By: Shelley McKinley Ed.D.
St. Peter Catholic High School, located at 6220 La Salette St., is the first Catholic Career and Technical Education (CTE) high school in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. The original Pre-K – 8th grade school at the site closed in 2019. It reopened at the start of the 2023 – 2024 school year as a CTE high school to fill an identified need that was missing in the portfolio of Catholic schools in the Houston area. Ninth grade students started at the St. Dominic Center and moved into their newly renovated school building in February 2024.
The School features four pathways which include Business, Construction Management, Education, and Information Technology (IT). Ninth grade students follow a general course load and declare their pathway at the end of the ninth-grade year. Stu- dents will also attend Mass monthly at St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church next door to the school, with some students in the role of altar servers. “The school offers a private Catholic opportunity and features small classes,” said Tim Scalzitti, Director of Advancement.
Th e rising tenth grade class will double in the 2024-2025 school year based on students accepted to-date. Incoming freshmen have also been admitted, and the school is currently accepting applications for the 9th and 10th grade seats. Th e first graduating class will occur in 2027. Th e goal is for students to graduate with their high school diploma and industry certifications that will jumpstart their careers. As a CTE high school, St. Peter participates in E-Sports instead of traditional sports and competes against other schools in coding and technology. St. Peter Catholic – A Career and Technical High School was designed by the Archdiocese and community partners to be affordable to all students and families seeking a Catholic secondary education who are in
high school.
h e school will not only serve Houston’s Catholic community students but will be available to all students and families seeking an alternative to public high-school, high-cost private school, or charter school. Th e curriculum for SPC was developed using several guiding principles. SPC has built in ‘life-skills’ into the curriculum which includes personal finance, resume development, personal marketing, and additional critical life components that will further prepare students who seek to become independent and begin their careers immediately following high school.
Th e high school has already established partnerships with construction companies for the Construction path-way, insurance companies and banks for the Business pathway, St. Thomas University’s Cybersecurity Department for the IT pathway, and the Catholic School Office of the Archdioceses for the Education pathway. These industries are expected to experience
tremendous growth for job opportunities in the Greater Houston area.
