St. Paul's Lutheran School

 

1.    Q.  Why Does St. Paul's Lutheran School Exist?

A.   St. Paul's Lutheran School provides Christian education.  Yes, our school will teach the secular subjects but our primary reason for existence is to help children to know Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and to help them grow in their faith.  It is important for parents to want this for their children and together parents, children, and school work together to accomplish this Christ centered education.

 

2.    Q.   Is religion taught as a subject?  How often?  And what is the training of the teachers for this?

A.   Yes, religion is taught as a subject on a daily basis.  The teachers are required by the training universities to have a very thorough preparation in the area of religion, doctrine, methodology, biblical foundations, and the like.  (Both male and female teachers have this training.  The male members of our faculty could with two additional years of training at a seminary, become pastors.)

 

3.    Q.   Isn't the Lutheran school then, just like the public school with one hour of religion added to the school day?

A.   No!  While a specific religion period is held daily, each subject is taught in the light of Christian citizenship.  Subjects such as Social Studies, Science, Mathematics, and all the other subjects are discussed and dealt with in terms of God's omniscient and omnipotent power and presence in the world today in creating and sustaining the symmetry of universe and controlling the outcomes of all world events for His purposes.  In addition, the attitude of teachers to deal with all problems in a Christian way, plus the association of your child with Christian classmates, makes a Lutheran school an ideal place to help you as a Christian family to bring up your child.

 

4.    Q.   Do the teachers in St. Paul's Lutheran School have the academic training necessary to be qualified classroom teachers?

A.   All the teacher training colleges from which we get our teachers are accredited by North Central Accreditation, the same agency that accredits all the public or state colleges and universities throughout the United States.

 

 

 

5.    Q.   Does this mean that the teachers in St. Paul's Lutheran school could become certified public school teachers if they taught in public schools?

A.   Yes, as a matter of fact, as a result of legislation in the state, our teachers are able to receive state teacher certification.

 

6.    Q.   Do the teachers in the Lutheran school keep up with modern techniques and continue to take college courses to improve their teaching methods?

A.   Yes. Many of our teachers take college and university courses during the school year or summer months.

 

7.    Q.   Are the same basic courses offered in the Lutheran School that are offered in the public school?

A.   Yes. The following subjects or courses are taught at each grade level:  Reading, Mathematics, Language, Writing, Spelling, Social Studies, Science, Art, Music, and Physical Education.  Wood and metal shop are not available since the student can take these during his high school years.

 

8.    Q.   Is there any departmentalization?

A.   Yes.  At the 7th and 8th grade levels, the program is departmentalized in a few subjects according to the strengths of the teacher.

 

9.    Q.   What are the class size limits?

A.   The Board of Christian Education has established four sets of class size limits.  The Board uses these numbers as a guideline for effective teaching and classroom management.

Pre-Kindergarten16 children per class

Kindergarten 3rd Grade24 children per class

4th Grade 6th Grade28 children per class

7th & 8th Grade                       32 children per class

 

10.  Q.   What about textbooks and other teaching materials?  Are these up-to-date and modern?

A.   Every five years our textbooks are replaced and newer copyrights are purchased from companies such as Holt, Rinehart & Winston; Silver Burdett; Houghton Mifflin; Macmillian; Charles E. Merrill; etc.  These companies are among the most progressive and current companies in the publication business.  Goals and objectives are reviewed and the textbook that meets these objectives is purchased.

 

11.  Q.   What kind of facilities does St. Paul's operate?

A.   St. Paul's owns two buildings.  We have a new early childhood center with 8 classrooms and a multi-purpose room with a 4K program through 2^nd grade.  Our other building located on Lincoln Avenue is attached to the church and has ten classrooms, a gym, computer room, and music area.  This building serves students from the middle grades through 8th grade.

 

12.  Q.           Besides classroom teachers, what other staff or services are available to the school?

A.   The school employs the services of a full-time principal, school secretaries, a kindergarten & Pre-K aide, an instrumental band instructor, music teacher and two teacher assistants at the lower grade levels.

 

 

 

 

13.  Q.   What kind of costs are involved in attending St. Paul's?

A.   The Board of Christian Education establishes an annual registration fee which is used to pay for instructional materials and equipment.  Fees for field trips and milk are also established annually.  These fees are paid for each student who attends.

 

14.  Q.   Is there any tuition?

A.   Tuition fees also exist for members as well as non-members but different rates apply.  The cost to educate each child at St. Paul's exceeds $2800 per year.  Non-members pay the majority part of the cost.  Members of the congregation pay a lesser amount since their weekly offerings are being used to support the school and other programs and services provided by St. Paul's.  Exact costs for each school year can be shared with the prospective parent by the school secretary or principal.

 

15.  Q.   What kind of child should attend St. Paul's

A.   Each teacher is well aware of individual differences between the children in the classroom.  Through observation, personal contact, and test results, the teachers are able to determine a child's ability and potential.  Teacher's require the pupils to be working up to the God-given ability they possess.  Should a child have a learning problem parents may seek outside assistance  as well as having an M-Team evaluation.  This evaluation is provided by the public school officials established by state guidelines.  The main purpose is to help identify the child's problem and take steps to correct this problem.  Parents and teachers work together to provide the optimum learning for the child.

 

16.  Q.   What about transportation?  We live some distance from the school and have only one car.

A.   Bus Transportation is provided by the State through the local public school's central office.  Should you reside over two miles from the school and live in an area where transportation is available, your child will be transported at no cost to you.  West Allis and Milwaukee provide this busing service.  Each case must be studied individually.

 

Car Pools are used by approximately 70% of our families.  This involves two, three, four, or five families working out a system of sharing the transportation responsibilities for their children.  In instances where a family cannot contribute a turn in the transportation pool, a small remuneration is generally given to those parents who do all the transporting.  The uniform distribution of families in West Allis and outlying regions has made this approach operate very well.

 

17.  Q.   In addition to the regular academic or curricular areas, what other opportunities do the children have for participation or co-curricular involvement?

A.   The school has a number of co-curricular activities including the following:  school choirs, band and instrumental participation, Alpha & Omega Yearbook, service areas (safety cadets, school store, lunch room, chapel services), musical, boys' and girls' basketball teams, cheerleaders, girls' softball teams, track and field, boys' and girls' volleyball teams, boys' soccer, boys' flag football,  and membership in the Milwaukee Lutheran School Athletic Association.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

18.  Q.   What about the graduates?  Are they fully prepared to enter the local public and Lutheran high schools upon graduation?

A.   Very definitely.  Students take achievement tests with scores being given to their future school officials to help them prepare for future courses of study.  A large percent of our students go on to Martin Luther High School.

 

19.  Q.   What about parents organizations?  Do you have a Parent-Teacher Association?

A.   Yes.  Our parent organization is called the Parent-Teacher League.  This organization is affiliated with the National Lutheran Parent-Teacher League.  The average attendance is about 100.  The Parent-teacher League meets four times during the year, sponsors numerous school programs, and hosts two annual St. Paul's Invitational Basketball Tournaments.

 

20.  Q.   Do all Lutheran schools have the same quality education that St. Paul's Lutheran School has and how do you feel about the quality of the public schools?

A.   The quality of Lutheran schools varies just as the quality of public schools varies.  There are some outstanding Lutheran schools just as there are outstanding public schools.  We feel that it is the duty of every citizen (even if he has a child in a Lutheran school) to support and work towards quality in the community's public schools.  Sound schools, both public and parochial, make for a sound community and the responsibility of a sound community rests upon the shoulders of each citizen.

 

Should you have a question that was not answered above, please call the school office for more information (541-6251).  You may also wish to make an appointment and visit the school while it is in session.