Category: General

GRACE is committed to partnering with families to ensure that Catholic education remains accessible and affordable, irrespective of income levels. Our dedication to this mission is evident in the various avenues available to manage and reduce tuition costs.

GRACE proudly offers financial aid to support families in need for children enrolled in grades kindergarten through 12th grade, with over 300 students annually benefiting from GRACE Financial Aid. Generous private donors, who share our belief in the value of Catholic education, make it possible to reduce tuition through scholarships and financial aid for families. The average GRACE Financial Aid award is around $1,500 per student. Families can access the GRACE Financial Aid application through our online TADS enrollment management portal.

Tuition costs for 2024-25 are $5,565 for grades K-5, $5,685 for grades 6-8, and $8,385 for Chesterton Academy of St. John Paul II Classical School grades 9-12. Active, registered parishioners completing the parish verification form with our GRACE 23 supporting parishes qualify for a $2,000 tuition reduction (Active Parishioner Incentive) per child enrolled in grades kindergarten through 12th grade.

To cater to individual family needs, GRACE provides an array of tuition reduction opportunities in addition to the aforementioned Active Parishioner Incentive. These include a New Family Referral Incentive, Sibling Incentive, SCRIP Program, Parish and School Scholarships, Payment Plan Options, GRACE Employee Tuition Discount, and a CatholicLink Tuition Discount (for employees who qualify.) Detailed information on these options can be found at gracesystem.org/admissions/tuitions-and-fees/.

In addition, the State of Wisconsin permits residents to leverage private tuition costs. The Wisconsin Parental Choice Program offers vouchers for full tuition at a GRACE school based on family income and eligibility. Families are encouraged to apply between February and April 2024. Find more details at gracesystem.org/admissions/wisconsin-parental-choice/. In addition, families can take advantage of Wisconsin Tax Deductions for private school tuition. Families are encouraged to check with their tax advisors regarding options that may apply to their situations.

GRACE is not just committed to academic excellence and the formation of children, but also to ensuring that quality education is within reach for all families. Our goal is clear: no child should be denied a Catholic education due to financial constraints. We remain steadfast in our commitment to making Catholic education available, accessible, and affordable to every interested family. We know Catholic education is a transformative gift for each child and family.

Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School is part of the Green Bay Area Catholic Education (GRACE) School System. It is a private Catholic school serving Preschool and Elementary through 8th grade (PK3-8.) The school has open enrollment and provides an individualized education in a faith-based environment. Each child is supported not only academically, but spiritually. The best way to learn more is to visit! Schedule a tour here.

Besides education and faith, one of the very top priorities of GRACE leadership is to continually elevate educator compensation. Through the support of our Board of Trustees and our sound fiscal practices, GRACE has been able to make significant gains in employee compensation over the past six years. This is part of GRACE’s Strategic Plan to enhance compensation for our valued employees in a fiscally responsible and equitable manner. We are proud of the specific actions, which include:

• GRACE employee wages have increased every year with raises historically between 3% and 5% annually.
• We have developed, and are implementing, a multi-year, sustainable plan to continue to retain and attract top talent, including via competitive compensation which includes, in part, competitive compensation.
• GRACE offers a robust benefits package to teachers and staff, including medical and dental benefits. Candidates seek to join our GRACE employee ranks to take advantage of not only our mission, but our benefit package as well.
• We offer childcare for employees at below market rates through our GRACE Little Saints Child Care program.
• GRACE employees receive attractive tuition discounts so their children can attend GRACE Schools. Tuition discounts are also available for our employees who have children attending Notre Dame Academy as well as St. Norbert College through our CatholicLink relationships.
• Recognizing talent with our GRACE Teacher Excellence Awards through both Top Teacher Talent Awards and a Master’s Path Program which involves a fully paid Master’s Program for teachers through St. Norbert College.
• From time to time, through generous support of donors and sound financial governance, GRACE has been blessed to provide special bonuses to our employees. Such bonuses reward performance achievements enabled through dedicated, valued teachers, staff and administrators – the most recent bonus distributed in January 2024.

These actions are important and vital steps in our ongoing strategic efforts to elevate compensation overall for our valued GRACE employees.

Competitive compensation is crucial for retaining and attracting excellent teachers and staff in all areas of our schools. This in turn, helps to build and support skilled and dedicated professional teams within our schools and our system.

Compensation is only one piece of the puzzle. Our educators feel valued when GRACE parents and students take time to express their genuine thanks for the excellent Catholic education teachers provide. This gratitude, coupled with attractive compensation and benefits makes GRACE an employer of choice and, in turn, contributes to the stability and continuity of our GRACE school communities.

Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School is part of the Green Bay Area Catholic Education (GRACE) School System. It is a private Catholic school serving Preschool and Elementary through 8th grade (PK3-8.) The school has open enrollment and provides an individualized education in a faith-based environment. Each child is supported not only academically, but spiritually. The best way to learn more is to visit! Schedule a tour here.

By Nick Anderson
GRACE Board of Trustees Chairperson

I am fortunate to have attended Notre Dame of De Pere for grade school where I received an excellent Catholic education. I was a student there years before Notre Dame and the other Green Bay area Diocese schools came together in what we now know as the GRACE System. Fast forward (many, many years) to 2023 and my wife and I are now blessed to have three students enrolled in a GRACE school and be part of a vibrant school/parish community.

I am a firm believer in the value of Catholic education. I am particularly passionate about keeping that education affordable for all families, especially for our middle-income families who reflect the majority of our community.

That’s where GRACE excels. Today, tuition at GRACE elementary schools is about $3,500 per year for active parishioners. While that amount certainly represents a significant sacrifice – and investment – that parents make for their children, GRACE tuition is reasonable as compared to other Catholic schools. For example, parishioner tuition at a Catholic grade school in the Milwaukee area is $4,990, and in the Fox Valley tuition ranges from $4,300 to $5,300 per year.

How does GRACE do this to maintain affordable tuition? In two ways: (1) By limiting costs, and (2) by drawing funding from a broad range of funding sources.

First, let’s consider the cost side. Today the full actual cost of educating a student in a GRACE school is about $8,000 per year. Here are the components of this cost:

• 64% – Educator pay and benefits
• 11% – Facilities (buildings and grounds, rent, etc.)
• 8% – Medical Insurance Benefits
• 6% – Books and technology
• 4% – Administrative pay and benefits
• 3% – Food service
• 4% – Other operational

This cost would be significantly higher without GRACE. That’s because GRACE provides key economies of scale (think: purchasing textbooks and technology in bulk; limiting administrative costs). Without GRACE each individual school would need to pay for its own benefits, manage facilities, and provide books and technology – all without the robust platform that GRACE provides. Before GRACE was formed, our parishes were investing upwards of 75% of their annual parishioner giving to support their parish schools.

Let’s turn to the funding side. As noted above, tuition of $3,500 falls well short of the $8,000 actual cost to educate a student. Generous support by our community allows GRACE to coordinate funding sources that bridge the gap. Here are GRACE’s key funding sources:

• 36% – Tuition
• 28% – Wisconsin Parental Choice
• 19% – Parish subsidies (remember, there are 23 parishes supporting nine schools).
• 6% – Food Service (e.g. Annual Appeal, grants)
• 6% – Site-level Third Source Funding (e.g. $ from so many great Site Advisory Committee (“SAC”) events/auctions)
• 5% – Centralized GRACE fundraising

Some good news: while GRACE’s overall enrollment has been increasing throughout its existence, GRACE’s reliance on parishes and third source funding (SAC) has, in that same timeframe, decreased. To maintain this positive momentum, centralized GRACE development will be a particular area of focus in the coming year. GRACE recently formed a Development Committee to explore the best ways to fund Catholic education, better collaborate with our outstanding SAC leadership, and support GRACE’s objective to continue to systematically reduce reliance on the amounts that individual parishes invest.

I will admit when I first heard about the GRACE System, I made some faulty assumptions. I jumped to the conclusion that GRACE was an unnecessary bureaucracy – I thought each school could simply run itself. But I was wrong. I have since asked a lot of questions, learned more, witnessed GRACE in action in many facets, and come to realize the wisdom and vision of the parents, priests and Bishop who formed the GRACE system over 12 years ago. The math shows that, absent the power of the GRACE System, any lone individual school would need to charge more tuition and/or engage in far more fundraising in order to manage the administrative and operational costs needed to maintain a high-quality school experience. As a parent I am grateful for the support of our great SAC leaders, volunteers, parishes and donors, all of which help keep Catholic education affordable and attainable to our Green Bay community. And that is the true value of GRACE.

Nick Anderson
GRACE Board of Trustees Chairperson

Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School is part of the Green Bay Area Catholic Education (GRACE) School System. It is a private Catholic school serving Preschool and Elementary through 8th grade (PK3-8.) The school has open enrollment and provides an individualized education in a faith-based environment. Each child is supported not only academically, but spiritually. The best way to learn more is to visit! Schedule a tour here.

The final trimester of the 2023-2024 school began March 27 and the middle school elective schedule provides students a variety of offerings from which to choose during their Wednesday schedule. The electives allow students an opportunity to receive enrichment, support and explore new areas of interest. Throughout the trimester, students have an opportunity to develop skills beyond what they may learn in core academic classes, while developing their creativity and confidence.

Some of the offerings for trimester 3 include:

• Youth in Government – International Politics: Learn about how different countries around the world interact and take part in a Model United Nations. 
• School Musical – Choir students prepare and rehearse for the school musical to be held in May.
• Behind the Scenes -Learn about the production of the musical. Students learn, build and support the various roles to support a musical production.
• Student Council – A variety of activities to support school activities and promote school spirit.
• Youth Ministry – Learn more about our Catholic faith in a variety of activities with our parish youth minister, Mrs. LaCrosse.
• Sports Math – Play competitive physical activities/games and develop related statistics from the games/activities for comparison.  
• Hands-On Computer Science – Computer science activities to develop students’ skills in problem solving and coding.   
• Service! – There are so many opportunities to serve and learn in our area. Learn how we can help in and around our community.  

These courses are developed by the teachers using their academic and professional experiences.

Learn more about what is happening at our school, in the Lourdes Letter school news for February 28, available here.

We wish everyone a safe and restful spring break.

GRACE Schools will earn 10% of Cathedral Book & Gift in-store and online sales on select Fridays and Saturdays in March. Proceeds will benefit all GRACE Schools SAC third-source fundraising! Shop online now.

Dates:
March 1-2, 8-9, 15-16, 22-23

Store Location:
Cathedral Book & Gift
131 S. Madison Street
Green Bay, WI 54301

Store Hours:
Monday-Friday: 9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Saturday: 10:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.

Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School is part of the Green Bay Area Catholic Education (GRACE) School System. It is a private Catholic school serving Preschool and Elementary through 8th grade (PK3-8.) The school has open enrollment and provides an individualized education in a faith-based environment. Each child is supported not only academically, but spiritually. The best way to learn more is to visit! Schedule a tour here.

The trimester 2 report cards and the STAR winter test results will be sent home with your child on Wednesday February 28.

As a parent, you are your child’s first and most important teacher. We both want your child to learn and do well. We encourage you to signup for a parent/teacher conference to checkin with your child’s teacher(s) to learn more about what is happening in the classroom, answer any questions about your child’s report card, STAR winter test results and the latest updates about your child’s progress. We appreciate your time in understanding your child’s academic and social-emotional progress, and what you can do to support them. If your child is having particular difficulties, this time will allow you and the teacher time to plan how you can best help them.

The parent/teacher conferences times are:

• Thursday, February 29 3:30-7:15PM (teachers have a dinner break from 5-5:30PM)
• Friday, March 1 11:30AM-3:30PM

The signup links for parent/teacher conferences can be found in the Lourdes Letter (see link below).

Learn more about what is happening at our school, in the Lourdes Letter school news for February 21, available here.

The church liturgical season changes today from Ordinary to Lent as we come together at mass for Ash Wednesday. Together, we prepare our hearts, minds and actions for the 40 days of Lent.

There three holy practices as Catholics that we do during Lent prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.

During Lent, we invite you to join our school family in prayer with the Stations of the Cross in Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church.

• February 20 – 9:45AM
• March 14 – 12:30PM

We encourage and invite the youth of our school/parish to participate in the Living Stations of the Cross that will be presented in Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church on March 20 at 6:30PM.

During these days of Lent, we fast with simple foods and we often give up special treats or sweets.

Our school family almsgiving Lent initiative is “40 Days 40 Bags”. Fill up a garbage bag of items to be donated. Gently used items can include: toys, books/magazines, clothes/socks, unused toiletries, household knick-knacks, etc.

During this liturgical season of Lent, do things that help you and let’s pray for each other.  

Learn more about what is happening at our school, in the Lourdes Letter school news for February 14, available here.

The 2024-25 GRACE calendar is now live! Check it out on the GRACE website here.

Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School is part of the Green Bay Area Catholic Education (GRACE) School System. It is a private Catholic school serving Preschool and Elementary through 8th grade (PK3-8.) The school has open enrollment and provides an individualized education in a faith-based environment. Each child is supported not only academically, but spiritually. The best way to learn more is to visit! Schedule a tour here.

The middle school students at Our Lady of Lourdes School have an opportunity to participate in an academic competition of Forensics. What is Forensics? It is a competitive speech team for speech and drama activities.

Forensics students choose from a variety of speech and drama events to prepare for competitions. Events include persuasive and informative speaking, individual and duet acting, storytelling, and debate activities. Forensics is both an individual and a team event. The ultimate goal of Forensic events is to provide students with an opportunity to develop confidence in their ability to communicate ideas and points of view.

On Thursday, February 8, Green Bay Area Catholic Education (GRACE) is hosting a Forensics Invitational at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School.

Doors open at 3:30PM (Schools and participants gather in the school cafeteria)

• Round 1: 4:15PM
• Round 2: 5:15PM
• Round 3: 6:15PM

There are several GRACE schools participating in this Forensics meet in addition to Chilton Area Catholic School and St. Clare School of the Green Bay Diocese.

Learn more about what is happening at our school, in the Lourdes Letter school news for February 7, available here.

Typically, during Catholic Schools Week we host the school spelling bee(s) as part of the National Scripps Spelling Bee.

The spelling bee offers students several academic opportunities. While they are required to spell works in front of their peers, they are also developing self-confidence, communication and public speaking skills and the ability to perform under pressure.

At Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School, we offer two levels of competition.

• Grades 1-2
• Grades 3-8

All of the students in grades 1-8 participate in the preliminary spelling rounds in their classroom. For grades 3-8, the classroom winner is a participant in the school-wide spelling bee. If the classroom winner is unable to participate in the spelling bee, the second place classroom winner (alternate) will take their place in the school spelling bee. For the early learners, grades 1-2, several students advance to the OLOL Primary spelling bee.

The school-wide spelling bee was held in the school gymnasium and the primary spelling bee was held in the Fr. Kratz Social Hall. Thank you to all our students, parents, friends and guests who attended to support the spellers.

Congratulations to Lillia, our spelling bee champion for grades 3-8, who will advance to the Regional Spelling Bee. This event will be held on Tuesday, February 13, 2024 at 6:30PM at The Plantico Theater at Kewaunee High School, 911 Third St., Kewaunee. The winner of the Regional Spelling Bee will advance to the Badger State Spelling Bee on Saturday, March 16, 2024. The winner of the state spelling bee will advance to the Scripps National Spelling Bee being held in Maryland the week of Memorial Day.

Learn more about what is happening at our school, in the Lourdes Letter school news for January 31, available here.