A school founded on a promise.
Sister Maria Benedicta Bauer crossed from Bavaria with a dream of an "English school" in Racine. One hundred and sixty years later, that promise is an institution that has formed sixteen thousand minds.
Forming lifelong learners
and globally responsible citizens.
St. Catherine's educates students in the Catholic faith, fostering an environment of academic and behavioral excellence to create lifelong learners and globally responsible citizens. It is a simple mission — but a demanding one. It asks more of a student than a transcript. It asks for a formed conscience, a curious mind, and a willingness to serve.
We welcome students of all faiths and backgrounds, and we promote diversity and respect within a community rooted in Catholic, Dominican tradition. What you'll find in our halls is not uniformity of belief — it is a shared commitment to study, prayer, service, and community.
Lord of all creation,
We pray for St. Catherine's High School Community.
We ask that you walk with them in truth,
So that they may stand for truth;
We pray that you bless them,
So that they may bless their community and
Live out the beatitudes.
Remind them that their lives become praise to you,
And praise for you through
Study, service, and prayer.
We ask that you make them strong;
So that they can go out and preach
Through their words, actions, and thoughts.
We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.
The premier model for innovative
Catholic education in Southeastern Wisconsin.
To develop the whole person in a respectful, globally aware, and Christ-centered environment. To attract preeminent faculty and staff united by an inspirational mission. To operate in a modernized facility that pays tribute to our Dominican heritage while preparing young women and men to become lifelong learners and servant-leaders.
One hundred and sixty years.
One enduring mission.
Sister Maria Benedicta Bauer opened St. Catharina's Female Academy near the shore of Lake Michigan in January of 1865. If not for her relentless determination and drive, St. Catherine's High School would not exist today.
Journeying to the United States from her native Bavaria in 1858, Benedicta was part of a network of Bavarian monks and nuns building schools, parishes, and institutions to establish the German Catholic Church in America while spreading God's message through Christian education.
In 1862, Benedicta and Sister Maria Thomasina Ginker established the Congregation of Saint Catherine of Siena in Racine, Wisconsin. That organization — now known as the Racine Dominicans — remains a proud sponsor of St. Catherine's to this day.
A lover of music who had served as a teacher and choir nun in Bavaria, Benedicta realized her dream against tremendous odds, continuously battling economic hardship. The Sisters of the congregation were poor; with the Civil War raging in America, money was scarce. Nonetheless, Benedicta spearheaded fundraising that secured the building of her academy.
In January of 1865, St. Catharina's Female Academy opened its doors to fifteen boarders and forty-seven day school students. Over time, that Academy flourished into St. Catherine's: a coeducational college-preparatory high school dedicated to teaching the importance of service and developing the God-given talents of every student who passes through.
The people who
shape the day.
M.S. Administrative Leadership, UW–Milwaukee
At SCHS since 2024. In education since 2000.
M.A. Theology, Sacred Heart Seminary
Varsity Softball & Girls Volleyball Coach. At SCHS since 2007.
Part of something larger.
In 2017, Archbishop Jerome Listecki approved the formation of Siena Catholic Schools of Racine — a unified system of seven Catholic schools serving the greater Racine area. St. Catherine's High School is proud to be its secondary anchor, forming students who carry the Siena mission into their lives beyond our walls.