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Catholic School Advantage

New Report: Historic Opportunity to Empower Latinos through Catholic Schools

on Thursday, 03 April 2014.

MONOGRAPH RELEASED AND ACCESSIBLE FOR DOWNLOAD

CSA Monograph

Last month, the Catholic School Advantage Campaign (CSA) released a monograph entitled Renewing Our Greatest and Best Inheritance: Our Historic Opportunity to Empower Latino Families through Catholic Schools. This informative booklet is available to the public and can be ordered or downloaded as a PDF.

Since the CSA Campaign was launched in 2010, it has become abundantly clear that the opportunity and challenge of increasing Latino participation in Catholic schools is among the top priorities in (arch)dioceses throughout the country. This document, the vision for which evolved out of recognition that episcopal and pastoral leaders possess a unique authority to articulate both the urgency and importance of this mission, synthesizes the insights of four cardinals, three archbishops, eleven bishops, and five pastors. Renewing Our Greatest and Best Inheritance focuses specifically on the integral role that bishops and pastors play in extending the Catholic school advantage to Latino families.

The insights offered by the bishops and pastors who contributed to this work are guided by three overarching themes:Renewing

  1. We must convey and embrace the urgency – the data on sacramental participation, educational outcomes, and civic engagement all indicate a “demographic imperative” that the Church more effectively serve Latinos through K-12 Catholic schools.
  2. We must celebrate the opportunity – empowering Latino families through our Catholic schools represents an exciting new chapter in the Catholic Church’s tradition of service to newly arrived people and communities.
  3. We must provide authentic witness – our efforts to increase the participation of Latino families in Catholic schools are most effective when they are fully embodied by our pastoral and episcopal leadership, encountering the people of the emerging Church on a direct and personal level.

We are deeply grateful to each one of the bishops and pastors who so generously offered their experience and well-informed perspective on this historic opportunity facing the American Catholic Church today. Our hope is that this document will be most instructive as we forge a strategy to position Catholic schools as indispensable instruments of the New Evangelization and make them accessible to the Latino families who have so much to gain from them. There is so much at stake. May God continue to bless this work that he has entrusted to us.

Download the CSA Monograph

Order the CSA Monograph

 

St. Christopher Parish Community Raises Over $2 Million in Pledge Drive to Save Catholic School

on Friday, 14 February 2014.

St.Chris WeDidItWhen Maureen Wilson accepted the job as principal of St. Christopher School in Midlothian, Illinois, she knew she faced an uphill battle. As an AIM school (the Archdiocesan Initiative Model in which the Archdiocese of Chicago's Office of Catholic Schools, with the consent of the pastor, takes over full operating authority of a school for three years to help with marketing, budgeting, and personnel decisions), St. Christopher was already in dire need of a financial and enrollment turnaround.

Ms. Wilson is no stranger to saving a Catholic school on the brink of closure, however. Just last year, as principal of St. Leonard School in Berwyn, Illinois, she spearheaded a targeted recruiting effort after having participated in the first annual Latino Enrollment Institute - an initiative of ACE and the Catholic School Advantage Campaign at the University of Notre Dame. In the 2012-13 school year, Ms. Wilson and her team brought in 50 new Latino students, which was the school's first enrollment increase in many years.

Now in her first year as principal at St. Christopher School, she has increased enrollment to 215, up 50 students from the previous year. Despite this upward trend, however, the enrollment turnaround alone was not enough to return the school to financial stability.

Early in January, Ms. Wilson received the disheartening news that the school would be closed at the end of the 2013-14 school year. Even with the Archdiocese's support through grants, scholarships, and loans in excess of $1 million, St. Christopher was simply no longer economically viable.

While this story has become all too common in recent years, the response of the St. Christopher community following the announcement of the school's impending closure was not. Rather than sit idly by and accept this fate, the parish community came together, undaunted by the mountain they had to climb and determined to rewrite the next chapter of their school's story.

Compelled by gratitude for everyone who has served St. Christopher over the years – the Archdiocese of Chicago, parents and alumni, and every one of the teachers and principals, past and present – the community vowed to continue the school's proud tradition of providing a bright future for all those who walk through its doors. On January 15th, the "Gift to St. Chris Education" pledge drive was launched.

Between January 15th and 24th, the team at St. Christopher School raised over $2 million in pledges to keep their school open! Overwhelmed by the outpouring of financial support, volunteer work, and prayers from the school's families, parishioners, alumni, and friends, Ms. Wilson says "This is just so amazing. I feel like George Bailey from It's a Wonderful Life! St. Chris is such an amazing community... the news awoke a sleeping giant! We had pledges coming in from alumni scattered across the country."

In the school finance council's proposal to the Archdiocese, they presented everything that their team had to offer, highlighting not only their long-term financial plan, but the sustained and heightened efforts of a parish family and its commitment to their school and surrounding community:

We have been successful in developing a long-term financial plan solution of responsibility; an affirmation of continued development and required enrollment growth, and, in addition, sharing with you evidence of a "birth" taking place towards our journey in faith. The life of our church has taken this news rather than a swallowing-up, a vehicle of awakening toward an understanding of needed sacrifice, commitment and working together with God's love at the helm. This "new birth" combined with our parish and school's rich history is what we are striving for, especially on behalf of those who may be less fortunate. To the family that has already come to St. Christopher after surviving two Catholic school closings with their children, to the people who depend on our site to have Catholic Charities meals and warmth and St. Vincent de Paul's food supply, we have to continue with a mindset of service.

The incredible success of St. Christopher's $2 million pledge drive has insured the school's financial viability and stability for the next eight years and into the foreseeable future. In fact, the Archdiocese stated that St. Christopher's proposal was one of the best they had ever seen, and that the school community's response to the events of the past few weeks could serve as a model to other schools in the diocese and nationwide.

Although much work still lies ahead, the St. Christopher community can move forward knowing that their school will be able to continue its long history of excellence for many years to come. And under the leadership of Principal Maureen Wilson, opportunities for further growth will most certainly abound.

St. Clement School Gets Significant Enrollment Boost in Outreach to Latino Families

on Thursday, 13 February 2014.

St. Clement StorySt. Clement School in St. Bernard, Ohio is already seeing significant enrollment gains since participating in the CSA's Latino Enrollment Institute. Recently featured in the The Catholic Telegraph, a publication of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, St. Clement's turnaround has been credited to the school's "inclusivity." Since last year, they have experienced an increase in enrollment from 154 students to 201, and 33 of those students are Latino.

Both the principal, Jeff Eiser, and his wife, Rosie, the school's volunteer librarian, attended the LEI last summer. Also in attendance with them was Sr. Ann Vonder Meulen, a teacher at the school, and Mayra Alza, Latino Outreach Coordinator for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati.

 

Read the full story in the Catholic Telegraph on St. Clement School's enrollment turnaround and Mayra Alza's outreach to Latino families in Cincinnati.

From the Desk of a CSA Field Consultant

on Thursday, 13 February 2014.

A reflection from Sylvia Armas-Abad on her work with Madrinas in Los Angeles Catholic Schools

OLHR Madrinas with Sylvia Oct 2013For the past three years, I have had the honor and privilege of serving as the Field Consultant for the Catholic School Advantage (CSA) Campaign in Los Angeles. Working with a total of 20 schools, I have been charged with the duties of providing consulting services to principals in order to design and implement marketing and recruitment strategies that will increase the number of Latino families who enroll their children in their Catholic schools. The CSA Campaign presents us with the challenge of reaching and engaging more Latino families in our nation's Catholic schools, but more importantly, it presents us with the opportunity to educate our Latino community about the legacy of the Catholic school system in the United States and the positive impact it can have on children's lives. 

Carrying out this mission in Los Angeles has been quite a homecoming for me. As the daughter of Mexican immigrants who figured out a way to send their five children to Catholic school, I know first-hand the sacrifices that parents with very limited means have to make in order to make a Catholic education a reality for their children, and I can attest to the lifelong advantages that come about as a direct result of receiving a Catholic education. Additionally, I've carried out the majority of my work in my native East Los Angeles where I get to work with my alma mater!

As a consultant, part of my job is to conduct an overall appraisal of the schools with which I work. I need to determine a school's strengths and weaknesses in order to leverage our marketing plan appropriately. It is also part of my work to conduct enrollment management sessions with principals and develop strategies to fill the biggest enrollment gaps. My approach has been to focus as much as possible on filling up the primary grades to capacity, which include Preschool/Pre-K/Transitional Kindergarten through second grade. With this strategy being implemented year after year, a school will see overall enrollment gains throughout its grade levels overtime. One of the biggest lessons I've learned is that everything with regards to recruitment is intentional. There are no coincidences or lucky trends. The positive energy, quality of work, and the specific plans (i.e., curriculum plans, financial plans, marketing and recruitment plans, etc.) that a principal and his or her staff implement in their school will establish the momentum for attracting more families. In conjunction with these efforts is the organization of a marketing and recruitment team. Perhaps the most important and most efficient strategy that I have implemented on a broad scale with CSA partner schools in L.A. is a culturally-responsive parent ambassador program known as Madrinas.

The Madrinas Marketing Model is based on the principal's ability to identify a group of mothers and/or grandmothers (Not meant to exclude fathers or grandfathers, who should, by all means, be welcomed too!) who have a history or background with your parish school community. Typically, I recommend that principals seek out those parents who are engaged and active in both the parish and school community, have a broad network or are well-connected with the community, have a deep love and appreciation for your school, a desire to see the school thrive, and feel passionate about sharing the gift of Catholic education with other families, especially with other Latino families.

The Madrinas Marketing Model is a grassroots approach to marketing and recruitment. A group of mothers will take the "word of mouth" strategy to a heightened level by intentionally creating opportunities to engage families from the parish and the surrounding community in the life of the school. Madrinas are able to accomplish this by extending personal invitations to new families to visit the school, while educating these families about the life-long advantages that Catholic schools offer. Madrinas will further assist these families by facilitating the follow-up process, and keeping momentum and interest going until the family is able to meet with the principal and determine if the school is the right fit for their child. Madrinas are also instrumental in accompanying these families throughout the registration process by assisting them with school registration materials and financial aid paperwork.

OLHR Madrinas Fall 2012One of our success stories in Los Angeles comes from Our Lady of the Holy Rosary School in Sun Valley, California. Located in the northeast valley of Los Angeles, Our Lady of the Holy Rosary has served the community since 1950. In 1983, the Sister Servants of the Blessed Sacrament took over the administration of the school and continue to this day. The school has traditionally served a diverse student population – primarily white, Filipino, and Latino – from preschool through eighth grade. However, in the last decade, the Latino population has surged significantly in the area of Sun Valley.

I began my work at Our Lady of the Holy Rosary in July 2012, at which time the school had experienced a decline in enrollment. They were slightly below 200 students, whereas in the years prior, they had been serving a student population of over 250 students. The principal, Sister Remedios Aguilar, a native of Mexico City, heard about the Catholic School Advantage Campaign and felt that her school was a perfect fit. She was absolutely right!

We immediately began our work by organizing a group of about 5 mothers during the summer of 2012 to participate in the Madrinas Marketing Team. (Since that time, our group has grown to about 8 madrinas.) We divided the madrinas into four teams: Parish Outreach, Preschool/Day Care Outreach, Community Outreach and the Follow-up Team. Each team selected a leader who would be tasked with keeping their volunteers informed and organized about upcoming activities. Given the small number of madrinas, some decided to join more than one team to assist in recruiting and organizing additional parent volunteers who are not "official" members of the Madrinas group, but are willing to help out with recruitment efforts from time to time.

The Parish Team is in charge of facilitating an organized outreach effort within the parish community. This included organizing Sunday Mass recruitment drives, outreach to key parish ministries, and outreach to the families with children in religious education (There are hundreds!). Furthermore, the pastor, Father Marvin, has designated a bulletin board in the lobby exclusively for the school, so the Madrinas Parish Outreach Team will consistently update the bulletin board with the latest news about the school, inviting the community to "check them out!"

The Preschool/Day Care Team is in charge of making contacts with various preschools and day care facilities in the surrounding community. Madrinas have extended personal invitations to these families and have established ongoing communication with preschool directors and day care owners to keep their families informed about upcoming open houses and other opportunities to visit the school. Last year, the Madrinas hosted a Merienda (an early-evening light meal, usually consisting of coffee or tea and a light snack) where they invited local day care owners, who are predominately Spanish-speaking Latinos. Many of these day care owners were grateful for the opportunity to also promote their own business and mentioned that it was the first time another "business" in the community had reached out to them. Because of this positive interaction, these day care owners have consistently referred families to Our Lady of the Holy Rosary.

The Community Outreach Team is in charge of making the school visible in the surrounding community. The Madrinas conduct active recruitment efforts at local shopping centers, grocery stores, community centers, parks and recreation programs, libraries and at various community events. For the Madrinas whose time is limited, the Community Outreach Team has been a great way for them to support the school with minimal time commitment, simply through social networking within their communities. They always have their Madrinas Recruitment Packet on hand, prepared to talk about their school should the opportunity present itself.

Finally, the Follow-up Team is perhaps the most important team. There's no point in marketing the school if we don't have a protocol for following up with interested families. At Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, a team of madrinas will collect all of the interest cards from the various recruitment activities. They assist the principal and front office staff by conducting follow-up phone calls and will make themselves available to schedule school visits or tours with prospective families. Furthermore, these madrinas are instrumental in assisting interested families in filling out all initial registration materials, especially any financial aid applications. Key to the success of this team has been an established protocol so that the madrinas can keep Sister Remedios informed of all interested families, as well as any necessary meetings to explore additional financial assistance options.

In the fall of 2012, Our Lady of the Holy Rosary began their school year with a total of 193 students, of which 158 were Latino. In the fall of 2013, they began the school year with 231 total students, 213 of whom are Latino. That is a 20 percent increase in total enrollment and a 35 percent increase in Latino enrollment! Quite a testament to the impact that the Madrinas Marketing Model can have when the right team with the right intentions and enthusiasm is assembled.

Last but certainly not least, it's important to mention that retention is a significant part of enrollment management. It's one thing to recruit, but another to retain families. I would encourage all principals to consistently survey their currently registered parents to gauge their level of satisfaction. Offering a suggestion box is one way to do this, following up by reporting back to parents on certain improvements or changes you are making as a result of their feedback. Make sure you conduct a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) and create a plan to leverage your strengths, improve your weaknesses, build on your opportunities, and minimize the threats. Be honest and open, especially with yourself, and stay positive and upbeat! God is always on and by our side!

¡Adelante!

Latino Bishops Gather in San Antonio to Discuss Strategy for Increased Accessibility to Catholic Schools for Latino Families

on Monday, 03 February 2014.

Bishops in San AntonioLast month the Catholic School Advantage Campaign and the Program for K-12 Educational Access (PEA) – two initiatives of ACE often working closely in collaboration – gathered together 13 Latino (arch)bishops as part of the PEA's ongoing advocacy work with church leaders.

Traditionally, the PEA has led this dialogue with Catholic bishops from around the country to discuss the Church's unique and integral role in the enactment and expansion of well-designed parental choice programs. This year, the gathering, which was designed in response to Cardinal Dolan's recent invitation to approach the transformation of K-12 Catholic schools with renewed focus and vision, included Latino bishops from across the United States to focus explicitly on what they as Latino leaders in the Church can do to revitalize Catholic education.

The data regarding population growth and educational outcomes within the Latino community has clearly indicated a "demographic imperative" that the Church more effectively serve Latinos through K-12 Catholic schools. Furthermore, bishops – particularly Latino bishops – have unique authority to articulate both the urgency and importance of this work, as well as offer a unique perspective in forging a strategy to position Catholic schools as indispensable instruments of the New Evangelization.

One concrete idea that came out of our gathering was that of hosting a series of webinars in conjunction with the Committee on Catholic Education at the USCCB. These webinars would address primarily the issue of how we might make our schools and parishes more culturally responsive to the Latino community. Stay tuned for an announcement about these webinars in the coming months.

The gathering was held in San Antonio, Texas, January 15-16, with the following bishops in attendance:

  • Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller, M.Sp.S., Archdiocese of San Antonio
  • Bishop Cantú, Diocese of Las Cruces
  • Bishop Arturo Cepeda, Archdiocese of Detroit
  • Bishop Eusebio Elizondo, M.Sp.S., Archdiocese of Seattle
  • Bishop Richard García, Diocese of Monterey
  • Bishop Armando Ochoa, Diocese of Fresno
  • Bishop Nelson Pérez, Diocese of Rockville Centre
  • Bishop Plácido Rodríguez, C.M.F., Diocese of Lubbock
  • Bishop Alberto Rojas, Archdiocese of Chicago
  • Bishop Alexander Salazar, Archdiocese of Los Angeles
  • Bishop Jaime Soto, Diocese of Sacramento
  • Bishop James Tamayo, Diocese of Laredo
  • Bishop Luis Zarama, Archdiocese of Atlanta

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