St. Mary's Visitation School Earns Archdiocesan Exemplary Status Award

St. Mary's Visitation School in Elm Grove was recently awarded Exemplary Status by the Archdiocese of Milwaukee for its innovation and outstanding results in the area of information, technology and media skills. Dr. Kathleen Cepelka, superintendant of Catholic Schools for the Archdiocese, informed SMV Pastor Peter Berger and Principal Mary Tretow of the award on June 8.
According to the report, St. Mary's Visitation earned the highest rating possible in each of 12 standards. The school was cited for excellence in its mission to use technology as a tool for student learning and for its professional development and support for teachers. Additionally, the report commended the school for "the ongoing collaboration between parish, faculty, parents, students and outside experts as not only best practice, but a sign of the commitment to forming students both academically and ethically in a 21st century world."
"Essentially, that is like earning all A's on our technology report card," commented Tretow." She noted the award was the culmination of two years of documentation led by SMV Instructional Media Specialist Sue Benson and a team of faculty and parent technology professionals.
The school's technology includes media projectors and interactive whiteboards in all classrooms, two state of the art computer labs, i-pads, media center equipped with e-readers, digital books, automated circulation and lending, document and digital cameras, scanners and GPS devices. The school also offers virtual lab experiences and interactive distance learning through NASA and other agencies. Extracurricular offerings include media crew and keyboarding classes.

The Archdiocese awards exemplary recognition to schools that display outstanding achievement in a specific area. Schools must apply for the award and demonstrate achievement by presenting critical data, which is observed and verified by a visiting team of professionals selected by the Archdiocesan Office for Schools.