Catholic schools near Madison (Milwaukee, Waukesha: real estate, house, live)

[pleasehelp]

A job change will put us in/near Madison. The relocating information on this forum has been very helpful. We have school-age children. We would like them to be in a faith-based school environment, preferably Catholic. Southeast Wisconsin has many Catholic schools K-8. There seems to be only a handful in/near Madison. Does anyone have any information as to why there are so few, or are we missing some?

Also, does anyone have any info regarding St. Xavier in Cross Plains or Sacred Heart in Sun Prairie, or any others we may have missed?

Thank you for any info, and any insight.

[Drover]

I think there are fewer Catholic schools in Madison because a) it doesn't have as deep a Catholic "tradition" as the Milwaukee area (Madison did not receive nearly as many Catholic immigrants in the early 20th century), and b) Catholic schools have served a demand for private schools in other cities that isn't as strong in Madison because the public schools are perfectly adequate for most. Plus the Madison area population is 1/4th of that of the Milwaukee area.

[Chelito23]

There are several Catholic schools in Madison, up to 8th grade. Then they continue onto Edgwood usually, which is the only Catholic high school in the area if I am not mistaken.

Blessed Sacrament, Sacred Heart, St. James, Queen of Peace...all have the elementary and middle school programs. There are others as well, but those are the ones I am most familiar with. The ones I mentioned are in Madison proper by the way.

[pleasehelp]

Thank you for the responses. I did some more checking on the Madison Archdiocese website, but haven't come up with something that corresponds with a house in our price range. Edgewood sounds great but is unfortunately too pricey for us.

Drover - thanks for the input as to why there seems to be fewer Catholics churches/schools. I was wondering if it had to do with some type of historical/settling reason.

We're trying to find a 4-bedroom home $300k or below (if possible) near a Catholic school K-8, that feeds into an academically challenging high school with a principal that runs somewhat of a "tight ship" in regard to respectful student behavior.

Catholic schools are everywhere down here - Pewaukee, Hartland, Delafield, Oconomowoc, Genesee, Mukwonago, East Troy, Lake Geneva, Waterford, and Burlington has 2. I didn't anticipate having to search very hard for one near Madison. If anyone can offer any info/advice on any particular Catholic school in the Madison area I'd really appreciate it.

[Chelito23]

I think there are several catholic schools in Madison, but when you add in to the mix a 4 bedroom house under 300K near one of those schools...it does get tough. I would say to find a house to your liking and then worry about the school. The high schools are all pretty good here.

The only place that comes to mind for your question is Sun Prairie. There is a Catholic School there (Sacred Heart), and the homes tend to be cheaper there. The high school is nice as well.

Othe areas in Madison near the Catholic schools are pricier, with smaller homes. Queen of Peace is in Westmorland, you could check out that area near Midvale Blvd, Tokay Blvd area. The homes with 4 beds would be over 300K, but I think you could find something somewhat near your price range.

[stauffacher]

I am very familiar with St Francis of Cross Plains. Our children and now our grandchildren have and are attending St Francis. It is an excellent school. This next school year will be the 150 year as a catholic school, the oldest stll running school in the diocese. My husband has been an administrator in catholic high schools and is now retired. I also taught in the catholic highs. Paul was the Pres./Principal of Waukesha Catholic Memorial HS before we moved to MN. to build a new Catholic HS for 1000 students that opened in 2000.
Don't know how I ended on this site and found your post. MAYBE DIVINE INTERVENTION! We moved back here after retiring. This is a small village but we have a great church and school community. When our children were in school we lived in the West Middleton area. Edgewood is a good catholic school and there are ways to be able to afford it. Our grandchildren have been able to make it work.
Any ?

[pleasehelp]

Chelito - thanks once again. I didn't realize Queen of Peace was so close to Fitchburg. Somehow I missed that one. I just did quick browsling on realtor.com and a few other real estate websites, and we'd have to downsize a bit due to the Madison area's higher housing prices, but a good school would be worth it.

Stauffacher - thanks so much for your post! We were in Cross Plains last week to take a look around. St. Francis looks like a nice church and school. We found the Culver's, which was a hit with the kids (o.k....and us too). It seems like a nice community. I really appreciate you offering your e-mail address for questions. I just may do that. Meanwhile, I'll give a call to the school tomorrow. Maybe it is Divine Intervention! What are the odds of getting a response from a retired Catholic teacher and wife of a previous principal of Catholic Memorial?? Thank you so much for browsing the internet. Congratulations on building a new Catholic High School. That sure must have been/and is something! There are so few that it's great to hear of growth.

[Sideblinded]

I grew up in Madison, and I think 75% of my friends were Catholic! (I felt that I was in the minority.) A lot of Catholic schools closed in the city over the years.

Regardless, Madison has great Fish Fry's due to Catholic roots.

[Drover]

The Friday Fish Fry has long morphed into a secular institution in Wisconsin, as much a tribute to the state's fishing tradition thanks to its 3.2 million lakes as a tribute to the state's Catholic roots. Friday fish fry in a Wisconsin supper club... life don't get much better...

[David Stiennon]

Madison has another Catholic high school which opened a few years back. I volunteer for St. Ambrose Academy (grades 6-12) on the West side of Madison. Check out details at S T A M B R O S E A C A D E M Y