Platform for Excellence
Strategic Plan

In 2017, with wind in their sails from the success of the Soaring Campaign for the renovation of Wahlert Catholic High School, a group of loyal Holy Family benefactors, consisting of parents, grandparents, business leaders and alumni, formed a taskforce to consider how the winds of momentum could carry Holy Family further.
Fueled with ideals for excellence in programming and infrastructure, the group began to establish what would become Holy Family’s Platform for Excellence. They firmly believed there was more that could be accomplished through the generosity of the Holy Family community, and as discussions of a second campaign began, Holy Family leaders set forth to draw up the strategic plan that would bring the aspirations for Holy Family’s future into focus.
At the December 2019 meeting, the Holy Family board of education approved Platform for Excellence and our five-year strategic plan that will impact every facet of the organization.
Our Vision
Portrait of a Graduate
The guiding light for our strategic planning process was our Portrait of a Graduate – a vision of excellence for every Holy Family student. Throughout the course of the 2018-2019 school year, Holy Family faculty and staff, along with board and committee support, community input, and the guidance of a professional consultant, drafted a strategic plan to guide our work through the next five years.
Holy Family students are:
Spiritual & Ethical
They understand the personal and communal nature of the Catholic faith, living the learned faith in all that they do and in service to others.
Aware & Connected
They are well-rounded, balanced and involved – in arts, athletics, and other co-curricular activities. They are self-aware leaders in local and global communities.
Passionate & Engaged
They love learning. They are actively engaged and entrepreneurial in their approach to school, work, activities, service and their lives.
Capable & Prepared
They are prepared to succeed in every facet of life after high school. They have developed the key Habits of Success and critical skills and knowledge needed to actualize their own dreams and thrive in the 21st century.
A Strategic Approach to Achieving Our Vision
Five strategic priorities will structure the work that needs to be done to achieve our vision of excellence and ensure a vibrant future for Holy Family Catholic Schools for generations to come.
Our Strategic Initiatives:
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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
- Establish a Social Justice Coalition and develop a strategy to broaden the diversity of students and staff through an inclusive environment
- 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