Vision
Office of Catholic Schools Strategic Vision
The Diocese of Palm Beach and the Office of Catholic Schools initiated a strategic planning process in 2013 which engaged stakeholders from across the diocese. Strategic Vision 2020: Charting a Course for Excellence provided direction and purpose for our work in Catholic education through the year 2020. Professional consultants from the Alliance for Catholic Education at the University of Notre Dame guided us through this strategic visioning process.
Building on that foundation, principals from across the diocese worked to develop Vision Statements for our Catholic schools to provide direction and purpose for our work from 2020 through 2025. School Advisory Council members and other leaders from our three high schools worked concurrently to develop Vision Statements for each of the three high schools. Once again, a professional consultant, Sr. Carol Cimino, SSJ, facilitated the development of the vision statements, which are based on the National Standards and Benchmarks for Effective Catholic Elementary and Secondary Schools. These national standards cover four key areas related to Catholic schools:
- Catholic Identity and Mission
- Academic Excellence
- Leadership and Governance
- Operational Vitality
Office of Catholic Schools Vision Statements 2020-2025
Catholic Identity
Our Catholic Schools will foster an environment of belonging which includes a rigorous Catholic education with emphasis on family faith formation, liturgical celebrations, and social justice projects that engage and ignite service to others, and witnessed by those who nurture our children on a day-to-day basis.
Our Catholic Schools will use the lens of sacred scripture to help all students to think critically and ethically in faith formation, academic excellence, and service.
Rooted in our Gospel values, our Catholic Schools will foster service learning to encourage students and families to use their unique God-given gifts to promote Catholic social teachings.
Our Catholic Schools will foster an environment of belonging for all by providing a wide variety of social justice programs rooted in the Gospel values of our Catholic faith.
In collaboration with school and parish leadership, we will ensure that our Catholic Schools, especially the three high schools, have a dedicated chaplain who evangelizes the faith and energizes the sense of community through youth formation and liturgical experiences.
Our Catholic Schools will encourage young people to explore vocations as priests, religious and lay ministers in the Church by providing opportunities to learn more about these life choices. Our Catholic Schools will endeavor to expand our diversity by ensuring that our schools are welcoming, accessible and representative of all those who attend our churches including Hispanic, Haitian and African American families
Academic Excellence
In partnership with our parents, parishes, and communities, our Catholic Schools will fully implement Diocesan standards in all subject areas providing avenues for all students to receive a faith-filled rigorous instruction. The Diocese will work to develop a clear, centralized, and articulated sequential standards vertically aligned through high school in all subject areas.
Our Catholic Schools will provide our students with an innovative curriculum with solid faith and academic foundations with an emphasis on critical thinking, project-based learning, socialemotional learning, and practical technology skills that are integrated across all subject areas to prepare students for a global society.
Our Catholic Schools will provide faith-filled rigorous vertically aligned instruction based on Diocese of Palm Beach standards in all subject areas, incorporating critical thinking, authentic technology and data-driven professional development to meet the needs of our diverse learners.
Our Catholic Schools will empower teachers in our diocese with a clear understanding of student performance and growth data and provide customized professional development in the use of data and best practices to differentiate instruction effectively and plan for an increasingly diverse population.
Operational Vitality
Our Catholic Schools will consider the development of a centralized position to assist teachers, specialists, and administration throughout the diocese with accommodations, modifications, special funding and use of technology in the curriculum.
Our Catholic Schools will work with the parish/school leadership and governing bodies to develop a three to five-year business plan to incorporate facilities, technology, infrastructure, personnel marketing, enrollment, and development, and to advocate for all parishes to provide economic resources in support of our Catholic schools. The business plan will keep tuition affordable, support competitive salaries and develop high quality human resources and facilities within our schools.
Our Catholic Schools, with the support of the Diocese, will advocate for all parishes to collaborate with the schools to provide economic resources in support of families who choose Catholic schools and to address facilities, safety and security, technology, personnel, marketing, enrollment and development.
Leadership and Governance
Our Catholic Schools will have a leadership and governance model that will realize, implement, and live the mission in a spirit of transparency and responsible decision-making by providing financial support, meaningful professional development, and future leadership training.
In collaboration with pastors, our Catholic Schools will define all roles of leadership to empower administrators to realize and implement the school’s vision and mission.
Our Catholic Schools will work collaboratively with fellow school leaders, pastors, and leaders from all diocesan partners to best utilize the collective resources of the Diocese of Palm Beach.
In collaboration with all stakeholders within the Diocese of Palm Beach, the schools’ governing leadership body will empower the school community to foster academic excellence in a Christcentered environment to best utilize the collective resources of the Diocese of Palm Beach and to ensure responsible decision-making with fidelity to our Catholic identity to provide operational vitality of all Catholic schools.
Our Catholic Schools will provide ongoing support by facilitating professional development for school leaders that allows opportunity for meaningful dialogue, and collaboration, regarding best practices, via hands-on workshops.
