St. Peter Lutheran School

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St. Peter Lutheran School
3461 Merle Ave.
Modesto, CA 95355
209-551-0563


Our Mission
St. Peter Lutheran School, an extension of St. Peter Lutheran Church, provides excellent education within a Christ centered worldview. This high quality, Bible based education, meeting and exceeding California standards, assists parents and families in bringing up children in the training and instruction of the Lord to produce life-long learners who seek to glorify God.

We are a member of the Wisconsin Synod Lutheran School system, now the fourth-largest parochial school system in the nation. Our Lutheran elementary schools offer benefits shared by many private and parochial schools:

Your child won’t get lost in the crowd
Your child can progress faster and participate more
Parents and teachers work together as partners
Teachers commit themselves fully to the school’s mission

We offer enrollment for three year-old preschool through 8th grade in several multi-age classrooms.

Christ-Centered
St. Peter Lutheran School offers lasting benefits to your child and family that other schools cannot. A complete education consists of learning well the answers to fundamental questions of life, such as “Who am I?” and What is the real purpose of life?”

Dedicated, professional Lutheran teachers use God’s Word to teach what it means to have a relationship with God.

Daily interaction with God’s Word also gives children a sense of purpose in their everyday lives. Teachers foster conversations about how we use the many gifts that God has given us. Sexual education and drug abuse prevention can be taught in light of who we are as God’s children. Students are given real-life opportunities to serve a wider world to the glory of God.

Students, parents, and teachers contribute to a caring community whose culture is distinctively Christ-centered.

Academic Excellence
Among the reasons that families choose St. Peter are the strengths of the academic program and the quality of instruction. Its faculty are highly qualified, trained for professional service in our Lutheran school system. Each K-8 teacher holds at minimum a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from an accredited and well-respected college, which requires the following:

Rigorous academic program with heavier course load than required for many future teachers
Range of coursework in addition to professional education classes (philosophy, theology, liberal arts, performance arts) experience in the performance arts, especially vocal and instrumental music
Specialized training in theology, as well as family and child counseling

Teachers interact with children in settings which are kept intentionally small during the entire school year (student-teacher ratios currently range from 6:1 to 12:1, depending on grade level.) The curriculum is designed to help children grow both as independent and collaborative learners, with the goal of preparing them for a successful experience in high school and beyond.

St. Peter is a small school, with a maximum of 70 students to be accepted for the 2007–2008 school year. The school welcomes student applications for all grade levels in its four multi-grade classrooms.

Multi-age, multi-grade classrooms have contributed greatly to the WELS school system’s 150 years of academic excellence. Teachers in multi-age classrooms often are better prepared to custom-tailor instruction to the needs of individual students than teachers in single-grade classrooms. Multi-age classrooms are filled with a great range of books, materials, and stimuli which are naturally available to all students, no matter what their age. The teacher uses these resources to deliver excellent small-group instruction for each child. For example, a first-grader may just have emerged as a reader but can work with mathematical concepts usually taught well into second grade. An experienced multi-age teacher responds to this child with second-grade level instruction in math and first-grade level literacy instruction. Even more exciting, the teacher can almost always identify at least one other child in the class who is an academic peer for your child, a friend who will nudge your child toward new discoveries and delights. It is no wonder that a recent Canadian study of multi-age classes all over North America concluded that “students in multi-grade classes tended to be higher or better than those in single-grade classes in the following affective areas: study habits, social interaction, self-motivation, cooperation, and attitudes toward school.” Results like these, borne out by standardized test scores as well, have led several states to mandate the availability of multi-age classrooms within elementary school.

Important Comparisons…
Teachers in our local school district work very hard to maintain high educational standards and student achievement. Their success is a tribute to their professionalism and determination. However, the staff at St. Peter Lutheran School will be free of many challenges public school teachers face. Our teachers will enjoy flexibility, smaller class sizes, and a school culture unmatched in the Sylvan School District.