Previous Strategic Plan

Formation of the whole person is an admirable and necessary goal. We’d like to pay attention to the formation of the whole student by assessing the following:

• Effectiveness of academics
• Student life activities and opportunities
• Education technology
• Student engagement
• Faith formation
• Develop a plan to respond to surfaced needs

Discussion

Progress has begun on these levels including:

• Use data to demonstrate academic rigor and develop effective methods to market to the general public. Track ECA, PSAT, SAT, AP, ACT test results and college acceptance data. Empower teachers to lead the discussion on curriculum and instruction. Use this data to market the school.
• Continue to evaluate the impact of the technology investments that have been made. Survey teachers and students annually; compare historical ECA, PSAT, SAT, AP, and ACT test data.
• Continue with next generation technology based on need, impact on learning, and return on investment. Develop a 3-year technology plan and develop a 3 to 5 year technology impact plan.
• Track conference presentations by BCHS administrators and faculty as members of state and national technology associations.
• Explore vertical distance learning (K-12). Research opportunities and offerings; implement class offerings if cost effective and beneficial for students.

The Goals

• • Assess current school culture & develop a plan to include ‘The Message’ of BCHS
  • Identify target audience & begin implementation

The Goals

• • Define quality education & value at BCHS
  • Determine ideal enrollment for providing BCHS quality & value
  • Develop a plan for maximizing North Deanery enrollment

The Goals

• • Develop & begin implementation of strategic advancement plan to maximize fundraising
  • Develop & begin implementation of an aggressive debt reduction plan
  • Review financial aid policies
  • Develop financial model of ideal enrollment to ensure long term viability

The Goals

• Prioritize and provide costs for all of the Master Plan projects and initiatives including:
  • Campus expansion
  • Performing arts theater
  • Crittenden Plaza construction
  • Current restrooms/locker rooms
  • Classrooms/technology
  • Main gym entry
• Assess safety, security & welcoming needs
• Develop plan for fundraising & completion of projects

The Timeline

• FALL 2016 – Feasibility Study, determine which of three proposed projects is most beneficial for the school community at this time
• 2017 – Capital Campaign
• FALL 2017 to SUMMER 2018 – Phase I Construction
• FALL 2018 – Phase I Completion

Enhancing Catholic Mission is easier said than done. As the Archdiocesan high school of the North Deanery, we wanted to take seriously our commitment to serve and broaden our Catholic identity.

The Goals

• Create and fill a mission & ministry position.
• Develop ongoing faith formation for faculty and staff.
• Provide ongoing faith formation & support for school parents.
• Incorporate gospel & church teachings into all areas of curriculum.
• Align school practices with national catholic standards & benchmarks.

How Did We Do
During the past three years

• BCHS received the Cardinal Newman School of Excellence Award in 2014. This award recognizes high schools that exhibit faithful Catholic education through institutional identity, administration, academics, and student life. Only 71 Catholic high schools in the nation received this honor that year.
• Deacon Rick Wagner and his wife, Carol, are heading our Mission, Ministry and Campus Ministry Program. Under their direction, liturgically, our students go to Mass once a week, have Eucharistic Adoration once a month and Reconciliation once a month.
• Also under their direction, the student service program further developed with 15,000 service hours performed in the past year. We have a faculty and staff day of service and a student day of service, and countless other Catholic-centric initiatives have been put in place.

While we always encourage the Faith Formation of our school parents, the strides we have made in enhancing the Catholic Mission for our young people have exceeded all expectations we had when developing this goal.

There are expensive, but very necessary achievements in this portion of the plan, as we strive to make sure we are providing our students with the best tools possible to set them up for success both in college and the real world.

The Goals

• Use data to ascertain & enhance academic rigor.
• Assess the effectiveness of technology investments on an ongoing basis.
• Continue exploration 7 effective utilization of innovative educational technology.
• Explore vertical distance learning (K-12).

How Did We Do
During the past three years:

• Bishop Chatard has successfully implemented a 1:1 iPad program in our classrooms.
• We now have a dedicated STEM lab and classrooms. We have Apple TVs and smart projectors in every classroom in the building.
• We have hired a North Deanery Chief Information Officer to help not only Bishop Chatard, but the entire North Deanery to assess and implement improvement to technological infrastructure and class curriculums.

Private school means tuition. It’s a sacrifice to send your children here and that sacrifice is not cheap. We get it, and we strive to limit increases and use our resources efficiently.

The Goals

• Reduce 2006 Foundation for Faith debt by 18%.
• Pay off technology loan by end of fiscal year 2016.
• Maintain tuition increases at less than 3% per year.
• Increase enrollment to 760 students.
• Meet specific fund development goals.
• Reduce expenses by 1.5% per year.
• Meet the endowment goals by 2016.

How Did We Do
During the past three years:

• We will have paid off our iPad/Technology loan by the end of this fiscal year in June 2016.
• While our tuition has risen over the past 4 years, the average was 2.4% over that 4 year time period. Our goal was to keep it under 3%, we did that.
• We have controlled spending and continue to utilize a zero-based balance budget model every year, to ensure that budget expectations are scrutinized from year to year.
• While we have not hit our goal of 760 students, we have seen increasing numbers each of the last three years and, what is extremely encouraging, our number of students from the North Deanery parishes and schools is increasing. Over 85% of our students enjoy an Archdiocesan discount, meaning they are in good standing with their parish.
• Vouchers and Indiana Tax Credit Scholarships have helped us award over $1.5 million in financial aid this current year and over $1.4 million last school year.

You will see Affordability will continue to be a focal point for years to come, but in the past 3 years, we’ve worked hard to make Bishop Chatard an attractive option financially.

Another key focus where we feel we have especially exceeded expectations is in relationships with our North Deanery schools and families. We wanted to reestablish ourselves as a resource for our North Deanery feeder schools, as we are their Archdiocesan High School. So we decided we would market to them.

The Goals

• Deanery wide professional development activities.
• Vertical integration of curriculum.
• North Deanery Newsletter.
• Enhancement & expansion of middle school & junior high summer camps & other outreach initiatives.
• Development & ongoing support for parish ambassador program.

How Did We Do
During the past three years:

• Our Enrichment and Sport camps are thriving, our CYO nights are well attended, our Open Houses are packed and our relationships with the schools and their administration and teachers are much stronger than they have ever been.
• A HUGE part of our success is the grassroots efforts of working with Parish Ambassadors. These people have their finger on the pulse of their parishes and their insights have been tremendously helpful in our efforts to attract students to Bishop Chatard. They have great insight on what we should offer, what their school’s students may be interested in and what the buzz around their parish is about us.

We are impressed by the parish ambassador effort because it is low financial cost but, more important, these ambassador efforts and our experience-based marketing is helping to strengthen ties between BCHS and the Northside community!

We couldn’t do what we do, offer financial aid and make a teacher incentive program like CEAP work, without the engagement and buy in from our donors. Over the past 3 to 4 years, we’ve assembled a team to help promote BCHS, and it seems to be working.

The Goals

• Enhance the branding & messaging of BCHS.
• Develop a method for generating donor profiles.
• Understand the means of communication desired by donors & respond accordingly.
• Increase alumni engagement by 5% & financial support for 10%.
• Promote continued financial support.
• Demonstrate good stewardship.
• Increase North Deanery enrollment.

How Did We Do
During the past three years:

• Alumni engagement is up. Enrollment from North Deanery students is up and enrollment in general is up.
• The messaging, branding and professionalism of the school is apparent.
• Donations and fundraising are way up. In this current year alone, over 1.2 million dollars has been raised! This is just through general donations – we don’t have any huge capital campaign needs at this time. Those donations were brought in because donors believe that our commitment to an authentic Catholic education is being realized and they want to continue to help us.
  This speaks as a testament to this community! We have great students, staff and faculty in the building, but our donors, alums and community are an integral part of making us great.

The Goals
The Catholic Educator Advancement Program (CEAP) involves Faculty/Staff compensation and Development. To assess its intended outcomes, support data needed to be developed in:

• Professional Growth
• Teacher Retention
• Fair Compensation

How Did We Do

• 80% of faculty hold a Master’s Degree or higher.
• Teacher salaries are within 77% of their counterparts in public schools with similar experience and expertise (up from 68%).
• 50% increase in teacher retention over the last 3 years.
• We’ve increased spending in our special needs and guidance departments.
• We are constantly striving to make technological advancements both for our students and our teachers.

Overall, we have some of the best of the best teachers working for us, for your children in this building.

The Goals

• Update the master plan via community feedback.
• Develop plans & receive approvals for next phase projects.
• Purchase remaining properties needed to expand campus.
• Undertake a feasibility study  & campaign for next phases.

How Did We Do
This is perhaps where we fell flat over the last 3 years. Our Capital Campaign & Master Plan goals were lofty as we were on the heels of a successful capital campaign when developing this strategic plan. With that said, the next 3 years plan will address the campus expansion and hopefully completion timeline. The points above were looked at, talked about and, in almost every case, developed further, but the timing the last three years was not right to start to implement.