Values for a Lifetime

We have been receiving some attention lately for our ongoing efforts to construct a unified vision for Catholic schools in the Archdiocese. I remain incredibly optimistic about what we are doing; we have some wonderful schools in the Archdiocese, and I know that our vision will encourage the continued growth and vibrancy of our excellent schools.

We are in the process of building a website devoted to the vision. However, as a "preview", I thought it would be ideal to offer some information that will be eventually posted on the site. What follows more-or-less constitutes a "Frequently Asked Question" portion of the website. These words answer many of the questions I have been receiving from stakeholders about our vision. My apologies for the length...you are welcome to skim through and find the issue that most grabs your attention! Likewise, the formatting is not the best due to the limitations of our blogging program.

Enjoy!

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE VISIONING PROCESS FOR THE ARCHDIOCESE OF CINCINNATI

What is meant by a “Unified Vision for Catholic School Education”?
When we use the word “vision”, we are referring to a glimpse of the long-term future of our Catholic schools. It is our desire to build a common roadmap of how our schools will continue to live out Christ’s ministry of education in our Archdiocese. Traditionally in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, each school has been asked to create their own long-term goals and plans. There has never been a coordinated effort to define the collaborative future of our schools. Thus, our vision will define what our schools will look like in the near and distant future, and how we will achieve our future vision.

What sorts of issues will be addressed in the Unified Vision?
As we are at the start of the planning process, we are uncertain as to what our vision will ultimately resemble. The specifics of our vision will be fleshed out over the coming months. However, it is our intention to address seven key “domain areas” in our vision. In other words, our vision will provide us with goals and a path to the future in seven key areas. These domain areas are (in no particular order):
1.) Academic Excellence: Ensuring that we offer the best possible academic programs to our students.
2.) Catholic Identity and Faith Formation: Ensuring that our schools offer engaging and authentic instruction in religion and that our schools reflect a genuinely Catholic environment.
3.) Finances: Ensuring that our schools remain good financial stewards and that long-term financial solubility can be preserved. Likewise, ensuring that a Catholic school education is available to all families, regardless of their economic backgrounds.
4.) Governance: Examining the integral roles of the pastor, principal, Catholic Schools Office, and the school board (when a board is present) and how these entities relate to the overall leadership of the school.
5.) Marketing and Enrollment: Providing a coordinated outreach to current and potential families to convince them of the value of a Catholic school education. Likewise, securing new sources of revenue to support our schools.
6.) Leadership: Ensuring that qualified top-notch leaders are recruited, trained, and retained in our schools.
7.) Ongoing Strategic Planning: Ensuring that ongoing planning and improvement takes place within individual schools and collectively throughout the Archdiocese.

Why engage in a Visioning Process now?
The climate surrounding our Catholic schools is changing rapidly. Our schools are now exposed to challenges that did not exist in prior decades. In spite of our well-deserved reputation for excellence and our proud, centuries-old tradition, our schools are faced with new and evolving challenges that, in some cases, have threatened the viability of our schools. These challenges vary in type and scope, and are generally related to wider economic, demographic, and theological changes in our country.
Our schools must respond proactively to these challenges. For example, many parishes struggle to continue funding their local Catholic schools. With the rising costs of education, the expense of providing a high quality of education, the decline in the number of religious (i.e. nuns, priests, etc.) in school faculties, and the overall decline of Catholics attending Mass, it is difficult for some parishes to support their schools.
Deeply rooted in our visioning process is the concept that, by coming together, we are strong. By following a common vision, pooling ideas and resources, we will be better able to surmount the challenges facing our schools.
It is important to note that, across the Archdiocese, schools are operating in varying states of viability. Some schools are flourishing; they have full classrooms and are able to meet their financial needs. Other schools are struggling in their enrollment and finances. We have closed and consolidated schools in the Archdiocese. Yet these closures and consolidations have not flowed out of a common vision for Catholic school education. It is vital that we look at all of our schools, and decide together how best to position our schools to meet the needs of our population.

Are the Catholic schools in the Archdiocese in “a state of crisis?”
As a whole, our schools are not in a state of crisis. However, as previously stated, our schools are facing new and intensifying challenges. Thus, we feel the time has come to think more purposefully and communally about our schools.

Are the challenges facing our schools unique to the Archdiocese of Cincinnati?
These challenges are not unique to our location. The same issues are being felt, to one extent or another, in every diocese in the United States (although they are manifested in some unique ways in our Archdiocese). In many ways, they are tied to larger issues facing our Church. Across the country, dioceses are responding in differing ways to these challenges. However, one response is consistent: Bishops, school leaders, and stakeholders feel that the time has come to look at different models of operating our schools.
For an excellent and concise description of the challenges facing our schools, you can read “Weathering the Storm” by Leonard DiFiori, John Convey, and Merylann Schuttloffl (2009). This book also contains a wonderful justification for the value of Catholic school education and a rationale for strategic planning for Catholic schools and Catholic school systems.

What steps have taken place so far to create this vision?
The creation of a vision for Catholic schools was initiated by Archbishop Dennis M. Schnurr. In early November of 2010, a seven-person Vision Steering Committee was formed. This committee was made up of representative stakeholders of Catholic schools (i.e. a pastor, a principal, a parent, etc.). The committee met over a series of weeks to define the process and structure for how the vision would be created.
The Vision Steering Committee quickly decided that the employment of an outside consulting agency would be helpful in gathering data and bringing in some additional expertise. After vetting several groups, the committee chose the Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE) Consulting, an affiliate of the University of Notre Dame. The Archdiocese began working with ACE Consulting in January of 2011.
Throughout January and February of 2011, the committee and ACE Consulting met to further define the visioning process, create a communications plan, and begin gathering data. The committee itself was expanded to include 12 members. A letter to the pastors was issued on March 7, 2011 apprising them of our progress. A public press release describing our efforts was promulgated on March 9th, 2011.

Who will be putting together the Vision for the Catholic Schools?
It is vital that our vision represent the input and needs of all people who care about our schools. Although the Catholic Schools Office and the Vision Steering Committee are coordinating the overall process of forming this vision, we will be engaging as many people as possible. This will not be the vision of a single individual or group; this will be the vision of the people of the Archdiocese.

What are the next steps in the visioning process?
As of March of 2011, the Catholic Schools Office and ACE Consulting are continuing to gather data on the current state of our schools. In order to build a vision for the future, it is first necessary to generate a top-to-bottom clear “snapshot” of the current state of our schools. We must closely examine each of our schools and the populations that they serve. Thus, we are collecting a wide variety of quantitative data related to the academic programs, Catholic identity, and operations of our 113 schools.
Throughout the spring, we will be enlisting pastors and principals in circulating surveys among school and parish communities. These surveys will give us an idea of the needs and impressions of our various school stakeholders.
In early May, we will begin hosting “Visioning Sessions” in which people are invited to engage in a dialogue about our schools. These sessions will resemble forums where ideas and questions are put forward. Some sessions will target specific groups (i.e. pastors, school leaders, etc.) while others will be open to the general public.

When will the visioning process be completed?
We are taking a two-phase approach to our visioning process. It is our intention to release some early key data and conclusions to pastors in the late summer/early fall of 2011. We will continue to flesh out the vision after this date. The complete vision should be finished in the summer of 2012.

Will the vision result in widespread closures of Catholic schools?
It is neither our intent nor our hope that our vision will result in widespread school closures or consolidations. However, we will be examining each school and the population that it serves. It is our hope that, through our vision, we will examine every conceivable avenue of restoring a struggling school to viability. Although it is possible that our visioning effort may determine that some schools are no longer viable, it is not our expectation that this will occur on a massive scale.

What about opening schools? Will this be addressed in the vision?
Based upon our preliminary data, there are areas of the Archdiocese where Catholic schools do not exist, and a sustainable Catholic school could be established. We will be looking closely at the potential of new schools through our visioning process.

What about the high schools? Will they have a place in the vision?
Our eventual vision will address, to one extent or another, all 113 elementary and secondary schools of the Archdiocese. It is our hope to promote the concept of a complete education for children, from pre-school through 12th grade (and even beyond). Thus, the 23 high schools of the Archdiocese will have a place in our vision.

Once the visioning process is over, will we be a “school system”? Who will be in charge of this system?
Our visioning process will represent a more coordinated and unified approach to our Catholic schools. Thus, it is possible that our schools will operate more like a single system in some key areas. However, we will never function in the same way as a public school system (complete with an elected school board, etc.).
It is difficult to predict what our vision will look like when it is completed. As we go through the visioning process, we will closely examine the long-standing systems of governance in our schools. Pastors are, by Canon Law, the leaders of their parish school. Our eventual vision must adhere to the canonical role of the pastor yet provide for a more unified approach to our schools. We will be closely examining how to achieve this balance as we gather data and formulate our vision.
Similarly, many of our high schools are owned and operated by religious orders. It is not our intention to take over the ownership of these schools from these entities.

What will be the role of the Catholic Schools Office of the Archdiocese in the new vision?
The visioning process will help define the eventual role of the Archdiocesan Catholic Schools Office (CSO). It is likely that the CSO will emerge as the “custodian” of the unified vision of our schools. It will be the CSO’s role to ensure that schools understand and are following the unified vision, and that this vision is continually reviewed and modified to meet our evolving needs.
It is also likely that the CSO will need to be equipped and staffed to fully support our schools in some vital areas. These areas include (but are not limited to) academics, faith formation, strategic planning, leadership, marketing, and finances. The CSO should possess the expertise and authority to support the Catholic schools and initiate positive change when necessary.

How can I get involved in the visioning efforts for the Catholic schools?
As a stakeholder in Catholic education, you have an important place in our efforts to construct a unified vision. We are in need of your opinions and expertise. In the coming months, you may receive an invitation to complete a survey about our schools. You will be encouraged to attend the Visioning Sessions in the late spring/early summer of 2011. As we move into the second phase of our planning in the fall, we will be inviting various individuals to serve on subcommittees. These subcommittees will scrutinize our collected data and recommend conclusions. In short, we wish to involve as many people as possible in our vision formation process. This will be a vision that reflects the needs of the people of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. Ultimately, it must represent a guiding light for how we will pass on the good news of Christ to the next generation.
If you have further questions about the visioning effort, you are welcome to contact the Catholic Schools Office.