IHC Strategic Plan 2013-2018: A Vision for the Future

IHC Strategic Plan 2013-2018: A Vision for the Future

IMMACULATE HEART CENTRAL SCHOOLS

__________________________________
WATERTOWN, NEW YORK

IHC Strategic Plan 2013-2018: A Vision for the Future

A L ET T E R F RO M T H E E D UC AT ION C OUN CI L C HA I R

Dear Immaculate Heart Central School Community,

On behalf of the Immaculate Heart Central Schools Education Council, I am pleased to present Immaculate Heart Central Schools Strategic Plan 2013-2018: A Vision for the Future. I would like to acknowledge the efforts of the many participants who worked diligently to produce IHCs first strategic plan. Parents, teachers, staff, administrators, community members, Pastors, Sisters, and Education Council members contributed their time, passion, and collective wisdom to this project. This plan does not change who we are. Rather, it reinforces our enduring identity, while offering a path to continue reaching our full potential for years to come. We seek not only to navigate an uncertain future, but to shape the future. This strategy represents our resolve that IHC Schools continue to offer a high-quality Catholic education to the families of Greater Watertown. We know that this strategy cannot offer answers to all the situations IHC will face over the coming years, but we trust that the strategic decisions we encounter will be considered within the strategys vision and framework. We are confident that our administrators, with the support of the Education Council, faculty, families and our many friends within the community will help achieve this vision for the future of Immaculate Heart Central Schools.

Sincerely,

Kathy Moran 78 Chairperson Immaculate Heart Central Schools Education Council 4 IHC Strategic Plan 2013-2018: A Vision for the Future

A L ET T E R F RO M T H E IHC A D M IN IST RAT O RS

Dear Friends,
We would like to dedicate IHCs first strategic plan to the Sisters of St. Joseph, who founded Catholic education in Watertown 132 years ago. The Sisters overcame daunting challenges when they arrived during the bitter winter of 1881, and yet despite limited finances and other adversities, they secured a small wooden schoolhouse within little time. When finances forced the closure of the school in 1896, the Sisters moved to a new building, continuing the school as a private academy known as Immaculate Heart Academy. Under the Sisters stewardship, the Academy became a landmark Watertown institution, a status it retains today as Immaculate Heart Central Schools. Over the years, the Sisters have been steadfast in overcoming challenges big and small. This strategy reflects our determination to uphold that tradition, and our unwavering faith in the future of IHC Schools. Through their continued commitment to IHC, the Sisters of St. Joseph have indeed furthered their purpose to express their love of God through the pursuit of a closer union with God and the dear neighbor.

Thank you and God Bless!

Chris Hornbarger Executive System Administrator IHC Schools

Lisa Parsons Principal IHC Junior/Senior High School

Gary West Principal IHC Elementary School

IHC Strategic Plan 2013-2018: A Vision for the Future

INTRODUCTION
Immaculate Heart Central (IHC) is a Pre-Kindergarten to 12th grade Catholic school system and a ministry of the Sisters of Saint Joseph, who founded the school in 1881. IHC is the largest and most prominent non-public educational alternative in the Greater Watertown, NY area. IHC schools include over 700 students in grades Pre-K to 12. IHC Junior/Senior High School is fully accredited by the prestigious Commission on Secondary Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. The High School enrolls over thirty international exchange students from eight to ten countries per year, bringing cultural diversity and universality that is an essential part of Catholicism. IHC Elementary School is thriving, nine years after a necessary consolidation of Watertowns four traditional parish elementary schools. IHCs highly respected St. John Bosco Pre-School program, celebrating its thirtieth year, educates three and four-year old students in a variety of two, three, and five-day per week programs. IHCs student body is predominately from the Watertown Central School District, but includes students from about fourteen local school districts, depending on the year. Nearly thirty percent of IHCs students are from families of active-duty soldiers stationed at nearby Fort Drum. IHC has a reputation for exceptional academics. It continues to maintain the highest average New York State standardized test scores among all districts in the local area (these tests include annual Math and English Language Arts tests for grades 3 to 8, and the New York State Regents Exams for grades 9 to 12). IHC Junior/Senior High School has a nearly 100% graduation and college matriculation rate. The Junior/Senior High School teaches a college-preparatory curriculum combined with the daily study and practice of the Catholic faith. The curriculum includes a number of Honors, Advanced Placement, and college EDGE courses in all core areas, a variety of electives, and musical, visual, and performing arts programs. IHCs students are extremely active in community service projects throughout the local area. The Junior/Senior High School also has a highly respected athletic program which, despite the schools relatively small size, has garnered numerous Section, League, and State Championship titles over the years.

IHC Strategic Plan 2013-2018: A Vision for the Future

IHC is truly a tight-knit faith community of students, parents, grandparents, teachers, thousands of alumni, local parishioners and other community members committed to quality Catholic education. The spirit of community, and the small school feel, is one of the school systems great strengths. IHC schools are chartered under the authority of the Bishop of Ogdensburg. The school system is governed by a twenty-person Education Council of limited jurisdiction, consisting of Watertowns Pastors, local parishioners, school community members, and the school system administrators. IHC has a committed and quality faculty of 54 teachers in Kindergarten through 12th grade, which enables the school to maintain class sizes of approximately 20:1. High quality faculty combined with small class sizes promotes individual attention, participation, and the opportunity for group work.

IHC Strategic Plan 2013-2018: A Vision for the Future

STRATEGIC PLANNING BACKGROUND

This is Immaculate Heart Central Schools first strategic plan. Why now? An organization needs a strategic plan when: (1) it has a vital mission; (2) it faces significant challenges that are different in some way than those of the past; (3) resources are constrained; or (4) it faces significant uncertainty. IHC meets all these criteria. In recent years, the Diocese of Ogdensburg, the IHC Education Council and the IHC Administration have identified challenges that warrant a comprehensive strategic response. Four years ago, the Diocese teamed with Partners-in-Mission, an organization which advises Catholic schools in strategic planning, advancement, and enrollment management. The partnership has helped IHC take necessary and important steps. About two years ago, the Education Council created the position of IHC Executive System Administrator, with broad responsibilities including but not limited to finance, strategic planning, and school advancement. Beginning in school year 2011, IHC convened a formal strategic planning process, including parents, faculty, administrators, Pastors, Council members, and other community members. Subject-specific committees, and an overall Steering Group, met to assess the situation facing the school and make recommendations. School year 2011 ended with a Findings Colloquium that presented this work to the Steering Group. After assessing the school systems financial performance and other data at the end of school year 2011, as well as recruitment and retention data at the start of school year 2012, the strategic planning process reconvened to determinedly complete the process. A smaller core group of participants continued to meet throughout the fall and early winter, a variety of discussions were convened with faculty, and surveys of students, parents, and faculty were administered to better inform the strategy. Finally, our fiveyear fiscal and enrollment projections were updated. This document was drafted, reviewed and refined by the strategic planning participants, and the final document approved by the Education council in April 2013. The IHC Executive System Administrator and Principals are responsible to implement this plan, under the oversight of the IHC Education Council. 8 IHC Strategic Plan 2013-2018: A Vision for the Future

THE SITUATION FACING IHC SCHOOLS: CHALLENGE AND OPPORTUNITY

The next five years represent a critical juncture in the 132 year history of Immaculate Heart Central Schools. Key challenges, as well as important opportunities, are coming together in a way that demands that the school system make prudent choices and take decisive actions in a coherent manner. Strengths and positive trends: IHCs New York State standardized test scores for both passing and mastery (ELA and Math for grades 3 to 8, and Regents exams for grades 9 to 12) remain the highest on average of any school in the local area. IHCs graduation and college matriculation rates remain nearly 100%, the highest in the local area. IHC Junior/Senior High School is by-far the largest and most prestigious nonpublic educational alternative in the Greater Watertown area. IHC Elementary is the largest of only three non-public educational alternatives in the Greater Watertown area. Extremely committed and qualified faculty and staff. A venerable history and an enormous wellspring of alumni goodwill. A culture of IHC Pride, athletic excellence, and stalwart family commitment. Over the last two years, IHCs system-wide enrollment has stabilized (even in spite of abnormally high military attrition last year), after eight years of enrollment that declined by an average of 35 students per year. Over the last year, IHC has increased its operating reserves by 21% and its modest endowment by 11%, which represents substantial progress in preparing for a fiscally challenging period over the next several years Within the last two years, IHC has significantly improved financial management practices, including system-wide planning, cash-flow budgeting, multi-year forecasting, and what-if analysis. IHCs immature advancement program is producing results, building competency, and slowly expanding capacity. Results include:

IHC Strategic Plan 2013-2018: A Vision for the Future

o A viable and growing Annual Fund. o Improved coherence in marketing and branding. o A more deliberate but new planned-giving program. o A rapidly expanding and improving constituent database. o Improved gift stewardship. An improving community and constituent relations program: o A well-received constituent magazine. o Several promising special events. o Steady efforts to improve IHCs ties and partnerships within the local community. Current and persistent challenges (some of which the school system can affect, and others to which the school system must adapt): Progression of smaller class cohorts from the Elementary School into the Junior/Senior High School for the next several years, as a result of the consolidation of Watertowns four parish elementary schools nine years ago. This creates a tuition revenue challenge that requires creative and holistic solutions. A decline in the school age population in Watertown and Jefferson County. Lost connections with alumni and other key constituents. A constituency that poses a unique fundraising challenge, with supporters who are divided into two distinct populations: (1) those within the local area who have been asked far too often to give to the school; and (2) those outside the local area who have been asked infrequently, if ever. Inconsistent business practices and policies between the Elementary and High School, causing inefficiency (example: enrollment management) or parental confusion (example: multiple-student discount policy). Aging infrastructure, with students dispersed in four buildings ranging in age from the 19th century, to 1952, to 1965, to 1982. While our buildings are wellmaintained, repair, capital, and operating expenses will continue to rise, and maintaining and operating four separate structures is increasingly inefficient. 10 Changing attitudes regarding religion and the role of the Church reflected, for example, in such statistics as declining baptism rates. Declining family size, a trend projected to continue for several decades. IHC Strategic Plan 2013-2018: A Vision for the Future

Increasing labor mobility of graduates, which means that the children of loyal, multi-generation IHC families are less likely to remain in Watertown to raise families and send their own children to IHC. This trend is likely to continue.

While military families make up a large proportion of both the local population and the IHC student body, the relatively high turnover creates a year-to-year challenge in projecting enrollment and budgeting.

Fewer Priests and Sisters available to serve as faculty, resulting in much higher salary and benefit costs. This trend is likely to continue. Health insurance costs rising by 9 to 12% per year. This trend is likely to continue. A local economic recovery that is lagging the state and national recovery.

Emerging issues, which present opportunities as well as challenges: Implementation of the Common Core Standards for States. The prospect that ongoing reforms will result in rising student achievement within the public schools, strengthening the imperative that IHC embraces decisively a culture of continuous improvement. Accelerating integration of technology in instructional practices. The continuing proliferation of social media, which presents an enormous opportunity for advancement, but tends to remove the school as a locus for class coordination regarding reunions and so forth. Parents who increasingly expect the type of transparency and accountability being implemented within the public schools. Uncertainty regarding the population and deployment cycle of Fort Drum. The rise in the state minimum wage within the next several years.

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BELIEFS
We believe in God, the traditions of the Holy Catholic Church, and Catholic education founded on the love and teachings of Jesus Christ. We believe in welcoming students and families of all faiths and backgrounds. We believe in a safe, nurturing environment. We believe in the dignity, potential, and individual gifts of every student. We believe in excellence in academics, athletics, the arts, and service. We believe in cultivating leaders and good citizens of our community, country, and world. We believe in mutually-supportive relationships through a faith community of students, parents, faculty, alumni and friends. We believe in lifelong learning and service to others. We believe in accountability to those we serve and always striving to improve.

VISION
To be a premier Pre-Kindergarten to 12th grade Catholic school system, welcome to all, which provides a unique educational alternative to the families of Greater Watertown, and which fosters academic excellence, Christian virtues, leadership, and a lifelong commitment to family, community, country, and God.

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IHC Strategic Plan 2013-2018: A Vision for the Future

MISSION
IHC is a faith community whose mission is to provide a quality Catholic and secular education, to cultivate holiness based on the love and imitation of Christ, and to form responsible citizens whose Christian values will transform the world.

STRATEGIC APPROACH
Why do parents send their children to Catholic school when public schools are free? They do so for three reasons: (1) because the school offers something that others do not; (2) because they believe the value exceeds the cost; and (3) because the education is affordable and accessible. These simple but powerful answers frame the method of our strategic approach: Identity. IHCs identity must remain unique, distinct, relevant and well-known. IHC must offer a clear educational alternative. Value. Parents, students, teachers and the community must believe in the value of an IHC education. Affordability and Accessibility. An IHC education must be affordable and accessible to families of all faiths and backgrounds. Continuous Awareness. Students, parents, prospective families and the community at large must be continuously aware of all of the above. Identity. IHCs identity must remain unique, distinct, relevant and well-known. IHC must offer a clear educational alternative. We must stand apart in who we are, what we teach, and how we teach it. Of course, our schools are unique because they are Catholic, offering an education based on the life of the worlds greatest teacher, Jesus. Our mission is fundamentally about inviting young people to build or deepen their

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relationship with Jesus Christ, and help them understand the role of faith in their daily lives and the world. As an independent school, we also have the opportunity to create focused areas of excellence that accentuate the alternative we provide to families. As an example, over the next several years we will build on our core excellence in the humanities. We will focus concerted effort to enhance our existing programs to build a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) program of excellence, focused at the Junior/Senior High School but with a coordinated, supporting curriculum at the Elementary School. At the Elementary School, we will continue our efforts to be a local leader by embracing programs and practices that are proven to increase student achievement. Such programs include a Junior Kindergarten that helps mature four-year olds and younger five-year olds build basic skills that will enhance their achievement throughout their elementary experience. In 2013, IHC Elementary will pilot a Foreign Language Early Start (FLES) Spanish program, initially in Kindergarten and first grade, with the goal of progressively extending the program to higher grades. FLES programs improve student achievement overall, and embrace the diversity of our Catholic identity. They acknowledge that bilingual students are more competitive academically and economically, and embrace the responsibility that students who can speak more than one language add value to their communities in an increasingly global and interconnected world. The Hispanic population will be the fastest growing demographic in the North Country and the United States over the next 50 years. Programs such as these are unique, add real educational value, and are directly related to our mission as a Catholic school. Creating these programs will require resources which are not fully available under our current business model. Accordingly, IHCs efforts to procure programmatic resources will proceed on three paths: (1) maturing our advancement program, as discussed below; (2) the pursuit of grants tied to planned programmatic improvements; and (3) a Capital Campaign, to begin not earlier than Fiscal Year 2014 (i.e. July 2014). Value. Parents, students, teachers and the community must believe in the value of an IHC education. As discussed earlier, continuing IHCs 132 year tradition of excellence will grow ever more challenging. Our actions and strategies for ensuring student achievement, and for everything we do as a school, must be deliberate, data-driven, and

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IHC Strategic Plan 2013-2018: A Vision for the Future

well-executed. We must not only rely on comfortable methods, but be willing to implement new ways of doing things when they are proven to boost student achievement. When we ask others to consider the value of an IHC education, we must be mindful that value has several dimensions. Value is intrinsic. What we provide has inherent worth authentic learning, faith, safety, dignity, respect, responsibility. Value is measurable. Data should inform our strategies to improve student achievement, and achievement should be demonstrable with data at the student, classroom, grade, subject area, and school levels. Todays parents are increasingly provided with, expect, and understand how to interpret and compare such data. Moreover, all of the action plans and program development needed to implement this strategy should include deliberate program evaluation strategies that include the collection and analysis of data. Value is in the eyes of the perceiver. The beliefs and views of students, parents and teachers matter. IHC must foster a climate and implement practices to ensure it regularly receives candid feedback on their perceptions and experiences. Value is based on expectations. Parents have expectations that are real, legitimate, and always evolving. IHC also creates expectations from what we promise, claim, and deliver. Affordability and Accessibility. An IHC education must be affordable and accessible to families of all faiths and backgrounds. Catholic education was created to serve societys most vulnerable. Catholic education in the North Country was created in 1881 to fill the spiritual needs of Watertowns poor immigrant communities. In spite of many financial challenges, the Watertown Pastors and the Sisters of St. Joseph were able to keep tuition within reach of these families. Over time, the cost of educating students has risen as Sisters have been replaced with lay faculty, health insurance costs have spiraled, and classroom technology has become more ubiquitous. Tuition has risen to keep pace with these changes. As we take steps to ensure the best possible educational programs, we must also take every step to keep tuition affordable, and to increase the availability and awareness of financial aid and scholarships. This requires creativity

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and initiative to develop new revenue streams, to reduce operation and maintenance costs, and to develop an advancement program and culture of philanthropy that builds a rich relationship between the school and those who care about our vital mission. Continuous Awareness. Students, parents, prospective families and the community at large must be continuously aware of all of the above. The community must be wellinformed and have accurate perceptions about IHCs distinct identity, value, affordability and accessibility. We will undertake a deliberate and continuous effort to ensure that we communicate these truths proactively, effectively, continuously, and accurately, through all available methods. This includes: General and targeted marketing. Micro-marketing. Effective and strategic use of social media. Positive and constructive relationships with local media, and many other community institutions The active, visible presence and consistent communication by school leadership. A vibrant and energetic role of the school within the lives of our local parishes, and vice versa. A pattern of regular communication with alumni. Special events that celebrate and highlight our history, identity and traditions, and that provide opportunities to tell our story. Most importantly, students and parents who are IHCs most enthusiastic advocates, and ardently communicate by word of mouth their belief, pride, and satisfaction in Immaculate Heart Central Schools.

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IHC Strategic Plan 2013-2018: A Vision for the Future

DESIRED RESULTS
Within five years, Immaculate Heart Central Schools will be characterized by: 1. A stronger, more widely known, and more accurate reputation as a premier Catholic school, noted for academic excellence, welcome to all, and which offers a unique, high- quality educational alternative to the families of Greater Watertown. 2. Increasing or optimum enrollment in all schools. 3. An increasingly solid financial position and future. 4. A strengthened relationship with core stakeholders.

OBJECTIVES
1. Reinforce IHCs tradition of academic excellence and spiritual development,
instilling a culture and practice of continuous improvement.

2. Aggressively improve recruitment and retention, increasing total system

enrollment.

3. Rapidly mature IHCs advancement program, creating a culture of philanthropy

and celebration that embraces all who believe in IHCs mission.

4. Build focused areas of excellence that reinforce IHC as a unique educational

choice for families.

5. Strengthen IHCs financial viability and sustainability.

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Objective 1: Reinforce IHCs Tradition of Academic Excellence and Spiritual Development, Instilling a Culture and Practice of Continuous Improvement
IHC has long enjoyed a well-deserved tradition of academic excellence, however, like all great schools, IHC must cultivate a culture of continuous improvement and an openness to new practices, while retaining enduring IHC fundamentals: the primacy of Christ, integration of faith throughout our curriculum, challenge, rigor, individualized attention, and the development and expectation from our students of personal responsibility, hard work, and solid organizational habits. IHCs comparative scholastic excellence is not guaranteed. Some of the initiatives below require resources not currently available. Therefore, we will align these initiatives with our philanthropic and grant-seeking strategies as described in Objectives 3 and 5. Initiative 1.1. Continuously strengthen and enrich the spiritual experience of students, faculty, staff, and parents. Increase and/or achieve greater participation in opportunities for spiritual growth. Involve students in the planning and facilitating of faith-based opportunities such as Retreats, Catholic Schools Week, Chrism Mass, Public Policy Day, and offering daily morning prayer. Seek and create opportunities to more actively invite and involve our local parishes, parents and other adults, and community partners in IHCs faith mission and the spiritual life o f our schools. Continue to uphold the primacy of IHCs responsibility to instill each generation with the faith. Initiative 1.2. Implement the Common Core Standards for States, simultaneously building curriculum development competencies throughout the Pre-K to 12 system. Remain on pace with NY State Education Department public school timelines.

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IHC Strategic Plan 2013-2018: A Vision for the Future

Provide the necessary teacher professional development and support to ensure that IHC curriculum planning, professional collaboration, and instructional practices are up-to-date and continuously improving.

Continue to implement IHCs Pre-K to 12 professional development plan with collaboration among Principals and the Diocese Department of Education. Ensure professional development is directly and demonstrably tied to student achievement and needs assessment. Annually administer a feedback survey for professional development to regularly revise and tailor professional development to the needs of teachers. Integrate the resources and tools of the Common Core Catholic Identity Initiative.

Initiative 1.3. Establish and enhance quality literacy and math programs at the Pre-K and Elementary levels. Ensure alignment with New York State guidance on the Common Core Standards for States. Continue to develop and design grade-level and subject-area curriculum maps aligned with the Common Core Standards for States, while ensuring vertically aligned curriculum within the Elementary school, and Junior/Senior High School. Develop parallel formative assessments in the classroom. Provide teachers with ongoing professional development to enhance their instructional skills and strategies in teaching reading and mathematics. Initiative 1.4. Improve the recruitment and retention of quality faculty. Progressively optimize faculty pay tables to improve the retention of faculty. Broadly consider additional or alternative incentives to enhance retention. Enhance our high-quality training, assimilation, and welcome program for new teachers. Enrich opportunities for professional development of developing teachers. Continue to improve non-evaluative mentor programs between highly effective and developing teachers.

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Continue to develop ways to appropriately recognize among the faculty those whose students demonstrate significant progress and achievement in their overall educational program.

Deliberately encourage current students, and actively recruit recent students approaching college graduation, to consider obtaining certifications and teaching at IHC.

Initiative 1.5. Implement strategies to improve achievement of students with unique learning needs and interests, including but not limited to at-risk students. Provide teachers with ongoing professional development in the areas of diverse learning styles and multiple intelligences. Review and revise our academic intervention plan, specifically focusing on indictors, strategies and resources. Utilize grade-level teams and department meetings to look for additional academic support activities. Develop a study-skills course and curriculum for students entering 9th grade to provide the tools and skills to help them transition from the Junior High School to the more independent learner orientation emphasized at the High School. Enhance and expand the peer tutoring program to include mentoring opportunities. Initiative 1.6. Provide additional academic and extracurricular activities for students. Consider summer enrichment programs and camps for multiple purposes. For example, a camp may be geared to students seeking to better prepare for the SATs; art, science, and other camps would offer fun and enriching experiences for students. Consider how to make such programs generate revenue. Identify unfunded programs that can be the source of grant requests.

Initiative 1.7. Pursue focused grant requests to establish additional electives, AP, and EDGE courses, as well as additional offerings or enriched instruction in Spanish and Computer Literacy, both at the Junior/Senior High School and, as appropriate, the Elementary School See Initiative 5.5.

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IHC Strategic Plan 2013-2018: A Vision for the Future

Ensure program evaluation of new courses includes measurement of student achievement, engagement, recruitment, retention.

Initiative 1.8. Improve the maintenance, analysis, and use of achievement data to inform instruction. Develop an IHC School System Report Card, similar to those used by public schools, available to parents and formally reported to the Education Council. Use Pre-K to 12 assessment data and analysis to inform teaching and the curriculum review process to address areas of identified or potential weakness.

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Objective 2: Aggressively Improve Recruitment and Retention, Increasing Total System Enrollment
IHCs recruitment and retention strategy rests on the fundamental premise that t he only way to boost enrollment in a lasting manner is to consistently provide real educational value. Healthy enrollment is essential to IHCs mission, not because it creates revenue (it does), but because our mission is impossible without students to educate and develop. Healthy enrollment also enables a diverse range of quality academic, athletic, and extracurricular offerings. While many of the initiatives below focus on marketing, they are intended to work hand-in-hand with the initiatives in the other objectives to enhance educational value. Initiative 2.1. Develop and maintain a first-class IHC website that is attractive and intuitively informative to prospective students and families. Provides all the information and tools to easily apply/enroll. Clearly and consistently conveys IHCs identity. Makes the strongest objective case for IHC as the premier educational choice in the local area. Is updated and maintained in a disciplined, systemic, and rhythmic manner by appropriate staff, faculty, and volunteers. Serves all stakeholders students, parents, prospective parents, faculty, alumni, community members, and benefactors. Initiative 2.2. Form a Recruitment and Retention Team to coordinate a system-wide effort toward enrollment management. Regularly gather, assess, and use market research and other relevant data. Annually gather, assess, and use student, faculty, and parent survey data. Evaluate existing enrollment management practices, including the admissions/enrollment process, publications, and other materials. Evaluate internal statistics on a periodic basis to discern trends, issues, and the efficacy of practices. Assist the ESA in developing the implementation plan for this objective.

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IHC Strategic Plan 2013-2018: A Vision for the Future

Initiative 2.3. Evaluate tuition rates to ensure they achieve the optimum balance of enrollment and revenue. Conduct analysis of whether tuition is priced to optimize total revenue vs. optimize revenue per transaction. Consider non-supporting tuition rates to determine whether they: (1) are purposeful, based on logical criteria, and fair; (2) establish a barrier to enrollment, particularly at the higher grades, depriving the system of revenue and creating upward pressure on tuition for all families. Initiative 2.4. Continue to improve the coherence and effectiveness of IHC marketing. Implement and sustain a deliberate branding strategy. Steadily increase competence in and use of targeted and micro-marketing. Steadily increase competence in and use of social media, hand-in-hand with initiatives under the advancement objective. Initiative 2.5. Explore in-house and community partnership programs that may expand the enrollment pool. Increased current parent participation in the enrollment process. Implement summer enrichment programs as described in Initiative 1.6. Explore opportunities for partnerships (consistent with initiative 2.6 below) that introduce IHC more broadly to school-age children and families in the local community. Initiative 2.6. Continue to increase IHCs visibility and activity in the local community . Increase and strengthen IHCs ties with the broader community to include through special events, media exposure, participation in community events and organizations, and so forth. Explore opportunities for partnerships with organizations that have complimentary missions. Improve outreach to the outlying parishes, and ensure that marketing and outreach efforts specifically address those communities. Find new ways to intensify outreach to the Fort Drum community.

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Objective 3: Rapidly Mature IHCs Advancement Program, Creating a Culture of Philanthropy and Celebration that Embraces All Who Believe in IHCs Mission.
A flourishing advancement program is critical to IHCs future. For many decades, colleges, private schools, parochial schools, and non-profit organizations have honed tools and best-practices to advance their missions by engaging their stakeholders in a strategic, rhythmic, and positive manner that reflects pride in the institution and a belief in its mission. IHC must do the same. We need not re-invent the wheel, though must take care to develop a program that fits the schools history and traditions, the unique character of its alumni, and the community as a whole. The overall concept of advancement holds that the highest destiny of a school can be realized only when a compelling mission is experienced; a shared vision is established; and clearly articulated priorities are embraced by individuals willing to sacrifice and invest to ensure priorities become realities. Indeed, that is the purpose of this strategy and the process that produced it. Initiative 3.1. Invest now to build the systems, core competencies, and capacity for a productive advancement program. Immediately increase the manpower (with employees, volunteers, interns, and/or new solutions such as unbudgeted positions) devoted to critical advancement functions. Increase advancement investment from current rates of 1.2% to the best-practice benchmark of 2% of the operating budget. Focus near-term effort at improving the quality and fidelity of our constituent database, using all available resources to locate lost alumni and constituents and improve the accuracy and richness of data. Become experts at maintaining constituent data tools. Become experts at planning and executing special events. Rapidly develop competency and a disciplined system for stewardship (the thanking and maintenance of relationships with donors and supporters).

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IHC Strategic Plan 2013-2018: A Vision for the Future

Develop competency, capacity, and implement programs for the effective use of social media and e-philanthropy. Develop competency and capacity in graphic production.

Initiative 3.2. Reinvigorate IHCs relationship with Immaculate Heart Academy and IHC alumni. Broaden ownership, contributions, production, and distribution (paper and electronic) of the IHA/IHC Echo. Improve the coordination and support between the school and alumni regarding reunions. Help alumni classes stay in touch with classmates. Publish a new alumni directory in 2014 or 2015. Develop methods to strengthen the affinity and connection of young alumni with the school and other alumni. Initiative 3.3. Continue to successively master best-practices in managing The Fund for Immaculate Heart to achieve a target of $150,000 per year within five years. Annually establish a Fund for Immaculate Heart Committee, consisting of alumni, parents, Education Council members, and others, to serve as the face of the Fund and enrich the connection with constituents. Progressively improve the planning, preparation, sophistication and sequencing of Fund actions. Involve alumni class representatives throughout the process. Achieve a greater than 90% participation rate among Education Council members, faculty, and staff. Initiative 3.4. Progressively develop competency in donor prospect research, identifying those who are both compelled and able to provide financial support to IHCs mission. Scrupulously cultivate genuine relationships before and after major gifts such that giving to IHC is an experience, not a transaction. Leverage as much as possible the knowledge of alumni and community members. Develop competency in using tools and services to identify prospects.

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Develop proficiency and savoir faire in approaching major donor prospects.

Initiative 3.5. Ensure that all IHC fundraising is strategic and mission-focused. Reduce the number and frequency of smaller fundraising activities that are not directly mission-focused or which have a low marginal rate of return per unit of labor invested. Reduce the number of asks within the broader IHC community to six or less per year. Ensure the ESA office acts as the central point-of-contact for approving and deconflicting fundraising activities, to ensure a deliberate and sustainable rhythm and strategy of asks to our diverse constituencies and benefactors. Initiative 3.6. Manage volunteer efforts more effectively, in a manner that enriches the community spirit of the school, and that aligns with priorities. Create a centralized, prioritized listing of system-wide volunteer service requirements on the IHC website. Ensure that all volunteers are recognized and thanked. Explore an initiative to establish a discreet number of unbudgeted positions. These are defined positions which the school would fill with paid personnel if funds were available. These positions require special qualifications or certifications (for example, a librarian), and have a specific job description. Parents who qualify for these positions could perform them in exchange for tuition discounts. While this would reduce tuition revenue, it would provide for a more efficient and effective distribution of manpower in a way that adds educational value, and hence future revenue, to the school system. Initiative 3.7. Effectively communicate with stakeholders and the community to ensure awareness of IHCs identity, value, affordability and accessibility, as well as build community support for this plan.

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IHC Strategic Plan 2013-2018: A Vision for the Future

Objective 4: Build Focused Areas of Excellence that Reinforce IHC as a Unique Educational Choice for Families
IHC is unique. It is a Catholic school. It is independent. It is characterized by a culture of achievement. It achieves exceptional results. But successful Catholic schools in similar socioeconomic and demographic situations have found that they must increasingly differentiate themselves in ways that are relevant to the current generation of parents. These steps are positive. They include building focused areas of excellence that are relevant to skills needed in todays world, and within the local community. They include becoming a leader in adopting novel programs that increase student achievement. They include tying together the threads of a system-wide curriculum, through practices such as project-based learning, in ways that are effective, engaging to students, lend themselves to partnerships with local institutions, and are compelling to grant-giving organizations. More directly aligning students primary, secondary, and post-secondary education with the requirements of the workplace will become a dominant element of change in the educational field over the next decade. Some of the initiatives below require resources not currently available. Therefore, we will align these initiatives with our grant-seeking strategy as described in Initiative 5.5. Initiative 4.1. Enhance IHC Junior/Senior High Schools literacy and fine arts programs. Strengthen our ELA program through the integration of the Common Core Standards for States. Develop additional ELA learning opportunities, such as the addition of a journalism class or a Composition class. Continue to provide authentic ELA learning experiences, such as oratorical and essay contests; articles for local media; submissions to IHCs constituent magazine, the Echo; submissions to IHC Junior/Senior High Schools monthly newsletter, the Cavalier Connect; and publication on various online resources. Expand our arts program with additional visual and performing arts opportunities for our students.

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Initiative 4.2. Build a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) program of excellence within the Junior/Senior High School. Form a K-12 STEM Team, including partner representatives, to identify key components already in place, research, plan, develop and monitor implementation of the STEM program. Use an incremental pilot-program approach to carefully evaluate implementation, and develop a program evaluation strategy, using rubrics and various assessment strategies, tied to student achievement. Identify North Country socio-economic needs, and engage in effective dialog to build community understanding and support for education innovations that support North Country socio-economic needs. Seek partnerships with Catholic and other schools that have successfully implemented STEM programs to share curriculum, projects, and on-site and/or distance learning training. Enhance and create local partnerships with SUNY-Jefferson, other regional colleges, local businesses, and non-profit organizations which rely on employees with STEM skills. Develop STEM curriculum aligned with state, national, international and industry standards. Research STEM standards and benchmarks established by such organizations as the National Research Council, the National Council of Teachers of Math. Ensure the curriculum is rigorous and focused on mastery of foundational skills and concepts associated with the STEM fields. Explore online and distance learning opportunities that can be accessed as part of the IHC educational program. Seek Federal, State and private grants for such key components as curriculum materials, technology (including robotics, computers, LCD projectors, scientific calculators and other devices), and teacher professional development. Focus on projects and material that integrate STEM learning into social studies, language arts, fine arts, and other courses. Explore a project-based learning approach that focuses on working with partners to engage students by identifying real-world problems and developing solutions. Initiative 4.3. Explore and create an entrepreneurial program that would develop students 21st century skills in the areas of business and economics. 28 IHC Strategic Plan 2013-2018: A Vision for the Future

Engage students in the process of developing a business plan to create a food service program serving the needs of all IHC students and staff and capitalizing on the abundant resources in the food service industry within the school community.

Develop a classroom based program with integrated content areas, such as ELA, Math, Business and Economics, ethics and career exploration. Explore educational, community, and grant resources. Encourage and enable students to enter the entrepreneurial competition hosted by SUNY-Jefferson.

Initiative 4.4. Reinforce IHCs reputation as a local leader by continuing to strengthen the St. John Bosco Pre-School and its reputation as the areas premier Pre-K program. Continuously seek to provide local families with a range of high-quality PreK educational options that prepare children for increased student achievement in Elementary school and beyond. Establish a Junior Kindergarten for families with young 5-year olds and mature 4-year olds, with a curriculum aligned to New York States PreKindergarten Foundation for the Common Core. When possible, expand the flexibility, times, and options for Pre-K families. Take actions to attract new families to the St. John Bosco Pre-School, and to increase the rate of matriculation from Pre-K into Kindergarten. Initiative 4.5. Establish a pilot Foreign Language Early Start (FLES) program in grades K-1, with the goal of extending the program to higher grades. Develop a well-designed Spanish curriculum for grades K-6. Closely align the curriculum with the Common Core Standards for States and continuing curriculum initiatives within IHC Elementary and IHC Junior/Senior High School. Continually monitor and evaluate the pilot Spanish program to determine its effectiveness and to make decisions regarding its expansion to successive grades in school year 2014-2015 and beyond. Explore and study the inclusion of Latin and French instruction at the upper intermediate grades.

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Initiative 4.6. Ensure the long-term health of strategic partnerships with international student companies with appropriate investment in programs that ensure the educational and cultural value of such programs to both domestic and international students. Continuously explore ways to enrich the cultural and educational experience of international students, as well as all IHC students. Strengthen the communication between the school and international student parents (through their exchange company). Improve the quality and currency of marketing materials to international student companies. Actively recruit host families who will provide the richest and most positive experience possible for international students. Find ways to integrate and celebrate the value that international students bring to our Catholic educational mission. Initiative 4.7. Maintain IHCs strong tradition of competitive athletics. Ensure that the IHC athletic program is always regarded as a supporting pillar of IHCs spiritual and academic mission, through the promotion of hard work, personal responsibility, integrity, sportsmanship, and an unwavering commitment to excellence. Take actions to ensure continuity within our athletic programs. Continue to strengthen and broaden the membership of the IHC Athletic Booster Club, as well as encourage parental volunteer involvement and support across the athletic program. Explore ways to more frequently involve alumni athletes into the life of the school; for example, establishing a Cavalier Hall of Fame, conducting appropriate activities and providing representation at reunions, and so forth. Continue to communicate and support the philosophy and goals of the athletic program and provide mentoring support for junior coaches. Initiative 4.8. Continue to integrate our athletic programs with our academic program. Continue to offer and enhance the Sports management curriculum.

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IHC Strategic Plan 2013-2018: A Vision for the Future

Offer opportunities for authentic learning experiences through the media literacy course through the development of sportsfolios and art portfolios.

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Objective 5: Strengthen IHCs Financial Viability and Sustainability

The next five years are uniquely challenging. While several years of increased Kindergarten enrollment provide strong indicators of long-term strategic health, in the mid-term, the revenue impact of smaller elementary classes matriculating into the Junior/Senior High School creates a revenue decrease that will require drawing on IHCs operational reserves. While the school has been successful in building those reserves in recent years, careful management and difficult choices will be required to balance current needs and future risk, particularly given areas of uncertainty such as the economy and Fort Drum manning decisions. Because of this liquidity challenge, growth of IHCs modest endowment will not be a priority during this strategy period, but will emerge as a priority near the end of this strategy window. A multi-faceted approach to financial management is necessary during this timeframe, including a robust advancement program (objective 2), disciplined financial management controls and oversight, creativity in raising capital for projects that add real educational value and that bolster the strategic positioning of the school, and novel efforts to add new revenue streams while taking concerted steps to reduce operating costs. Initiative 5.1. Implement disciplined financial management practices and controls. Evaluate the school systems financial and enrollment health from a systemwide, vs. school by school, perspective. Identify optimum (right-sized) enrollment targets in each school. Continue to implement and refine multi-year forecasting. Continue to employ benchmarking for critical activities and funds, such as the size of IHCs operational reserve. Continue to use cash-flow budgeting and quarterly financial reporting to inform administrative and Council decision-making. Continue to improve the Education Councils capacity and involvement in exercising appropriate financial oversight. Adopt an Education Council-approved IHC financial management policy governing such items as budget amendments, procurement, and other key issues.

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Periodically provide the Education Council and Finance Committee, particularly new members, with professional development in financial oversight and advancement.

Publish an Annual Report.

Initiative 5.2. Progressively increase transparency of financial information (open book management) to ensure that everyones best efforts are fully vested in IHCs success. Stakeholders can see and understand financial and performance measures, particularly regarding new programs, philanthropy, fundraising, enrollment and benchmarking of key areas such as per-pupil costs, optimal savings, and so forth. Broaden who sees the big picture, helping convey trust and creating incentives to contribute. Encourage all stakeholders to think like owners, doing everything they can to boost performance and success. Ensure every stakeholder benefits from success, including students, parents, and teachers. Initiative 5.3. Explore alternatives to consolidate and/or modernize infrastructure to reduce operations and maintenance costs. Conduct a complete study and thoroughly investigate various options to consolidate infrastructure, to include but not limited to a single PreSchool/Elementary School site, an interim solution of a Middle-School/HighSchool model while smaller classes continue to matriculate through the High School over the next five years, and other options. Consider the initial capital costs and the suitability of consolidating and/or modernizing infrastructure as a Capital Campaign goal. Consider collateral benefits of improved and modernized facilities, including enrollment, information technology, and potential cost savings through energy efficiencies (including grants). Evaluate long-term operations and maintenance savings.

Initiative 5.4. Execute a five-year Capital Campaign tied to this strategy.

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Ensure IHCs readiness to initiate a Capital Campaign that would begin not later than the start of school year 2014-2015. Such efforts would include a case statement tied to this strategy, full feasibility studies, data gathering, the continued building of internal competencies, and the evaluation of vendors to assist with execution.

Form an exploratory Capital Campaign committee not later than the start of school year 2013-2014. Establish Campaign goals and milestones not later than January 2014.

Initiate 5.5. Improve targeted grant seeking. Develop detailed, prioritized requirements statements and on-the-shelf grant proposals, tied to this strategy, that can be readily deployed as grant opportunities are identified. Ensure the involvement, from beginning to end, of Principals and faculty, supported and enabled by the ESA office. Develop a continuously maintained inventory of grant initiatives, including those in this strategy as well as new initiatives, and potential grant opportunities. Make effective use of outside expertise and volunteers to maximize our grant proposal throughput. Initiative 5.6. Develop new sources of revenue. Explore opportunities for Pre-K revenue while still ensuring affordability and accessibility. Consider creative ways to gain revenue through use of IHCs facilities. Maximize the profitability of summer sports camps. Implement summer enrichment programs as described in Initiative 1.6. Establish an online presence as part of the IHC website for the Cavalier Store, shaping an inventory that attracts current students, parents, alumni and other supporters. Initiative 5.7. Evaluate and when feasible implement other potential cost-savings measures. Improve the energy-efficiency of all IHC facilities.

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Periodically seek more cost-effective alternatives regarding services, advertising, sources of material, and so forth. Analyze multiple options and obtain multiple bids for expenditures above an amount to be established by the Education Council Finance Committee. Ensure that major capital expenditures (for example, information technology) are tied to this strategy and to an implementation plan with clearly articulated goals, priorities, and evaluation criteria.

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ENABLING CAPABILITIES
In addition to the objectives and initiatives above, IHC must strengthen its competencies and practices in the following critical enabling capabilities. These capabilities are mutually supportive. At the foundation is effective governance, which is the means by which IHC ensures that the sum of our actions follows the path laid out in this strategy, while ensuring the inherent Catholic identity of our school system. Effective governance requires steady leadership. Leadership is essential to both guide and fulfill ongoing strategic planning. Strategic planning requires the essential tools of effective knowledge management and technology management. Together, these tools provide the depth, timeliness, and accuracy needed for meaningful assessment. And fundamentally, operating a school requires a physical infrastructure that is safe, secure, and well-maintained. 1. Leadership IHC leaders working together with faculty, staff, parents and others to bring together diverse perspectives, and discuss issues openly and supportively to solve problems and achieve common goals. Continuous, rhythmic coordination among administrators. Pushing information rather than pulling. Eliminate barriers to different groups of employees, administrators, and all stakeholders interacting with one another. We are one team. Foster self-managing teams to implement the initiatives in this strategy, and carry on the day-to-day business of the school system. 2. Strategic planning a deliberate rhythm of assessment, program evaluation, situation analysis, forecasting, and adjustment of plans and objectives. Strategic planning is comprehensive. It ties together all of the subordinate planning processes of the school system, to include budgeting, long-range financial planning, technology planning, program implementation, grant development, advancement planning, and so forth. Strategic planning is continuous. The process of strategic planning is as important as the plan itself.

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IHC must retain and evolve many of the mechanisms, relationships and competencies established in developing this plan.

3. Knowledge management practices to ensure that IHC gathers, organizes, shares, analyzes, and maintains its knowledge (which includes but is broader than information) to best accomplish its mission. For example: Conducting a comprehensive information inventory to identify who keeps what information, where, why, when, shared with whom, etc. Ensuring curriculum, lesson, and project materials (critical institutional knowledge) are stored in an organized fashion and accessible to all teachers (particularly new teachers) to strengthen the quality of instruction. Ensuring a single student management and enrollment system to avoid duplication of effort. 4. Technology management the strategic planning and use of technology to prepare students by developing technological literacy, enriching instruction, and serving as an integral part of the school systems operation. Effective strategic planning to ensure cost-effective technology solutions. Disciplined requirements-based procurement of equipment and services, with purposeful grant-seeking and philanthropic elements. Purposeful application of technology to enhance the instructional environment, increase student engagement, and extend learning capabilities. Ensuring that technology solutions support data-driven assessment and effective knowledge management. 5. Physical Infrastructure Safe, secure, well-maintained facilities that provide the best possible learning environment, are welcoming and attractive, and are costeffective Deliberate, scheduled preventive maintenance. Regular facilities inspections, assessments, and appropriate action to ensure legal, regulatory, safety, security, and environmental compliance.

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Up-to-date, prioritized inventory of maintenance and capital projects, with cost data, integrated into budget and programming, and tied to grant and philanthropic priorities as appropriate.

6. Assessment the ongoing use of data to determine whether important actions are being accomplished, and whether they are producing desired results. Occurs at all levels, from the most specific (individual student achievement) to the broadest (performance of the school system). Ensures that decisions are informed by objective data. Requires competence and habits to build programs that include from the outset the methods for assessment and measurement. Requires the routine, and sometimes formal, review of progress and results by teachers, staff, administrators, and the Education Council. Provides a means of accountability.

7. Governance the power and capability of the Education Council to provide competent leadership and oversight, develop appropriate policy, prudently allocate resources, enable philanthropic success, and provide transparent accountability to the school community. Provide appropriate professional development of Council members to effectively carry out their responsibilities. Increase the transparency of Council activities. Ensure Council membership is broadly representative of the entire school community, and includes essential expertise (for example, law, education, technology, fundraising, finance, and so forth).

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Enabling Capabilities
Physical Infrastructure Safe, secure, well-maintained facilities that provide the best possible learning environment, are welcoming and attractive, and are cost-effective. Leadership IHC leaders working together with faculty, staff, parents and others to bring together diverse perspectives, and discuss issues openly and supportively to solve problems and achieve common goals.

Assessment the ongoing use of data and evaluation to determine whether important actions are being accomplished, and whether they are producing desired results, particularly with respect to student achievement.

Physical Infrastructure

Leadership
Strategic Planning a deliberate rhythm of assessment, program evaluation, situation analysis, forecasting, visioning and adjustment of IHCs plans and objectives.

Assessment

Strategic Planning

Technology Management

Knowledge Management

Technology Management the strategic planning and use of technology to prepare students by developing technological literacy, enriching instruction, and serving as an integral part of the school systems operation.

Knowledge Management practices to ensure that IHC gathers, organizes, shares, analyzes, and maintains its knowledge to best accomplish its mission.

Governance the power and capability of the IHC Education Council, in collaboration with administrators, to provide competent leadership and oversight, develop appropriate policy, prudently allocate resources, enable philanthropic success, and provide accountability to the IHC community.

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IMPLEMENTATION AND ASSESSMENT

A strategy is just a blueprint. For an architect, a blueprint is the tool for converting a clients vision into an actual plan that can be built. But a blueprint is not enough. Those who do the tangible work (the engineers, electricians, plumbers, and so forth) need more specific plans drawings and diagrams that convert ideas into action. Similarly, IHCs strategy needs implementation plans, developed by IHCs experts and key stakeholders (Principals, teachers, staff, parents with relevant skills, and when appropriate, mature and thoughtful students), that provide the details of how IHCs strategic objectives and initiatives will be accomplished. Finally, constructing a building requires a schedule, quality control measures, and inevitable adjustments. Similarly, our implementation plans need to be supported with assessment and evaluation tools to ensure that actions are done on time, to standard, and that they are producing the desired results.
IHC Strategic Plan

Architectural blueprint Developed by all stakeholders Converts a vision into a coherent design Provides a framework for implementation
Conveys key ideas and concepts to turn vision into reality

Implementation Plans Architectural working drawings program designs Developed by experts & key stakeholders (Principals, faculty, parents, selected students) How will we achieve the objectives & initiatives? Comprehensive. Logically subdivide the work to be accomplished. Are additional initiatives needed? Tasks, responsibility, outcomes, milestones, benchmarks

Assessment and Evaluation Tools Are things getting done on time? Are they producing the desired results? What adjustments are needed?

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Oversight. The IHC Education Council will oversee implementation of the IHC Strategic Plan. Oversight includes routine, ongoing updates by administrators. Oversight also includes periodic, formal updates or reports by administrators to the IHC Education Council and/or to the entire IHC community. Implementation Plans The first formal update shall be a briefing, to occur not later than August 2013, by administrators to the IHC Education Council on the status of their coordinated implementation plans: Lead Responsibility Supporting Responsibility

Objective 1. Reinforce IHCs tradition of academic excellence and spiritual development, instilling a culture and practice of continuous improvement. 2. Aggressively improve recruitment and retention, increasing total system enrollment. 3. Rapidly mature IHCs advancement program, creating a culture of philanthropy and celebration that embraces all who believe in IHCs mission. 4. Build focused areas of excellence that reinforce IHC as a unique educational choice for families. 5. Strengthen IHCs financial viability and sustainability.

Principals

ESA

ESA

Principals

ESA

Principals

Principals ESA

ESA Principals

Implementation plans for each objective and for major initiatives as appropriate (for example, the STEM initiative in objective 4) shall include the following elements: An overall concept of implementation. For each initiative: o Overall responsibility (lead responsibility; supporting responsibility). o Subordinate tasks (responsibility, action, result, milestones; deadline).

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o Performance measures, including measures of performance (are things getting done?) and measure of effectiveness (are they working?). o A self- assessment and evaluation plan, to include frequency of progress reports, diagnostic instruments, and data collection, reporting, and analysis strategies at all relevant levels. Administrators shall coordinate their respective implementation plans prior to briefing the Education Council. In addition to the existing, adjusted, or new initiatives tied to each of the five objectives, implementation plans will include initiatives designed to build and/or sustain the enabling capabilities in the previous section. Administrators shall periodically provide updates on selected initiatives to the IHC Education Council, with formal, comprehensive updates no less than annually.

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Immaculate Heart Central Schools 1 Sterling Place Watertown, NY 13601 (315) 221-3785 www.ihcschools.org

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IHC Strategic Plan 2013-2018: A Vision for the Future