Graduates Well Prepared for High School:

The vast majority of eighth grade graduates go on to attend Salpointe, St. Augustine, San Miguel, and Immaculate Heart high schools as well as the public college preparatory  University High School and other local public high schools.  Our students enjoy a strong reputation of being well prepared to excel in honors and advanced placement courses in high school and many are Merit Scholars.

Location…Location…Location

It’s not where you live, it’s where you work.  Saint Peter and Paul School’s location is in the heart of the city just north of Speedway on Campbell Avenue across the street from the University of Arizona Medical Center.  We are less than a mile from the U of A campus, three miles from downtown, 7 miles from Davis Monthan Air Force Base, 6 miles from Skyline and Campbell, and 5 miles from Grant and Silverbell.  Currents school families live from all over the Tucson area and many families bring their children from Vail and Sahuarita!

Diversity:

We are an ethnically diverse community.  Saints Peter and Paul families self-identify as 23% White,  58% Hispanic, 2% Asian, 2% Native American, 1.5% Black, 1% Pacific Islander, 12% Multi-racial,  and 1% Other.  This diversity strengthens us as a true Catholic community bound by our faith and service.  Equally important is our socio-economic diversity.  Statistically, Saints Peter and Paul is a school where children are from families of high income, low income and everything in between.

Curricula:

Our academic focus is on Religion, English Language Arts which includes reading and writing, Math, Science, and Social Studies.  Religion is taught each and every day as a class and it is infused into every curricular area.  Mass is celebrated weekly as a school family.  Students in grade 2 receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation and Holy Eucharist.  Eighth grade students may elect to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation after studying our faith and coming to know Jesus.   “Superkids” from the Rowland Foundation is the reading/phonics program in grades Kindergarten through 2.  Reading textbooks and chapter books create the reading experience with an accent on “Daily 5” at all grade levels.  Our “Math in Focus” series is the American version of Singapore Math which accentuates students’ learning of the concrete to the abstract in the understanding of mathematical concepts.  Science is taught using a wealth of resources and texts.  Both the ELA and Math programs are formulated around Common Core Standards.  Highlighting Next Generation standards, science is taught through the use of kits and other hands-on learning experiences.  Social Studies, from Kindergarten through Grade 8, is a study of our communities, large and small, US and global, and the history we share with other nations.  Our school is accredited by Western Catholic Education Association (WCEA).

Resource Program:

Unique to our school is our school’s resource program.  This program is designed to assist students who have a slight learning disability or who may be having just some anxious moments in the understanding of a particular subject.  The program is based on a Care Team approach involving our resource teacher, classroom teacher(s), school nurse, parents, and principal.  This approach helps us define our responsibilities in helping those children who are referred to us.  Additionally, our resource director facilitates testing services for students through our local public school district, and other local resources.

Discipline Program:

Our approach to discipline is framing behavior to respect.  The ‘Jesus’ approach, which maintains the dignity of the student, guides our system of warnings, redirections, and if necessary, more stringent detentions.  The 4 R’s serve to guide us, as do our PEARLs (School-wide Learning Expectations).  The R’s are:  Reverence, Respect, Responsibility, and Rigor.  Each classroom has a devised plan to modify behavior and teachers, with parents, work together to make appropriate changes to help children learn self-control and respect for self, others and property.

Faculty and Staff:

Saints Peter and Paul faculty and staff are certificated classroom teachers and are also either certified or working on religious education certification.  The SSPP faculty/staff has been here or in other Catholic education experiences for an average of 17 years!  We are blessed to have ancillary staff to teach music, art, pe, computer, resource and library.  A full time school nurse is employed as are two IT experts.  The Alliance for Education (ACE) Program from the University of Notre Dame also places teachers in our school to serve our community while working on their Masters in Education degrees from the University of Notre Dame.  We are blessed in the talent, skill, and dedication of all of our staff.

Beautiful …and Secure Campus Facilities:

From the track to the field, volleyball courts and basketball courts to the sandbox, Gramer Hall and the Poet’s Circle, to the beautiful prayer garden honoring the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill (who served our school for 75 years), our campus is monitored by locked gates and a camera entrance.  Air conditioned classrooms, aesthetically pleasing classrooms and courtyard, murals, and practiced drills are features that physically tell the tale of the care and safety of the children at our school.

Family Participation:

This is what makes us really special.  Parents and grandparents can be seen milling around before and after school, working in classrooms, serving hot lunch, monitoring recess, restacking books in the library, compiling the school monthly newsletter, working with teachers on classroom activities, preparing for the next Parents Association event, working with teachers to prepare children for their First Holy Communion and so many other things.  All families are required to contribute 68 hours of their time and talent to our school.  Three of these hours must be fulfilled at our school’s one day “FUN DAY”.  This mini-fiesta sponsored by Parents Association is the largest event of each school year and one young students, older students, parishioners, and alumni wait for!  Parents Association is the fundraising body of our school.  All funds raised contribute to the operational budget to keep school tuition costs lower and to sponsor capital projects that are not a part of the normal annual budget.  While participation is required, it is also encouraged as involvement is a great way to meet other parents of our school.  Life-long friendships do develop here.