Academics

A Community of Academic Excellence

As part of our mission, we are a community of faith and learning. Our academic program is built to challenge our students and prepare them for the future, while incorporating activities to highlight our student's progress. We believe it is our responsibility to provide a diverse learning environment to support student achievement. In addition to following the Course of Study as outlined by the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, we have enhanced our academic rigor to address critical skills needed for our student's success.

Curriculum Overview

St. Susanna Parish School is fully accredited with the Ohio Catholic School Accrediting Association. We follow the Course of Study as outlined by the Archdiocese of Cincinnati.

Mathematics Science & Health Social Studies Religion Reading and English Language Arts Specials Auxiliary

Student Achievement

MAP Growth Assessment

All students take the MAP Growth assessment (Measure of Academic Progress) three times a year in the fall, winter and spring. This assessment is designed to measure an individual student’s growth over time and identifies strengths and opportunities to help drive instruction at an individual level. This assessment provides specific focus areas that can be shared with parents to help drive growth and enhance the parent/teacher relationship for each student. Students in grades K-8 complete the Reading assessment, students in grades 1-8 take the Mathematics assessment and students complete the Science assessment in 5th and 8th grade only. Over the last two years, our student’s scores have continued to increase, scoring well above average across all grade levels.

CogAT (Cognitive Abilities Test)

Students in 3rd, 5th and 7th grade also take The Cognitive Abilities Test, CogAT, in the spring. This assessment is a group administered test of reasoning and problem-solving abilities. The results of this assessment assist in compiling thoughtful instruction based on strengths and areas of opportunities. It provides an indicator of a student’s reasoning in three areas: verbal, quantitative and nonverbal, as compared to a national sample of same-aged peers. Most students at St. Susanna Parish School score higher than average with grade level means, with most students falling in the above-average range. As a school, we use the outcomes of this assessment to identify any students that are eligible for our Enrichment program, which currently services 100+ students.

ARK (Assessment of Religious Knowledge)

All students and religion teachers take the Assessment of Religious Knowledge (ARK) yearly as a tool to measure and enhance religious knowledge. The results from this are used to provide insights to assist with our student’s faith formation. We are proud of our high Catholic Identity Score, with our strongest area of knowledge in Sacraments and Liturgy and high scores in the areas of Virtue, Creed & Salvation History, Prayer and more.

Emphasis on Reading

In addition to the above assessments, students also participate in the Accelerated Reader program on a weekly basis, which assists in providing students with individual book recommendations based on students’ interests and reading levels. STAR reading assessments are also used to find the appropriate reading level for students to help build their love of reading and continued growth with comprehension.

Smart Technology Focus

We understand the important of technology in today’s world and aim to incorporate that in our student’s day to day. Each classroom is equipped with a Clevertouch board for interactive learning, as well as Ladibug document cameras to demonstrate and project classwork for more hands-on learning. We have a 1:1 Chromebook program for all students in grades 4-8 and Chromebook carts for grades K-3. Students begin to learn computer skills in kindergarten and increasingly build on these learned skills to prepare them for future success. For grades 4-8, we begin to incorporate our 3-D printer and implement our robotics program, which challenges students to be critical thinkers. All students participate in coding throughout the year, often through the Hour of Code program.

St. Susanna Parish School Class of 2024 Accolades

100% graduation rate
96% entered faith-based high schools
$208,632 received for high School scholarships
$587,478 offered for high school renewable scholarships