Valle Catholic High School is a parochial secondary school which serves the communities of Ste. Genevieve County and St. Francois County by educating young women and men for Christian leadership. It is a parochial high school within the Archdiocesan School System. Valle Catholic High School offers opportunities beyond just the classroom experience and challenges students to be active in service to the community. Valle Catholic High School provides a qualityl, comprehensive education consisting of college credit, college preparatory, and career education for students of all ability levels.

Mission statement

As a Catholic high school participating in the mission of Jesus and His Church, our mission is to provide education, encourage total formation of the whole person and foster quality human relationships. Our students will develop an understanding of global stewardship and will be empowered to adapt to the challenge of the twenty-first century.

History of Catholic Education in Ste. Genevieve

Ste. Genevieve Parish, officially founded in 1759 is the oldest recorded parish in the Archdiocese of St. Louis.

From the beginning it was hoped that a Catholic School could be opened. In the early 1800's a school for boys started and was staffed by the Christian Brothers. In 1837 the Sisters of Loretto opened a school for girls at Main and Market Streets and a year later were replaced by the Sisters of St. Joseph.

The rock building next to the Church (now the north section of Old Valle) was built in 1873 and was slated to be a college. That never materialized so it was used as a rectory. The present church structure was dedicated in 1880 and the south side of Old Valle was constructed in 1893. At this time the school was named "Ste. Genevieve Parochial School" and the course of study included: English, French, German, Reading, Writing, Arithmetic, Grammar, and Religion.

In the fall of 1925, Reverend C. L. Tourenhout asked the Sisters of St. Joseph to organize a high school. They granted the request and opened the school in the stone structure south of the church at DuBourg and Market Streets. It was named Valle High School after Felix and Odile Valle, benefactors of the parish. A standard four-year course of studies was adopted and Valle was granted accreditation by the state of Missouri. A new school building was erected on Fourth Street in 1954. This present building is occupied by both grade and high school students. As time advanced, dedicated faculty perpetuated the excellence of the first faculty and enlarged the scope of academic work to maintain a course of studies in keeping with the standards of the day. In July of 1992, the last Sister of St. Joseph left Valle High School; she was replaced by Sister Mary Luke Bauman from the Sisters of the Most Precious Blood. In July of 1994, Valle hired its first lay principal, Mr. Dale Van Deven. Longtime faculty member Sara Menard became principal of VHS in 2000 and continues that role today. A devoted lay faculty and staff now works to continue the great tradition of Valle Catholic High School.

(This history was adapted from an article written by Lucille Jokerst, class of 1925.)

Longtime high school faculty member Sara Menard became principal of VHS in 2000 and took on that role over both grade and high school in Fall 2005

Today Valle Catholic School boasts a PreK - 12 system dedicated to the principles of Catholic education begun by Bishop DuBourg over 150 years ago. A devoted lay faculty and staff now work to continue that great tradition.