Holy Family Catholic Schools, by God’s grace and in partnership with families and parishes, empowers students to generously live an integrated life-long, and joy-filled faith through comprehensive Catholic Formation and meaningful sacramental experiences.

Phase I Initiatives (2020-2025):

• Develop a personalized religion curriculum that provides a comprehensive foundation in the Catholic faith and inspires students to religious vocations
• Introduce program designed to build knowledge of Catholic faith among all teachers
• Increase parent and student participation in local parishes
• Re-establish a School Improvement Advisory Committee to provide ongoing input for system improvement

Phase II Initiatives:

• Enhance impactful faith-building activities at each level
• Create traditions in each building surrounding the Catholic faith
• Develop a plan to cultivate and engage local and non-local alumni

Phase III Initiatives:

• Sequence local, national and global service offerings, including student-driven youth-leadership opportunities K-12
• Hire full-time campus ministers for elementary and middle schools to coordinate liturgies, retreats, and service projects
• Expand retreat opportunities for students in grades 5-9
• Assess each building for visible signs of Catholic identity

Holy Family will increase enrollment across the system through the execution of an intentional student recruitment and retention strategy grounded in the clear articulation of Holy Family’s value and an effective financial aid process.

Phase I Initiatives (2020-2025):

• Collect and communicate key academic achievement metrics that contribute to the value proposition and drive student recruitment and retention
• Communicate the value proposition of personalized learning
• Develop a strategic and targeted communication plan that conveys the value proposition for internal and external audiences
• Update and implement detailed student retention plan starting with Pre-K

Phase II Initiatives:

• Partner with community organizations to connect with newcomers and broaden our audience for recruitment
• Develop a strategy to increase the diversity of the student body
• Create a structured process to collect feedback from families throughout the year
• Develop student experiences that build community among families and transcend individual schools

Phase III Initiatives:

• Increase international enrollment to at least 10 students per year
• Implement automatic pre-registration

Holy Family will provide an academic experience that is demonstrably better than alternative options. Through personalized learning, we will empower students to take ownership of their learning, ensuring engagement, growth, and preparedness for college, career and life.

Holy Family will offer a system-wide articulated arts program, aimed at developing each student’s creative talents, will establish Holy Family Catholic Schools as Dubuque’s first choice for families who are passionate about the arts.

Holy Family will foster personal development through an exceptional athletic program that reinforces hard work, fair play, continuous improvement and teamwork.

Phase I Initiatives (2020-2025):

Academics

• Define services and support for students with special needs and implement consistently across the system
• Develop competencies for 9-12 and electives
• Hire a K-12 language coordinator to oversee the year-to-year progress for all immersion students
• Install Spanish signage as often as possible in immersion buildings and classrooms
• Build-out Personalized Learning Faith in Action opportunities
• Create a college and career readiness platform - ACT prep, internships, enhanced college/career planning
• Conduct an early childhood program gap analysis and develop a plan for alignment with K-12 programming

Activities

• Assess the outdoor athletic complex and develop a plan to address needs
• Create a secondary coaching development system
• Ensure adequate coaching levels for each sport
• Build-out a 4-12 strings program
• Create an annual stipend to support after-school instrumental programming
• Create arts endowment to support costs for show choir, drama, instrumentals, and choir

Phase II Initiatives:

• Define necessary consistencies in programming across all schools
• Increase the number of mutually-beneficial business partnerships to enhance experiential learning while providing organizational value
• Investigate elementary magnet program opportunities
• Determine a system-wide behavioral approach to address student development and discipline Build fund for equipment, uniforms and skill development
• Hire a Director of Arts to oversee system-wide arts programming
• Build a marching band to showcase the arts
• Conduct a gap analysis of secondary co-curricular offerings
• Assess elementary after-school offerings and make adjustments as needed
• Purchase new instruments for band each year as needed
• Build out robotics programming

Phase III Initiatives:

• Research and implement K-3 Personalized Learning curriculum
• Furnish classrooms to support personalized learning
• Begin offering Mandarin in the early years
• Introduce immersion programming in a childcare setting
• Hire youth sports coordinator
• Install artificial surface on the soccer/football field
• Resurfacing Wahlert track
• Build a performing arts auditorium

With a long-term master plan for facility improvements and ongoing maintenance, Holy Family will create 21st-century educational centers where students can focus on intellectual, spiritual, and physical growth in comfortable and inspiring settings. Our facilities will help attract students while maximizing efficiencies.

Through optimized revenue models and efficient cost management, Holy Family will support the long-term sustainability of our schools, and in alignment with the Holy Family Catholic Schools mission, we will ensure accessibility for all who desire a Catholic education.

Phase I Initiatives (2020-2025):

• Support ongoing transportation needs
• Replace Holy Ghost roof
• Provide support to Resurrection building project to ensure it meets the needs of the parish and school
• St. Columbkille renovation
• St. Anthony renovation
• Nativity renovation
• Determine parish assessment formula
• Expand early childhood programming to drive revenue
• Increase endowed scholarships for students at all levels
• Increase the number of businesses participating as business sponsors to support the annual fund
• Develop a strategic and targeted fundraising plan to engage new and existing donors

Phase II Initiatives:

• St. Joseph the Worker renovation
• Repurpose Holy Ghost second floor for early childhood
• Develop an updated tuition model
• Create strategy to reduce reliance on parish assessments
• Increase endowed scholarships for students at all levels

Phase III Initiatives:

• Establish an endowment for facilities maintenance
• Increase endowed scholarships for students at all levels

Holy Family will invest in our workforce so that mission-driven educators no longer have to sacrifice financially to answer their calling. We will operate a high-functioning organization to attract, develop, and retain top-tier faculty and staff.

Phase I Initiatives (2020-2025):

• Develop a detailed goal setting and accountability process at all levels
• Develop a system-wide professional development plan for both certified and non-certified staff and an approach to measuring its effectiveness
• Create a fund to support professional development to ensure personalized learning is implemented and sustained with fidelity
• Revise key leadership roles and responsibilities
• Complete analysis of staffing at each school site to establish consistency system-wide
• Assess central office personnel needs and organizational structure
• Restructure benefit strategy

Phase II Initiatives:

• Develop an active employee-recruitment strategy, targeting high-potential candidates
• Evaluate additional employee perks such as reduced childcare rates, expansion of tuition remission program, student loan forgiveness and signing bonuses
• Create an organization-wide focus on customer service
• Create an action-oriented retention strategy for teachers including a mentorship program
• Create a principal succession plan
• Support faculty in earning additional credentials to align with shortage areas
• Restructure benefit strategy

Phase III Initiatives:

• Refine process for teacher candidate assessment
• Match the surrounding market rate for employee compensation package