Superintendent's Back to School Message:
Following a roadmap to our goals
By Ellen F. Ayoub
Special to The Catholic Spirit
As we begin this new school year, we all return with memories of the world’s outstanding athletes fresh in our minds after watching young people from more than 200 countries not only come together to compete for gold, but also to challenge themselves. These superior athletes worked long hours for months and sometimes years, practicing their skills. They set high standards for themselves and then found ways in which to achieve them. Their reward was participating in the Beijing Olympics.
This year, we in the Diocese of Metuchen will also be striving for the high goals we have set for ourselves. They will require overcoming challenges, making sacrifices and embracing change, but, like the Olympians, if we stay focused and committed to our goals, we will achieve them.
Our goals are the ones set forth in our comprehensive strategic plan. In January, Bishop Paul G. Bootkoski accepted this plan developed by Meitler, Inc. and a diocesan task force to ensure that our Catholic schools will be strong centers of faith formation, academic excellence and financial stability. In March, we began to outline the process we would use to implement the plan, and we have begun to put the recommended structures into place. We have set an aggressive timeline for ourselves because we feel the urgency of our task.
Our strategic plan, which we are calling our Roadmap to Success, calls for each school to create a School Advisory Council made up of individuals with a dedication to Catholic education. These councils will assist the pastor and principal of each school in areas of budget, marketing, development and planning. In fact, the School Advisory Council will be the steering committee for each school as they develop a multi-year strategic plan with specific goals and measurable objectives. In September, the Strategic Planning Convocation for Schools will convene to teach council members how to create a strategic plan.
The Diocesan Catholic School Commission is also the result of a recommendation from the Meitler study. In July, the initial orientation session was held at the St. John Neumann Pastoral Center, Piscataway, to introduce the idea of such a commission, one that will serve in an advisory capacity to the executive director and superintendent on matters of finance, marketing, development and planning. The commission will be operational in September.
While implementing individual parts of our plan, we have not lost sight of its overall directives. The Roadmap to Success comprises seven topical areas: Catholic Identity, Academic Excellence, Structure/Governance/Leadership, Marketing/Enrollment, Finance, Development and Communication. Topical subcommittees are meeting to address the recommendations in each of those areas by creating action plans that will be implemented at the diocesan and school level.
While the plan calls for new initiatives in several areas, some things will stay constant. Our Catholic identity and mission will continue to be the essence of who we are, with academic excellence a priority. Simply put, each of our schools will be a loving faith-filled community where our students will become fully formed in faith and grow in knowledge.
Last spring, when Pope Benedict XVI visited the United States, he met with a group of educators from Catholic schools, elementary, secondary and higher education. He praised the work of the schools and their uniqueness. He urged Catholics to do all they can to keep Catholic schools vibrant, engaged in the vital teaching mission of the Church. We are taking the Holy Father’s words to heart. We are preparing our students to be disciples of Christ, formed in our faith in order to go out and transform the world.
Ellen F. Ayoub is superintendent of schools for the Diocese of Metuchen.
