Resources/FAQs

Archbishop Jerome E. Listecki is the system’s leader with ultimate authority and responsibility. He delegates a number of responsibilities to a Board of Trustees comprised of the pastors of all parishes participating in the system as well as representatives from the Racine Dominican Sisters and the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. A Board of Directors provides operational guidance and policy setting. The Directors are selected and approved by the Board of Trustees. Day-to-day operations are led by a President with support from a Senior Leadership Team.

The Board of Trustees approves the hiring of the system President and retains certain additional reserved powers including approval of the system’s strategic plan, Board of Directors, annual audit, and property acquisition. The Trustees review such items as the annual budget, development, and updates of the system’s strategic plan, student progress, and Catholic Identity.

The Board of Directors and Committee members are selected for their experience and expertise. A Board of Directors and several committees provide operational guidance to system leadership in such areas as Education, Mission and Governance, Finance, Human Resources, Facilities and Technology, and Marketing & Development. The Board may have up to 21 members with staggered terms of service to ensure continuity of experience and meets monthly. Leadership of the Board (Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, Treasurer, Secretary) of Directors comprises an Executive Committee of the Board.

The system is funded by a combination of parish investments, contributions from the Racine Dominican Sisters, St. Catherine’s High School Foundation, Catholic Community Foundation, the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, tuition and Choice funding, state and federal funding, and fundraising efforts including grants, corporate and major gift donations, and annual fund donations.

Fundraising is handled at both the local school level and the system level.

Individual campuses conduct fundraising events and activities in accordance with the school’s needs and mission. Proceeds from local school efforts support the goals set by each individual school.

Development efforts on a system level are lead by the Siena Development Office and support system-wide goals.

Individual campuses conduct fundraising events and activities in accordance with the school’s needs and mission. Proceeds from local school efforts support the goals set by each individual school.

Development efforts on a system level are lead by the Siena Development Office and support system wide goals.

Sacred Heart, St. Edward, St. John Nepomuk, St. Joseph, St. Louis, St. Lucy, St. Patrick, St. Paul, St. Richard, St. Rita, and St. Sebastian parishes contribute financial and spiritual support to the system.

Yes, the Racine Dominican Sisters provide financial and spiritual support of the system.

Implementation of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) programming has taken place at all elementary campuses for the 2019/20 school year. St. Catherine’s High School has seen significant expansion of STEM coursework through partnerships with Project Lead the Way and Microsoft Philanthropies with over 100 students enrolled in a STEM-based course this school year.

Efforts are being launched to create an elementary literacy continuum which will include the creation and adoption of common assessments across all Siena Catholic Schools. Additional initiatives for the 2019/20 school year include the creation of a Gifted and Talented Program, additional movement toward the Archdiocesan adoption of Standards-Based Learning and Assessment, and the initial stages of a system-wide review of elementary Math curriculum.

The optimal and maximum class sizes for the Siena Catholic Schools are listed below (optimal in bold). These are the class sizes approved by the Board of Directors of the Siena Catholic Schools. The maximum class size is listed at the bottom of the chart. Efforts should be made to keep class sizes at the optimal level at each school. Principals should have discretion, in consultation with the Chief Academic Officer, to vary from these recommendations on a per-class or per-course (MS/HS) basis. Additionally, the Siena system will consider the use of extra resources to support the learning environment on a class by class basis.

 

Grade Level/Optimal Number of Children in Class/Maximum Number of Children in Class

3K:  18/20

4K:  20/22

5K – Gr. 2: 22/24

Gr. 3 – Gr. 5: 24/26

Gr. 6 – Gr. 8: 26/30

Gr. 9 – Gr. 12:  28/32

The Chief Academic Officer will work collaboratively with current School Principals, Teachers, and the Education Committee of the Board in the development of curriculum and new educational programs. With the inclusion of St. Catherine’s High School educators in this process there are opportunities to improve the transitions through a coordinated Pre-K through Grade 12 curriculum. We will continue to use the key religious education concepts for each grade level (1-8) developed by the Archdiocese of Milwaukee for elementary students.

Additional information can be found here.

Standards-based grading allows students to be more aware of what they are expected to learn and their progress through their grade level standards. It provides parents with a more detailed outline of their student’s growth and achievement. We believe that clear communication between school and home throughout the course of the year is vital to our students’ success.

Standards-based grading is based on the principle that grades should convey how well students have achieved standards. In other words, grades are not about what students earn; they are about what students learn. A traditional grading system reduces everything that a student does to a single letter grade, at the end of a grading term, making the grade neither timely nor actionable.