The History of St. Anthony Parish and School

1872 | A new parish and school, consisting of four classrooms, opened. Three and four grades were taught in each room. The School Sisters of Notre Dame ran the school.

1873 | Mother Caroline purchased two lots on Fourth Avenue and built a home for the Sisters.

1882 | St. Anthony Church was erected. An addition was built in 1889. 

1895 | 112 children received First Holy Communion.

1906 | Sisters erected a larger convent south of the church. The Parish Hall was built in 1907.

1920 | The school building was condemned, and Archbishop Messmer dedicated a new school.

1933 | Enrollment reached 561 pupils. Kindergarten was closed due to overcrowding in first grade.

1936 | An Individual Progress Room was inaugurated. Pupils of “low intelligence” developed their talents and received special attention.

1938 | Fourteen Sisters taught in the school. Classrooms reached capacity. There was no tuition fee; parish membership was the only requirement to attend.

1941 | Two St. Anthony School boys entered the Seminary.

1945 | A new lunchroom opened. Students celebrated with cookies and soda.

1946 | Forty-nine students graduated. Thirty of these students registered at Catholic high schools aided by the Education Fund. One graduate left to study with the Oblate Fathers. Five men from St. Anthony began studying to join the priesthood.

1958 | Due to a fire at Holy Angels School in Chicago, Illinois, fire inspections were intensified, and improvements were made to the school building.

1963 | Bishop Jerome Hastrich administered Confirmation. It was his first. Afterward, he gave the Sisters a blessing. The bishop had been a boy of St. Anthony Parish and attended grade school.

1965 | Student enrollment represented a wide diversity of nationalities but decreased to 342 students. Students taught by Nuns from many different orders, such as Sisters of St. Francis, Dominican Sisters, and Sisters of St. Joseph, replaced the School Sisters of Notre Dame.

1975 | Demographics continue changing in the local area, with Vietnamese and Hispanic families predominating the parish community.  This results in Vietnamese Nuns educating students of Vietnamese nationality in the Convent.

1984 | Pastor Dulek and Principal Mason signed on to enhance the school administration and curriculum. A four and five-year-old kindergarten program was initiated for the first time.  The student enrollment continues to reflect the more diverse community of Hispanic, Puerto Rican, Vietnamese, and African American families of the Parish and the local community.

1992 | Enrollment increased in 1992 with the addition of new educational opportunities supported by the PAVE Program.

1998 | The Wisconsin Supreme Court became the first high court in America to let religious schools join a publicly-funded voucher program.

2004 | The Reading First Grant results in a new direct instruction program.  The same year, the faculty voted to adopt the Core Knowledge Curriculum that emphasized Science, History, and Literature.

2009 | Increasing enrollment demands required moving the fourth grade to another building named Maria Hall.

2009 | St. Anthony High School opens at Christ King Hall.

2012 | St. Anthony High School moves to its current location, serving approximately 340 students.

2013 | St. Anthony Preschool and Daycare opens its doors and earns a Five-Star YoungStar rating.

2016 | Enrollment reaches nearly 2,000 students, grades Pre-K to 12, across five campuses.

2019 | St. Anthony High School celebrates its 10th anniversary.

2022 | St. Anthony High School is renovated to also house St. Anthony Middle School.

2022 | St. Anthony Parish and School celebrate its 150th anniversary.