DIOCESE—The data is in and on schedule.
That in a nutshell is where the diocese is in its Strategic Planning Process for Catholic Schools.
A report from the Meitler group, the professional strategic planning firm hired to consult with the Rockford Diocese, was presented to the steering committee on April 14. That committee includes Bishop David Malloy, department heads from the offices of education, finance, clergy, legal and communication. The presentation began what will be the first of several meetings to share key findings in the areas of enrollment, community and parish demographics, school finances, leadership and governance, diocesan support, facilities, educational programming and Catholic identity.
That report was the compilation of data gathered from Catholic and community demographics since the process was formally announced in November of 2015. The information presented came from extensive data collected and analyzed from many sources in the diocese and the broader community. Data was collected directly from parishes and schools through forms all schools were asked to complete. One on one interviews were conducted with many Catholic leaders. The consulting team visited every school in the diocese interviewing pastors, principals, high school administration, and representatives of school advisory councils and school boards.
The data provided in this initial report will become part of a larger collection of information that serves as a resource for the diocese in setting goals and making recommendations.
Superintendent of Catholic Schools for the Rockford Diocese said he has learned much from the story the data has to tell.
“For the past four and a half months, I have had the pleasure of participating in the interview phase of our strategic planning process. It has been extremely interesting and informative. Of our 46 diocesan schools (40 elementary and six diocesan high schools),” he said.
“I attended on site interviews at 44 and I can honestly say that I learned something new at each one. All those who gave of their time to be interviewed (principals, pastors, school commission members, finance and pastoral council members) candidly shared their views on the current condition of their schools as well as their hopes for the future.
“The overall impression that I gathered from meeting all of these representatives was that strong Catholic schools are still needed and wanted in the Rockford Diocese. The fact that we have people who are willing and able to help plan the future of our schools is quite heartening.,” Kagan said.
He added that “The data indicates to me that although enrollment at the majority of our schools has decreased over the past decade, the potential to gain new students and families is still strong. So, that tells me that with the right plan and approach our schools can flourish over the next decade. This is an exciting time for Catholic schools in the Rockford Diocese!”
What’s Next
The next steps in the process will take place during the month of May. One of those steps includes presenting the report and initial findings to all pastors, principals and administrative teams in regional meetings to be held in the Rockford diocese in early May. Immediately following those meetings, the planning committee will begin to develop the actual plan for academics, Catholic identity, leadership and governance in Catholic Schools and the Department of Educational services. Local leaders will have the opportunity to respond to the data and working groups will get busy building some financial models to be included in the overall plan.
Later in June, deanery meetings will gather leaders once again to discuss the local application of some of the key findings, draw conclusions about what is needed locally and determine if additional study is needed and to form study groups.
The Observer will feature some of the key findings from the report during the next phase of public meetings when they are held in early May.
The Rockford Diocese initiated this strategic planning process as a means to help strengthen its Catholic schools and to increase their effectiveness to both evangelize and form future generations of students.
The plan is a means to make change possible through clearly understanding the challenges and prescribing changes that set forth a wise and smart direction for the future.
A complete list of challenges, objectives and process steps were published in the Nov. 6, 2015 issue of The Observer.