DIOCESE—For the past 11 months, the administration and school leaders in the Diocese of Rockford, with expertise of professional consultants from the Meitler group of Milwaukee, Wis., have worked to form a new vision and practical plan for a stable and healthy future of Catholic education in the diocese.

To guide plan development, a Catholic Schools Planning Committee was established. Members reviewed data and findings compiled by Meitler and the diocesan Catholic schools office.

Early in the process, the consultants visited with every school and compiled significant data. Findings about the condition of schools were widely shared, and a discussion of new directions was initiated.

The Planning Committee used the information and feedback to create a working draft of the plan. The draft was then shared for feedback and will be refined after some reflection.

After many hours of interviews, meetings, site visits and assessments conducted from November 2015 to October 2016, a comprehensive strategic plan called “Faith Forward: Building our Blueprint for Catholic Schools” has been drafted.

The preliminary plan was publicly presented to Catholic leaders including pastors, principals, educational commission members and leaders during a meeting on Oct. 27 at Rockford’s St. Rita Parish.

During the gathering,  major aspects of the plan were presented and discussed in small groups. Topics included Catholic identity and mission; governance and leadership; academic excellence; operational vitality in the areas of enrollment mangagement, finance, facilities and diocesan support and leadership.

“It is now the point in this process where the draft strategy is ready to be shared for public response,” said Michael Kagan, diocesan superintendent of Catholic Schools.

To do that, the Faith Forward document has been posted on the diocesan website at www.rockforddiocese.org.

All diocesan Catholics are invited and encouraged to read the draft and to share comments and suggestions, Kagan said.

A timeline to begin making suggested changes and for developing the human and financial resources needed for them is being developed.

After the initial feedback is collected, larger public meetings will be scheduled to discuss proposals in specific areas of the diocese. These meetings are tentatively planned to be held in late 2016 and early 2017.