St. Peter’s School

Why St. Peter's School?

St. Peter's School is a community of grace where every student is known, valued, and loved.  We respect and embrace the differences and diversity of our students and are wholly dedicated to creating a culture of excellence where all of our students are held to a higher standard because we recognize the greatness in and expect greatness from each and every one of them.  

What's new this year? 

• St. Peter's School is working hard to inspire greatness in all of our students.  Our plans for the 2023-24 school year are ambitious, but we are encouraged to see our new initiatives take root and flourish.
  • We renovated the third floor of our High School to create a new Middle School, specifically designed for grades 6-8, with teachers, curriculum, and expectations tailored for these emerging adolescents. 
  • Our students at all levels are receiving additional, differentiated math instruction not only to close the COVID-19 learning gap, but also to continually challenge those achieving at high levels. 
  • St. Peter's has a dedicated Gifted & Talented teacher to identify and support the needs of our most gifted learners, meeting with them weekly to further develop their critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
  • We added a dedicated STEM teacher, who, through project-based learning, challenges students in grades K-8 to make discoveries about the world around them. 
  • Our K-3 teachers adopted a new English Language Arts Curriculum based on the science of reading, drawing from research in fields ranging from cognitive psychology to linguistics and neuroscience.   
  • St. Peter's established six AP courses--Psychology, Biology, Literature, Human Geography, American Government, and Language and Composition--courses that not only help prepare students for the rigor of college, but also enable them to place out of those courses when they get there. 
  • We not only host the ACT exam on-site, but also have every student in grades 7-11 take the Pre-ACT, meet with them individually to discuss their areas of strength, and develop plans for their future at St. Peter's and in other academic arenas. 
  • Based on our students’ interest we’ve also added a Philosophy class and an Inquiry Science class, further building students’ academic stamina and ability to thoughtfully question, challenge, and articulate their understanding.
  • Our faculty and staff are receiving regular professional development on everything from curriculum alignment to Catholic faith traditions to social and emotional learning. 
  • In 2023, we added a Director of Theology and Student Formation who completely revamped our service program to make it more meaningful for students, is developing a new religion/ theology curriculum, and is planning formative retreats for every grade in the school. We also began an in-house OCIA program for students interested in further exploring the Catholic faith.
    
    
    
    How will your gifts be invested?
    Every dollar raised through Richland Gives directly supports our students in the classroom as part of the school's Annual Fund, enabling us to create new programs and initiatives, provide competitive salaries to attract and retain quality faculty, and provide financial aid to families who do not qualify for state scholarships.