Dear parents,

I am delighted to welcome you to our St. Therese Catholic School and I am glad to have the possibility of meeting you, the parents of sharing few thoughts about our school and its mission.

We are part of the Chicago Catholic School system, which sees an enrollment of 98,000 students, and it is the second largest school system in the nation.
This system possible was made by the dedication of religious people and clergy that.

At St. Therese we have a debt of gratitude to the Maryknoll Missionaries, Sisters and Fathers, who established our School and worked so hard at it for so many years.

In the 1950s, when our school was founded, about 90 percent of the Catholic teaching staff was made up of religious brothers and sisters. Today, there are only 206 religious men and women teaching in Chicago's Catholic schools, or, in other words, only 4% of the staff.

The responsibility for educating students has now shifted from religious Orders to lay people, and it is our turn to be the stewards of this great mission.

The declining number of Religious in Catholic Schools nationwide has led to fewer students, causing a rise in tuition fees in our schools.

In the early days, and till not long ago, tuition fees were low because there we few salaries to be paid. We know how both Clergy and Religious, viewed Catholic education as their spiritual mission, and required low compensation.

But as the Religious retired, tuitions have soared as schools struggle to pay competitive salaries for lay teachers.

These are few of the many challenges facing Catholic Schools, together with the pressure to remain academically competitive.

At St. Therese we have willingly accepted all these challenges: We see how our Principal Mr. Phyllis Cavallone is all out writing and pursuing projects, and grants, for the enhancement of our school. Through her untiring efforts, we can now boast of being technologically second to none.  In this challenging task, she enjoys the support of Parishioners and of our young, energetic and committed School Board. We shall see them in action at our forthcoming St. Therese BBQ & Bazaar on Sept. 29th.

The key to of St. Therese Catholic School success is the dedicated and professionally Faculty. Together with our children they made possible for us to rank among the top 25 private school in Chicagoland.

As pastor of this school I feel confident that our lay teachers will carry on the Catholic mission entrusted to them by the Church.

 St. Therese Chinese School has proved to be an academically strong and culturally connected community.

As Catholics, we welcome diversity, we teach values and we share our faith.
Catholic faith is the secret of our strength and success.  

Our Christian teaching aims at making our children God-fearing and exemplary citizens of this country. It is a very powerful means of keeping our kids out of gangs and violence.

It is our Christian Faith that makes this place “special” transforming our Catholic school into a safe haven, a place which is acknowledge to be drug-free, violence-free and gang-free.

As we begin this new academic year, I feel thrilled and exited to have you aboard in the great job of formation, and we count on your active support and participation in the school activities.

I invite you now to join me in prayer as we say:

“Our father…”

Thank you and may God bless you all.

Fr. Michael Davitti, SX
Pastor