Advent Season - Joyful Anticipation of Jesus

Advent season is about the joyful anticipation and prayerful preparation for the coming of Jesus.  In fact, the word advent is derived from the Latin word Adventus - meaning “coming.”  So while our school children are winding up the first semester of this year:  studying for finals; attending winter sporting events, and daydreaming about Christmas break - we are also mindful that Jesus Christ is the reason the Lafayette Catholic School System exists.  As we prepare an enriching and challenging academic environment, we are also called to develop each child spiritually, and help them grow in their faith.  

It is tradition this time of year that as we celebrate, we also show our faith through service to others. It is heartwarming to witness our LCSS students put their faith in action by giving of themselves at a time that can be extra challenging for those in need. We are also humbled by the generosity and support of all our parents, volunteers, teachers and staff.  Thank you all!  Have a very Merry Christmas, and a Blessed New Year.

Preparing Students for Life: A Strategic Plan

On October 26, 2012, “Preparing Students for Life: A Strategic Plan for the Lafayette Catholic Schools” was approved by the Board of Directors of the Lafayette Catholic School System.  A few days later, we presented our new three-year strategic plan to the parents, teachers, principals, directors, trustees, and other supporters, who comprised the seven committees that created the plan.  More than seventy volunteers began working on our plan in January.  After many months, we are now able to present this comprehensive plan that, when implemented, will allow us to continue to fulfill our mission.  I am excited to be able to share this plan with all of our parents, alumni and stakeholders at this time.  We have attached a copy for your review.  I appreciate all your comments and questions as we move forward.

As I mentioned last month, our strategic plan focuses on these critical areas: academics, admissions, development, finance, marketing, mission, teachers, and technology.  In some of these areas, where the primary role is advice, planning and oversight, there will be a Committee established by our Board of Directors.  In other areas, there will be Task Forces formed to focus on achieving specific goals.  There will be a need for volunteers to serve on our task forces so please consider how you might contribute your time and talents to help us achieve our goals!

“Catholic schools have a straightforward goal: to foster the growth of good Catholic human beings who love God and neighbor and thus fulfill their destiny of becoming saints.”

-- Archbishop J. Michael Miller, C.S.B., Author of "The Holy See’s Teaching On Catholic Schools"

Preparing students for life is the theme of our new strategic plan, and is a phrase that attempts to describe the outcome of our mission and goals.  What are we doing in the Lafayette Catholic Schools that makes us exceptional and different?  We have interviewed and surveyed dozens of parents over the course of the last several months, and the responses of our parents have helped us answer this question. Parents believe that we are preparing our children to live a purposeful, Christian life.  In the words of Archbishop Miller, to “fulfill their destiny of becoming saints.”  Further, we believe that to successfully prepare students to fully realize this destiny, we must focus on five key elements:

• the education of the WHOLE person
• shared VALUES at home and school
• FAITH formation
• living our faith through lifelong SERVICE to others
• expecting MORE - “to whom much is given... much is required.”

Each of these elements can be supported by many statements and examples we have heard from our parents, and that are reflected in our strategic plan.  We encourage you to share your experiences with us (if you haven’t already) and also to share with your friends and fellow parishioners what the Lafayette Catholic Schools have meant to your family.  If you know someone who is interested in a Catholic education for their child(ren), we’ll be hosting our annual Open Houses at St. Mary’s and St. Lawrence on January 27th.  Of course, they can also contact Angie Schrader, Director of Admissions at 474-7500.

Education in the United States is changing forever

Why now?  The desire to improve the educational system in America has been sustained long enough that our leaders in education and government are challenging the status quo.  While the desire has grown over several decades, the current opportunity is due in part to the decline in the cost of technology and an investment in data collection.  These trends are allowing us to store, aggregate, and analyze performance data in ways never before possible.  

These advances in data collection and analysis are rapidly changing the way schools approach education.  Unfortunately, most schools focus solely on complying with requirements set forth in high-stakes standardized tests and ensuring that all of their students have “minimum proficiencies” in Math and Language Arts.  However, we have the ability to use data analysis to go far beyond standardized testing, and to customize or differentiate instruction for our children.  In addition to identifying where a particular student needs intervention and support, we will also be able to identify students who are ready for more challenging work in a particular subject area.  

The true power of this capability is not to “rank and sort” our children, but to ensure that each of them can maximize their God given potential.  We envision a future where children are able to learn at their own individual pace, and move on after mastering a skill or subject.  This ensures that each student stays engaged and motivated.

As you might expect, all of this places a tremendous burden on the teacher to manage large amounts of data and make meaningful use of it to maximize the growth of each student.  The days of teaching to the “average” student are over.  Beginning this year, LCSS invested in a new technology provided by Five Star Education Solutions that will help us collect, aggregate and analyze this data to provide better individualized instruction.

However, to continue to advance our efforts, we need to make investments in our teachers, teacher training, and new technologies. Fortunately, a dedicated group of more than sixty volunteers (supporters and parents of LCSS) just completed a nine-month long effort to develop a three-year strategic plan: Preparing Students for Life.  We will be rolling out the strategic plan in the coming weeks and we look forward to your support of our efforts.  In summary, the plan will focus on:

• Mission:  Incorporating our Christian values across the curriculum, ensuring we reach our full potential.
• Teachers:  Improving teacher training and compensation;
• Technology:  Adopting and supporting educational technology;
• Academics:  Commitment to differentiated instruction techniques and technologies;
• Communications:  Improved communications and marketing; and
• Finances:  Building a fair financial revenue model that will support the growth of LCSS

As the public and private educational systems across our state and country work to transform over the coming years, we are confident we will see growth in Math and Language Arts skills among our K-12 population.  

However, in the Lafayette Catholic Schools, we also know that exceptional academic performance is only one factor that will contribute to the success of our students.  We know that our unique Catholic identity will differentiate our graduates and inspire them to fully achieve God’s plan for their lives.  Our faith tells us this, and numerous studies continue to show that people driven by a higher purpose than themselves outperform their peers.  Our strategic plan renews our commitment to these ideals:

–      Education of the whole person.

•       Spiritually, intellectually, physically and socially.

–      Parents are the Primary Educators

•       Catholic values at home, school AND within peer groups.

–      Faith Formation

•       A focus on relationship with Christ and what God is calling us to do.

–      Living the Faith

•       Preparing our children to be tomorrow’s servant leaders.

–      We Expect More

•       To whom much is given . . . much is required.

We look forward to your enthusiastic support of the Lafayette Catholic Schools, and our new strategic plan, as we work to prepare our students for a lifetime of purpose and achievement.

We are PARTNERS in your child's education

My wife Melanie and I were able to join the Class of 1962 for their Reunion Dinner earlier this month. During the evening, we enjoyed a conversation about the TV shows that were popular in 1962. Topping the list were: Wagon Train, Hazel, Bonanza, I Love Lucy and Perry Mason.  It was truly a different time.  In the pop culture of 1962, there were many examples of family values, good overcoming evil, and the value of hard work.

While most would argue that we live in more interesting times that have brought us a number of cultural and technological advancements, it can be difficult to find positive messages in today’s pop culture.  The popularity of reality TV shows like Jersey Shore, The Kardashians, and Teen Mom, leave us scratching our heads.  

The added difficulty is that we feel busier and more stressed than ever.  We’re required to multi-task at every turn - whether its a conference call for work, a committee we volunteered to chair, an event we were asked to plan, or getting to our child’s soccer game - we often find we’re doing more than one of those things simultaneously!  As days turn into weeks, and weeks turn into years, we see our children growing up and wonder if we’re spending enough “quality time” with them.  Here’s the good news:  we are!  A commitment to Catholic education is a commitment to being an integral part of your child’s life.

The Lafayette Catholic Schools recognize that parents are an essential partner in the education of our students and one of our greatest strengths.  We are also confident that the lessons you’re teaching at home are being reinforced by our teachers, administrators and staff.  Those Christian values are being taught in our classrooms, on the playing fields, in the gyms, and through our extra-curricular activities and social events - every hour of every day.  

Our goal is to prepare your child for a purposeful Christian life.  By educating them spiritually, intellectually, physically, and socially, they will be better equipped to recognize the gifts God has given them. While our pop culture may promote an attitude of “What’s in it for me?” we are here to help your child answer the ultimate question - “What does God want of me?”

So breathe easier.  Your commitment is making a difference, and others are noticing.  The class of 1962 enjoyed a Friday night football game, Holy Mass in the Chapel, and a tour of Central Catholic.  During dinner, I had a number of the ‘62 graduates and spouses of graduates talk to me about how impressed they were with our students.    

Keep up the good work, stay involved, and we will continue to do our best to serve the children of the Lafayette Catholic Schools.