August 13, 2013
Dear President or Principal:
I am writing to update you on the activities of the Office for Catholic Schools this summer, so that you are “in the loop” and aware of upcoming activities and projects.
The Strategic Plan: Ongoing
A “Style Committee,” composed of Fr. Steve Sallis, Kristin Dixon from OCS, and Penney Thiemann of the Archdiocesan School Board, are completing the second draft of the Strategic Plan and a vision statement, which will be brought to the steering committee at the September 30th meeting. You will receive a copy before the October meeting of principals and pastors. You will notice an emphasis on many initiatives for strengthening our mission, including: Strong Catholic identity, assessment to improve student learning, a call for local and regional planning, the role of technology to support curriculum, pedagogy, and operations throughout the schools, building enrollments by welcoming ethnic communities, diverse learners, and families in need of financial assistance, and a comprehensive marketing plan. In October, your comments will be solicited, once again, and will help to shape the plan.
Executive Principals’ Meeting: August 13th
To coordinate planning among our schools, the role of the Executive Committee of principals will be clarified and strengthened at a meeting on August 13th. Going forward, the Executive Principals will be leading the implementation of the Strategic Plan in regions, guiding efforts at developing innovative and co-curricular programs, marketing plans, the articulation of middle schools and Catholic high schools, coordinating programs of professional development, and similar initiatives. The principals will be asked to review a minor realignment of regions, which is proposed to take effect by January, 2014. The executive principals will ensure more robust communication between the local school and the OCS.
S.U.S.A (Seattle University and the Seattle Archdiocese): August 23rd, 2013
A committee composed of representatives of Seattle University’s School of Education, the Office for Catholic Schools, and the Fulcrum Foundation met in AY 2013 to design a certification program for principals of Catholic schools and to discuss other means of professional development. On August 9th, with the new dean of education, the committee will review curriculum designs, funding options, marketing, and other issues in order to ensure a starting date of fall, 2014. The Office for Catholic Schools welcomes this partnership with Seattle University as a support for developing high-quality and well-prepared leaders for our Catholic schools.
Teacher Excellence Day: September 20th, 2013
Thanks to the hard work of a committee chaired first by Assistant Superintendent Kay Purcell and now by Kristin Dixon, the format of “Teacher Excellence Day” has been changed to include the celebration of Mass, a keynote speaker, breakout sessions on several topics, and representation from vendors at two locations: Bellarmine Prep in Tacoma and Bishop Blanchet High School in North Seattle. The program will allow teachers to engage with one another in substantive professional development and the building of community. Further notice will be forthcoming soon.
Principals’ Retreat: September 26th – 27th in Silverdale
Marking the end of “The Year of Faith” and the transfer of the religion curriculum from the Office of Catholic Faith Formation to the Office for Catholic Schools, the theme of this year’s retreat is “Handing on to Others What Was Handed on to Us.” Our retreat leader is Mr. Matt Emerson, a teacher of religion at Xavier Prep in Palm Desert, California. Mr. Emerson will share his thoughts about teaching religion to the students in front of us today, and I will speak about the role of the religion curriculum in the mission of Catholic schools.
Archdiocesan School Board Retreat: September 28th
Last year was a year of transition for the Archdiocesan School Board, as new by-laws were developed and new members were added to the board to replace retiring members, even as usual business continued with the granting of the Sr. Mary Taylor and Archbishop Brunett awards at Teacher Excellence Day, the approval of Seattle Nativity School, and a Board visit to Immaculate Conception School in Mount Vernon. At the Board’s retreat in September, a new board will be inducted and plans will be laid for the work of the new year, including a review of schools’ policies, the implementation of the Strategic Plan, and recommendations for turning around selected schools. Many thanks are due to retiring president Sharon Sakomoto and to incoming president Thomas Knollmann.
Principals’ Meetings for AY 2014
As usual, the principals’ meetings will be held at the Palisades from 8:30 AM (gathering) to 2:00 PM. The dates for this year are as follows:
October 24th, 2013 – Principals and Pastors
January 16th, 2014
March 13, 2014
May 8th, 2014
For each session, topics related to the Strategic Plan will be addressed and will be announced in advance. Principals of Pre-K-8 schools, please encourage your pastor to attend the October meeting. This will be the last opportunity for pastors of schools as a group to provide input into the Strategic Plan.
Policies Project: Ongoing and February-April, 2014
During the past year, Karen Tarabochia has been revising schools’ policies in consultation with the Office of Human Resources and in light of changes in school life. The policies will be reviewed by the Archdiocesan School Board and the Archbishop in time to be brought to the principals for review in February to April, 2014. As you know, policies are a strong support for the principal and head of school since they provide an overview of issues to be addressed and a record of best practices. Templates, tied to the policies, are also being developed to provide principals with easy-to-reference pointers in key areas such as hiring and supervision, marketing, crisis intervention, and communication.
Reorganization of the Office for Catholic Schools (OCS)
Over the summer, the Office for Catholic Schools welcomed Kristin Dixon to her new role as Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Professional Development and thanked Kay Purcell for her many years of service to Catholic schools, most recently as Assistant Superintendent for Accreditation. Kay is taking phased retirement but continues to serve as a commissioner for WCEA in charge of overseeing accreditation; she will also serve on several schools’ boards. The major responsibilities of the assistant superintendents are as follows:
Sandy Barton Smith: Data analysis and technology and Title services
Kristin Dixon: Curriculum and Professional Development
Karen Tarabochia: Policies and Personnel
Kay Purcell (half-time): Accreditation
Staff responsibilities have been adjusted in light of the new alignment of responsibilities for assistant superintendents.
The Year Ahead
In the year ahead, several new projects will get underway in anticipation of implementing the Strategic Plan:
• The integration of the common core standards for Washington State with topics pertinent to Catholic schools;
• Completing the design of the Grades 1-8 religion curriculum and adopting a means of assessing it;
• Realigning schools into regions and engaging in regional planning;
• The design of a comprehensive program of leadership and professional development for principals and teachers;
• The development of a comprehensive marketing plan for local schools, regions, and the archdiocese;
• Adopting and collecting “indices of vitality” that will be used to analyze the sustainability of all Catholic schools, to advise the Fulcrum Foundation about funding requests, and to adopt pro-active measures for turning schools around.
Your participation in implementing these initiatives is earnestly sought and eagerly welcomed.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, while much work has been done, much work lies ahead in order to strengthen the mission of Catholic schools in the Archdiocese. With 40 charter schools possibly opening soon in a neighborhood near you, we are challenged to show that Catholic schools remain the best choice for academic, faith, and personal formation for families who desire that education for their children.
In addition to the special projects listed above, we will continue the schedule of accreditation visits, the hiring and orientation of new teachers and principals, the exploration of new locations for innovative programs, and programs of professional development.
Finally, we also welcome Dr. Anthony Holter, his wife Caroline and their two daughters from South Bend, Indiana; Anthony succeeds Joe Womac as Executive Director of the Fulcrum Foundation. Fulcrum has proven to be a strong partner for Catholic education in this archdiocese and a promoter of innovation, having distributed over $20,000,000 to Catholic schools in the past 10 years in the form of tuition assistance, assistance to schools in need, and “STAR” grants for teachers.
We are thankful to Joe Womac, who worked tirelessly for our schools over the past eight years, and to Sue Mecham, Managing Director of Fulcrum, who did the work for two positions in the months after Joe left for California. Our schools are stronger thanks to the often unsung service of the Fulcrum Foundation, our partner in Catholic education.
Thanks to each of you for all that you do in your position as school leader. We in the Office for Catholic Schools look forward to serving you in the year ahead.
Sincerely,
(Rev.) Stephen C. Rowan, Ph.D.
Superintendent
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