria to her new school before the end of the school year. This will allow her to have a fresh start while enabling our staff to focus on our current students."
This made it clear that our concerns were viewed as a burden and that my daughter was seen as an inconvenience.
Because of the seriousness of these issues, I contacted Father Chris directly and later reached out to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles to ensure they were aware of what was happening. Despite escalating the concerns through the proper channels, nothing changed. The principal remains in her leadership role, and the environment continues to reflect the same dismissive and abrasive culture we experienced all year.
For context, I paid the full year's tuition upfront and would have continued next year. My son attends Damien High School and will graduate next year. This shows my commitment to Catholic education -- which makes this experience even more disappointing.
We are leaving solely because of the principal's conduct. The environment she has created is not supportive, not compassionate, and not reflective of the values this school claims to uphold. I hope the parish and the Archdiocese take a serious look at the culture under her administration, because families deserve better.
