Values for a Lifetime

I am very pleased to announce that we have posted the Initial Assessment Report for Catholic schools to our website. This report contains the results of the data we collected on the state of Catholic school education during the first nine month of 2011. The report includes descriptions of school performance in several critical areas, as well as vivid depictions of the demographics of the Archdiocese.

In the months ahead, this report will be used as the basis for the formation of our final vision and plan. In spite of the length of this report, we know that we will need to continue to gather data on our schools.

To assist in this effort, we are in the process of forming six Task Forces around six of the “Domain Areas” outlined in this report (Catholic identity, academic excellence, finances, governance, leadership, and marketing/enrollment). Each Task Force will be comprised of 6-8 specialists in the domain area, and represent different stakeholder groups. These Task Forces will meet in the coming months, analyze the data found in the Assessment Report, gather any additional necessary data, and ultimately identify trends and formulate conclusions. We are still anticipating the completion of our vision by the late summer of 2012.

In the months ahead, I strongly encourage you to keep informed of our developing vision through our website. We will do our best to keep this information up-to-date, and continually apprise you of important developments as they occur. Likewise, I encourage you to remain open minded and hopeful for the future; there is incredible strength present in our Catholic schools, and I remain optimistic for a bright future. Finally, I encourage you to pray for the future of our schools, and for the success of this endeavor.

The first phase of our vision planning is complete. We now know how our schools are performing. Now we must define how we will move together into the future. Onward and upward!