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Choosing a School
Why families choose St. Francis
Quincy has four Catholic elementary schools, and they're all good ones. If your child ends up at any of them, they'll be taught well and prayed over daily. We mean that.
So the real question isn't which school is best. It's which school is right for your family, and those are different questions.
Here's what's true about ours.
In Short
Three things you should know about us
01 — Faith isn't a class period here
We go to Mass together as a school every week and pray several times a day. There's a crucifix in every room. Students know the prayers by heart because they say them so often. When something hard happens in a family, the whole school prays for them by name.
We're not shy about this and we don't apologize for it. Parents who choose St. Francis usually tell us it's the reason they came.
02 — Your family is in from the first day
There's no waiting period and no inner circle to work your way into. New families tell us they felt part of the community within a week. Some of our families have been here for generations. Others found us last spring. In the hallway you can't tell which is which.
03 — Nobody's performing
This is a warm, unfussy school. Nobody's keeping track of what you drive, what you wear at pickup, or where you sit at the Christmas program. Come as you are, in the truest sense.
The Substance
Ten reasons families consider us
- Faith lived daily. All-school Mass every week, prayer several times a day, sacramental preparation, and priests and deacons in our classrooms through the year.
- Reading taught the right way. We rebuilt how we teach reading around structured literacy and the science of reading. Twelve teachers trained in it; three completed a two-year LETRS program. We're the only Catholic school in Quincy teaching this way.
- Teachers who stay. Experienced, fully certified, many with advanced degrees. Several are St. Francis graduates themselves.
- One teacher, then many. Kindergarten through fourth grade stay with one teacher who knows everything about your child. From fifth grade on, students learn from subject teachers who chose their field.
- Real tools, not just screens. Every student has a device. Our junior high students also learn to use a band saw, a drill press, and a 3D printer.
- Music that goes somewhere. Music class for every student, plus concert band, jazz band, two choirs, and a spring musical.
- Nobody falls through. Literacy intervention, academic intervention, Title I, and speech services, all on site.
- Small classes. Small enough that your child is known, not managed. When a grade grows past what one room should hold, we add a section rather than a chair.
- Students of every faith are welcome. Always have been. You do not have to be Catholic to belong here.
- Since 1862. Generations of Quincy families have grown up in these halls, and the traditions have held.
One block of College Avenue
A child can start three-year-old preschool here and go all the way through a doctorate without ever leaving this block. Our PreK–8 school sits directly across from Quincy University, so the walk from a first Communion to a college commencement is about two hundred feet.
Four years at Quincy Notre Dame in between, across town. We'll allow it.
Academics
Faith is why most families come. The teaching is why they stay.
- We changed how we teach reading.
In 2022 we moved from balanced literacy to structured literacy. Our approach was written up in a national literacy journal and covered by the Quincy Herald-Whig. Fewer of our first and second graders need intervention now than before. - Subject teachers without losing the small school.
From fifth grade on, students learn math from the math teacher and science from someone who loves science, in a junior high small enough that every teacher knows every student. - A workshop, not just a computer lab.
Our STREAM lab has a band saw, mitre saw, and drill press alongside 3D printers and robotics. Every graduate has used them. - Room to go further.
Eligible eighth graders take Early Bird Algebra at Quincy Notre Dame before the school day starts. - A library that's actually used.
More than 10,000 books, and every class visits weekly.
From the Classroom
Hear it from a teacher
We can describe how teaching works here, but it's more useful to hear it from someone doing it.
Shaun Carey teaches junior high and runs our STREAM lab. He came to St. Francis after teaching and coaching at Payson, and he's taught a good number of the families now sending us their second and third child. Here he is on what the approach actually looks like from inside a classroom.
Mr. Shaun Carey, junior high and STREAM.
The Fair Question
Why pay for school when public school is free?
It's the right question to ask, and it deserves a straight answer rather than a sales pitch.
Quincy has good public schools with dedicated teachers, and some of those teachers are our neighbors and our parishioners. Plenty of faithful families choose them, and we'd never suggest otherwise.
What you're paying for here is a few things a public school can't offer, not because it's failing, but because of what it is.
Faith, taught openly. A public school legally cannot pray with your child, prepare them for the sacraments, or teach that they were made on purpose by God. We can, and we do, every day.
Being small on purpose. A public school has to take everyone in its boundary. We can decide that a grade needs two sections instead of one, and we do. Your principal will know your child's name.
Choosing our own instruction. When our teachers concluded that balanced literacy wasn't serving enough of our students, we changed it. We didn't wait for a district committee.
One community, not three. Your school, your parish, and the people at Mass on Sunday are largely the same people. That's not a program. It's what happens when a parish runs a school for a hundred and sixty years.
And to be fair about it: public schools have facilities, specialists, and programs we don't, and they're free. Some families weigh all that and choose public school, and they're not making a mistake.
But cost shouldn't be the deciding factor before you know the real number. Every family here receives parish support, and additional assistance is available. Before you rule us out on price, look at what families actually pay.
A Small-School Advantage
Your child doesn't have to choose yet
At a bigger school, a sixth grader who likes both basketball and the trumpet usually has to pick one. Rosters are competitive, schedules collide, and specialization starts early.
That isn't how it works here. A student at St. Francis can play a sport, sit in the concert band, sing at Mass, be in the spring musical, and run a project in the STREAM lab, in the same year. Plenty do exactly that. Directors and coaches are used to sharing students, and nobody treats a child as belonging to one activity.
Eleven is too young to decide what you're good at. A school this size lets a child find out.
An Honest Fit
Is St. Francis right for your family?
We'd rather be honest than oversell. Here's who tends to be happy here.
- Families who want faith at the center, not at the edges.If you want your child praying daily, going to Mass weekly, and learning the faith seriously, you'll be glad you came. If you'd prefer religion stay lighter, another school may fit better, and we'd tell you so.
- Families who want to be known.We're small. Your principal will know your child's name, and probably yours. Some families want more anonymity than that, and that's a fair thing to want.
- Families who'd rather things be real than polished.We're not a flashy school. The gym is old and the traditions are older. What we have is warmth, and people notice it quickly.
- Families who are new here.If you're moving to Quincy or leaving another school, you're not walking into a closed room. It happens more often than you'd think, and it goes fine.
FAQ
Questions Families Ask
You're paying for things a public school can't offer: faith taught openly and practiced daily, a school small enough to know your child by name, and the freedom to change our instruction when it isn't working, as we did with reading. Every family here also receives parish support, so the number is lower than most people assume.
Lessons come to life
The teachers at St. Francis bring lessons to life, creating engaging classrooms where students feel excited about learning. What stands out most is their strong training in literacy instruction, ensuring that every student grows as a confident, capable reader and communicator.
John & Lindsey Kelly FamilyThe best way to know is to walk in.
Come see an ordinary day. Meet Mrs. Radel, look in the classrooms, ask us anything. About 45 minutes, no pressure at all.