Notre Dame School of Milwaukee: Committed to community
By Grace Ávila, Assistant Archivist, School Sisters of Notre Dame
Sister Lucille Coughlin with students during a science class in the late 1990s.
In 1847, the School Sisters of Notre Dame (SSND) embarked on a mission to educate the underprivileged children of German immigrants in America. Their approach was not only about providing education but also about offering the necessary support for these children to succeed. This commitment to high-quality Catholic education and comprehensive support continues today through Notre Dame School of Milwaukee (NDSM), established by the SSND in 1996, to serve the Hispanic community on the South Side of Milwaukee.
The SSND recognized the growing demand for education in the 1990s, coinciding with Milwaukee's rapidly expanding Hispanic population. A report by the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, revealed a staggering 213 percent growth in the Hispanic population between 1990 and 2014. In response, the Jesuit community opened the Nativity Jesuit Middle School for Boys in 1993. This was a crucial moment for SSND, as they recognized the need to provide equal educational opportunities for young Hispanic girls.
Sister Mary Beck with 5th grade students in the late 1990s to the early 2000s.
With this belief in mind, SSND set out to establish a middle school for girls, aiming to prepare them to attend a college preparatory high school. The sisters started laying out their plan in 1994 and invited Hispanic families from the South Side of Milwaukee, local religious and business leaders, and the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Wisconsin to discuss the girls' most significant needs. After seeing the community support, the SSND Girls’ Middle School Project moved forward, preparing the school to open by the fall of 1996. The sisters strongly believed that the middle school should adopt an educational model emphasizing small group and individual instruction. They also hoped that students would receive education in both English and Spanish, and that they would have access to after-school programs. The support provided by the school would extend beyond graduation, as students would be equipped with the tools they need to succeed in their professional and personal lives.
Sister Laura Jean Spaeth, Milwaukee Province Leader at the time, stated in a 1995 press release that, “Notre Dame Middle School is a new response to our mission today to educate where there is great need.” The school officially opened on September 3, 1996, with 26 girls in fifth and sixth grade. It eventually expanded to include 7th and 8th grades by 1997. It was located on the former campus of St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church, with the first class graduating in 1999. Today, the Blessed Theresa Girls’ Middle School operates in the same building and serves 205 girls, continuing to grow and adapt since its establishment.
In 2012, the girls' middle school made the decision to expand by incorporating a K5-1st grade co-ed primary school, providing support for young girls and boys in preparation for attending middle school. The new school was established at the former campus of St. Patrick’s Catholic Church and expanded to include 2nd through 4th grades in 2013. However, by 2014, the lease for the St. Patrick’s campus was expiring, and it became apparent that the primary school would require more space to accommodate its growing student population. As a result, the former Hmong American Peace Academy building was selected as the new location for the elementary school. This building was previously owned and used as a school by St. Lawrence Catholic Church. The primary school has continued to expand, adapting to include three classes for each grade, and in 2021, an additional K3 classroom was added. Today, the Mother Caroline Co-ed Primary School serves 400 students.
In 2018, NDSM expanded its program to include room for a boys' middle school on the Mother Caroline Elementary School campus. Due to the high demand for admissions, in 2023, it was decided that the boys' middle school would be relocated from the NDSM primary school to the former campus of St. Florian Catholic Church. There are currently 100 students enrolled at the St. Florian Boys’ Middle School.
Today, NDSM is comprised of three separate campuses: Mother Caroline Co-ed Primary School, Blessed Theresa Girls' Middle School and St. Florian Boys' Middle School, all located within a few miles of one another on Milwaukee’s South Side. The school has grown from 26 girls to 700 girls and boys, ranging from K3 through 8th grade. The school model initiated by SSND years ago continues under the guidance of the current faculty and staff, embodying the sisters' values and charism. The students thrive in small classroom settings, assuming leadership roles and receiving specialized instruction in their strong subject areas. There are also cross-campus events to bring all three schools together to share in their mission, vision, and sense of community. School leadership is committed to staying open and adaptable to changes that benefit the students as well as the whole NDSM community.
Notre Dame School of Milwaukee continues to uphold the SSND legacy by providing students with high-quality Catholic education and unwavering support to ensure their personal and educational success. The guiding values of NDSM: Respect, Responsibility, and Regalo (Gift), are still at the core of what it means to be an NDSM student and be a part of its community. There is a mural in the Blessed Theresa Girls’ Middle School that shows these three values incorporating the beauty of Latin American culture, the countless future possibilities for these students, and in the center, NDSM students standing side by side with Blessed Mother Theresa, the foundress of the congregation that took it upon itself to respond to the needs of the Milwaukee Hispanic community, inspiring others to do the same and ensuring that every child has the chance to be the very best they can be.
A note of appreciation for President Patrick Landry, the NDSM faculty, staff, and students for their warm welcome during my tour of the NDSM campuses.
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