Why Catholic Schools?

It's an experience that’s different from public schools.

Our schoolsshape minds.build disciples of Jesus Christ.

Our Catholic schools: Shaping minds, building disciples

Faith

Our schools are grounded with the teachings and principles of the Catholic faith. Students learn and receive sacraments, attend weekly Mass, begin each day in prayer, attend spiritual retreats, go on life changing trips like the March for Life and World Youth Day, discuss faith questions with teachers and clergy and women religious, pray for their fellow students, and think every day about how they can help others. It’s this emphasis on faith that helps our students to think and live selflessly, put on the face of Christ to those in need, and be a role model to others.

Service

Our high school students perform thousands of hours every year of service hours in their communities. Our elementary schools raise money and food donations for organizations and people in need. Whether it’s helping stock food pantries, supporting crisis pregnancy centers, hosting toy drives, and volunteering in soup kitchens, homeless shelters, or visiting the sick and elderly, our students in all our schools have a sense of service engrained in their heart, and they are called to live out that service in their communities.

Knowledge

Our students learn in a close-knit classroom experience. Our professional teachers and staff have shown a unique ability to connect with students due to the lower student to teacher ratio and an environment that is always grounded in faith. That has resulted in our students continually scoring higher on tests compared to their peers in public schools.

Arts and Clubs

Our schools provide students with the opportunities to explore their passions in the arts through theater, musicals, band, choir, and dance. They can also participate in numerous clubs, including: robotics, chess, broadcasting, scholastic bowl, art club, National Honor Society/Junior National Honor Society, debate, science, speech, drama, engineering, pep club, foreign language clubs, math team, speech competitions, photography, and science fairs.

Sports

Our schools offer sports programs to both males and females. Many of our schools are consistently competing in regional and state championships and are known statewide for their athletic prowess. Many of our high school athletes receive scholarships for their talents developed through their Catholic school.

Smaller class sizes create a better learning environment, one that is more centered on each individual student.

Our Student-Teacher Ratio is 12-1 in elementary schools.10-1 in high schools.

Why Catholic high school?

A good college helps set-up a successful career.
Our high schools set up those colleges.

Each year, our seven high schools receive tens of millions of dollars in scholarship money. The 2019 graduating class was offered $39,316,992 in scholarships. Our students are attending prestigious universities around the country such as the Universities of Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Wisconsin, Texas, Alabama, Kentucky, University of Notre Dame, Baylor, Ava Maria University, and Benedictine University.

The average ACT score is consistently higher than the state average.

Nearly 100,000 hours of service hours are performed.

100% of our seniors graduate compared to 85% of students across the state who graduate in four years.

Let our students tell you the
Catholic school difference

Hear why our parents and students love their
Catholic school experience

QND has raised me to new levels of faith, compassion, hard work and success. The class work may be tough, but I know that it will make me that much more equipped for my future. I am often asked what does ‘Raider Pride’ mean to me? My answer to that has always been that Raider Pride is not only attending sporting events and supporting the Raiders, but it is truly putting 110% in everything you do and being proud of who you are, what you do and where you come from. Through retreats, conferences, and various events other the years, my faith has gone from wading in the shallows to diving in to find out what lies beneath it all.

Katie Schuecking

QND Class of 2020

Sacred Heart School in Effingham models Catholic ethics and values. In a culture that’s constantly normalizing non-traditional beliefs and lifestyles, we really appreciate our teachers helping to instill Godly values in our children.

Dr. Jeff and Michele Jenson

Effingham

From pre-school and up, I have been blessed with the opportunity to receive a Catholic education. In each school I attended, my teachers and fellow classmates have made me feel welcomed and loved. Most importantly, because of my Catholic education, I have been encouraged to follow Christ in my studies and in my daily life. The combination of rigorous academics, faith-filled fraternity, and spiritual encouragement that Catholic school offers has shaped me into the woman I am today.

Emily Pirtle

Student / Father McGivney H.S.

Catholic education is about so much more than school and education. For certain, we value the quality of the academics and school experience. More importantly, we know that the time our kids spend in school is helping them to grow in faith, character, and virtue. As the ‘first teachers’ of our children in the faith, we know that the teachers and staff in the school are our coworkers and partners in this mission, helping to reinforce all that we are working hard to do at home.

Mike Christie

Parent / Blessed Sacrament School