Curriculum
Pacelli Catholic Schools offers a world-class, rigorous academic experience for all students. Our Catholic faith is at the heart of our curriculum and forms the foundation of all we do in the classroom. Our curriculum, instruction, and assessments work together to develop students that are not only knowledgeable, faith-filled, and compassionate, but also students who demonstrate the skills of collaboration, critical thinking, and concern for others so that they leave our schools prepared to be lifelong learners and contributors in our global society.
Pacelli Catholic Schools has participated in the Diocese of La Crosse ACE Collaborative Curriculum Writing Program. Facilitators of the curriculum writing process were trained through the University of Notre Dame’s Alliance for Catholic Education Institute. The process began in 2016 and continues today at Pacelli. The Pacelli curriculums are written using Diocesan, state, and national standards with an emphasis on our Catholic identity. Our goal is to provide all students with the most challenging education possible. In 2018, the Diocese of La Crosse published an electronic binder with all the approved Diocesan curriculums.
The Diocesan ACE Curriculum lays out the essential learning outcomes at every grade level and in every subject area. For specific details about textbooks or materials used, please contact the respective Pacelli school.
Diocese of La Crosse Curriculum Binder
The Portrait of a Cardinal: Preparing Students for a Lifetime of Learning and Service
At Pacelli Catholic Schools, we believe education is about more than academic achievement. It is about developing the whole person—intellectually, spiritually, socially, and emotionally—so that every student is prepared to make a positive difference in the world.
Our Portrait of a Cardinal describes the qualities we strive to develop in every student throughout their educational journey, from kindergarten through graduation. It provides a shared vision for what it means to be a Pacelli Cardinal and guides how we learn, grow, serve, and live out our faith together.
We want our students to become lifelong learners and contributors who use their knowledge, talents, and faith to make a meaningful difference in their communities and beyond.
What Does It Mean to Be a Cardinal?
Creative Thinker
We encourage students to think creatively, explore new perspectives, ask questions, and approach challenges with curiosity and imagination. Students learn to develop unique ideas, consider different possibilities, and find innovative ways to solve problems.
What families might see: Children asking thoughtful questions, exploring new ideas, creating original projects, and discovering different ways to approach a challenge.
Effective Communicator
Strong communication is essential for learning and building meaningful relationships. We help students learn to express their ideas clearly, listen actively, engage in respectful conversations, and adapt their communication to different situations and audiences.
What families might see: Students sharing their thoughts, listening to others, collaborating with classmates, and engaging in respectful discussions—even when opinions differ.
Faith-Filled Steward
As a Catholic school community, we recognize that each person’s abilities and talents are gifts from God. We encourage students to discover their God-given potential and use those gifts to serve others with compassion, gratitude, and purpose.
What families might see: Children helping someone in need, participating in service opportunities, showing kindness, practicing gratitude, and recognizing the dignity and worth of others.
Resilient Problem-Solver
Challenges and setbacks are opportunities to learn and grow. We encourage students to maintain a positive mindset, persevere through difficulties, reflect on mistakes, and seek effective solutions. Resilience helps students build confidence and develop the skills they need to navigate life’s challenges.
What families might see: Students trying again when something is difficult, learning from mistakes, asking for help when needed, and finding constructive ways to work through problems.
Responsible Citizen
We believe every student has a role in strengthening their school, family, and wider community. Students are encouraged to take responsibility for their actions, demonstrate integrity, show pride in their community, and contribute positively to the world around them.
What families might see: Children following through on commitments, making responsible choices, caring for shared spaces, treating others with respect, and looking for ways to make their community better.
Growing Together: School, Home, and Community
Developing these qualities is a shared effort. At Pacelli Catholic Schools, our teachers and staff intentionally create learning experiences that help students practice these characteristics in the classroom, through extracurricular activities, in faith formation, and through service to others.
Families play an equally important role. Everyday moments at home—encouraging curiosity, listening to one another, practicing kindness, working through challenges, and taking responsibility—help reinforce the same qualities we nurture at school.
The Portrait of a Cardinal is not simply a list of goals for students to achieve. It is a vision for who our students are becoming. These characteristics develop over time, and every student has opportunities to grow in each area throughout their educational journey.
Our Shared Vision
We want every Pacelli student to leave our schools prepared not only for the next stage of education or a future career, but also for a life of purpose, faith, and service.
By nurturing creative thinkers, effective communicators, faith-filled stewards, resilient problem-solvers, and responsible citizens, we are working together to form lifelong learners and contributors who make a positive difference in the world.
This is what it means to be a Cardinal.