PIQUA — God is good! Piqua Catholic School is continuing its mission of “being an example of Jesus’ love” every day, in all we do. Through our witness as Christians, we are committed to delivering a values-based curriculum that helps to form the whole student. Because of this and the continued support of our parishes, alumni, families, friends and local business community, our Preschool program has grown over 56% and our K-8 program nearly 33% since 2017. Overall, between our North Street and Downing Street campuses in Piqua, we are now home to over 300 students, teachers, and staff.

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We are so grateful for this growth and opportunity to serve more families each year, and it’s taken a great amount of prayer, people, and persistence to get to where we are now. The support from all our stakeholders, including our teachers and staff; parents and families; alumni and friends of the school; parishioners of St. Mary and St. Boniface; and business and personal sponsors of the school have made it all work. And it does work! This is why Catholic education is thriving in Piqua.

We know that our people are the most important asset of our school and recognize that we have an incredible team here at Piqua Catholic. Because of this, we have increased our commitment to them in several ways over the past year, including: a 10 percent wage increase for all K-8 teachers and staff; free or reduced tuition and free extended care for all staff member’s students; free lunch for K-8 staff, brand new technology in all classrooms and enhanced safety measures in our buildings among others. This increased commitment to our team generates an environment that is flowing with joy and love for one another and those we serve.

In addition, we have also been busy this year with many projects around the school at both campuses including, installing mini-split HVAC units, renovating our STEM lab, renovating our library/media center, and renovating our staff lounge at the Downing Street campus. We have also made many technology upgrades with new networking and brand-new computers for our staff and students. Finally, we did a book-by-book review of our entire school library (over 21,000 books) to ensure the content of each aligns with our Catholic faith and are developmentally appropriate for our students.

Our students continue to benefit from a robust curriculum including daily religion class, instruction in French and Spanish, hands-on science labs including competing in an annual Science Fair, choir, band, art, LEGO STEM education, and much more! While we are growing, we still offer low student-teacher ratios which gives our teachers the time and opportunity to ensure students receive the attention they deserve. We also continue to value the experiences our students can receive outside of the classroom, which is why every grade level benefits from educational field trips during the school year. Our sports and athletic programs are available to grades 3-8 grades with our junior high teams competing in the Three Rivers Conference.

We are looking up and looking ahead to next year as our school continues to grow. Enrollment opens to the public on March 1, 2023. Families of all faiths are welcome! Those who are interested in learning about the difference a Catholic education can make for their students are encouraged to call the school for a tour and enroll early to secure your child’s spot for the 2023-2024 school year.