Strategic Plan 2019-2022 

St. Aloysius Catholic School

14607 Bluffton Road Yoder, IN 46798

www.saintaloysiusyoder.info/School 260-622-7151

tvoors@stalyoder.org

*Staff, Students, Parents, and the St. Aloysius Parish community contributed through various means. We are grateful to their giving of time and talent!

Table of Contents

Contents Page Number

History of the School 1

Mission, Vision and Belief Statements 4

Component: Catholic Identity 5

Component: School Safety 10

Component: Technology 11

Component: Marketing and Enrollment 12

Component: Curriculum 13

Appendix I: Demographics 14

Appendix II: Enrollment Trends 16

Appendix III: Student Performance 17

Appendix IV: Curriculum Guide 27

Addendum: School Improvement Plan 1-19

Addenda: eProve Survey Results: Staff, Parents

Philosophies

Mission Statement: As a student, I will take responsibility for my education, and I will know Christ, meet Him in the Sacraments, and evangelize through Acts of Love and Works of Mercy. Vision Statement: Through the integral academic and spiritual formation of each child, St. Aloysius Catholic School enables all students to realize their God-given potential to be successful both now and in the future. Belief Statements: Our values and beliefs include growing in faith and nurturing a closer relationship with Jesus; maturing in moral and ethical choices; excelling in academic abilities; learning from mistakes; living out God's love among family; and developing the physical body so that we may live according to God's will in service of His people and His creation. The following list emphasizes the positive actions expected of students committed to studying in a Catholic school environment. It is through the sharing of faith and values that we help students spiritually and academically realize their God-given potentials.

● Students are expected to ○ treat others in a Christian manner as they expect to be treated. ○ demonstrate respect for all faculty and staff members, volunteers, and other

students. ○ respect all property. ○ actively participate in school liturgies. ○ follow all guidelines as outlined in the Family Handbook. ○ be responsible for their education by participating fully in their educational

experience. ○ exhibit orderly behavior while in school and at school-sponsored functions.

Component: Catholic Identity “We, as Catholic educators, participate in the redemptive mission of the Catholic Church by providing faith formation for our students and by assisting them to integrate faith and VALUES into their contemporary life experiences. We recognize that each of us is created in God’s image as a unique mosaic of talent and potential. Called through Baptism and incorporated into Christ’s life, we embark on a journey of bringing God’s love to the world. Through the ministry of education, with the help of God’s grace, we seek to accept the call of Christ to love and serve God and one another. We, as Catholic educators, embrace all that is good, true, and beautiful in human culture. We nurture faith, that opening of the heart and mind to God’s word, and elicit each student’s response to Christ by providing opportunities for total formation. We strive to integrate our student’s spiritual, intellectual, emotional, moral and social lives.” St. Aloysius Catholic School is a community of faith “with the Eucharist as our life-giving center. Through the sacramental life and liturgical year, love of God and neighbor becomes a focal reality, transforming attitudes, actions and relationships. We continually challenge our students and one another to participate in Christ’s victory over sin and evil with lives of love, compassion, and observance of the law of God and our church. Through witnessing our faith and working together, we call our students to recognize the love of God in their midst and to contribute their talents in service to others, especially those in need.” “We believe that: St. Aloysius Catholic school is an evangelizing, educational community, therefore we proclaim the Gospel message, build faith communities, celebrate through prayer and worship, and serve others, especially those in need. St. Aloysius Catholic school is an expression of the Catholic Church’s teachings based on Scripture, traditions, and sacramental life. St. Aloysius Catholic school calls each member of the school community to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. St. Aloysius Catholic school assists parents, who are the primary educators of their children, in meeting their responsibility of educating their children in the teachings of the Catholic Church and of living a Catholic way of life. St. Aloysius Catholic School provides an atmosphere that is permeated by the Gospel spirit of

love, which recognizes self-discipline, personal responsibility and affirms the dignity of all persons. St. Aloysius Catholic school provides Christ-like role models who reinforce the teachings of Christ and the Catholic faith. St. Aloysius Catholic School is committed to academic excellence, which fosters the intellectual development of faculty and students. St. Aloysius Catholic school is committed to the premise that all children can learn because we believe that each child is uniquely created in God's image.”

~ Diocese of Fort Wayne - South Bend

Component: Catholic Identity

Goal: Cooperate with God’s Will in Forming Saints and Scholars in Christ Intervention: Persist in discussions, discernment, research, and inquiry to evaluate what we currently do and what can be augmented or changed to better cultivate among all stakeholders a Catholic way of living that will Glorify God.

Activities Actions Steps)

Person Responsible

Timeline Resources Needed Completed

Classroom talks

Pastor, Religion Teacher, Homeroom Teachers

2019-2022 once per regular week

Text/Online materials; Diocesan Curriculum; Catechetical Guidelines; Time

Formation of student social and emotional health and growth in partnership with Catholic Charities

Principal ; Pastor; CSO; Catholic Charities

Ongoing NAMI training; QPR training; PLC discussion regarding students’ development

Maintain and increase Sacrament celebrations

Pastor; Religion Teacher; Principal

Ongoing Liturgical Calendar and school calendar planning

Foster relationships with local vocations

Pastor; Principal

Ongoing Pastor arranges visits by and to clergy and vocation members

Component: Catholic Identity

We are blessed to work with a single Religion teacher for 3rd through 8th grades who is responsible for teaching not only the Diocesan Catholic curriculum, but also for planning liturgies and various celebrations. In this way we ensuring that all students have the opportunity to participate, celebrate, and better understand Catholic teaching through many experiences. Each quarter offers opportunities for the community outside of our school to join and celebrate the Sacraments, liturgies, service, and prayer. We utilize many communication methods to inform the wider community of these activities: weekly newsletter, Facebook page, website, parish bulletin, email, landmail, and advertising in various community media outlets. We enable our students and adults alike to live out Catholic Social Teaching, and to deepen their own faith lives through formation of the whole person, soul, mind, body, and spirit.

Component: Catholic Identity

Goal: To expand and increase opportunities for parents, parishioners, and community members to participate in prayer, service, and liturgies taking place in and for our school. Intervention: Staff will work to continue traditional liturgies, but will seek opportunities for evangelization through acts of love through the Church and works of mercy according to Catholic Social Teaching.

Activities Actions Steps)

Person Responsible

Timeline Resources Needed

Completed

Increase participation in the liturgical calendar and more frequent celebration of appropriate Sacraments

Pastor; Religion Teacher; Principal

Ongoing Communication with Pastor; Church Calendar; media outlets and parish communications

Participate in service to the community

Religion teacher; classroom teachers; Student Council

Ongoing Communicationwith local community service providers to learn needs

Utilize parish organizations to plan community-building events and service projects

Pastor Ongoing Planning committee - funding, space, volunteers, timing, materials

Component: School Safety

Goal: To improve processes, procedures, equipment, and technology that will enhance school safety Intervention: A. A Lifecycle program lasting 5 school years will provide necessary safety equipment. B. We will continue professional development with Security and Safety Solutions, LLC. and participate in Allen County School Safety Commission meetings and professional learning opportunities.

Activities Actions Steps)

Person Responsible

Timeline Resources Needed Completed

Fund monthly Lifecycle commitment

Principal, Pastor, School Board

Ongoing

Fundraising projects; Endowment for technology

Professional development opportunities: Region 8, Security and Safety Solutions, LLC., Misc.

Principal Ongoing Title II and IV; Local budget

Component: Technology

Goal: Participate in the Lifecycle program that provides any and all resources, equipment, and support to the school regularly Intervention: Funding the program monthly through concerted projects, grant-writing, and fundraising activities in addition to including families’ responsibility through fees

Activities Actions Steps)

Person Responsible

Timeline Resources Needed Completed

Grant-writing Principal; Board members

Ongoing Grant resource webpages; DFWSB advisory communications

Fundraising projects

Principal; Board members

Ongoing

Logistics by School board members and volunteers; website and Facebook ads;

Budget planning

Principal; Pastor; Parish Finance Council

Ongoing

Finance committee and pastor input

Component: Marketing and Enrollment

Goal: To increase overall enrollment by 15% each year, targeting primary and intermediate grade levels Intervention: Increased print, on air, and online media presence; host four annual Open House events; host interactive parent information meetings off campus in local community locations; host private family tours, interviews, and shadow days for potential students

Activities Actions Steps)

Person Responsible

Timeline Resources Needed Completed

OMW Pre-K in local markets - print/online ads and info. meetings

Julie Bunting Ongoing Early Childhood Alliance consultation; PTQ Level certification

Website material; Facebook Boosts and posts; Redeemer Radio; Publish parent testimonials; Parish bulletin ads

Principal; Pastor; School Board; Student Council;

Ongoing Local marketing budget; CSO marketing funds; Volunteer Facebook account manager; Weekly newsletters

Schedule families to privately visit at their convenience

Principal; Pastor

Ongoing Folders with current enrollment information; Teachers’ readiness to welcome shadow students

Component: Curriculum and Professional Development

Goal: Integrate technology and programming into teaching and learning as an enhancement tool, not a replacement of existing skills Intervention: Teachers participate in training from various sources including in-person training as well as webinars and videos to learn how to integrate and blend technology into lesson planning and classroom execution.

Activities Actions Steps)

Person Responsible

Timeline Resources Needed Completed

Burned-In Teacher trainings onsite; Region 8; IDOE offerings; Collaboration

Principal Ongoing Title IIa, IV, and budgeted funding

Google Classroom and Tools utilized in the k-8 classrooms

Principal; all teachers

Ongoing Professional Learning Community approach to teachers’ skill levels and needs; student training

Increase integration of laptops and programming in grades 5-8 and iPads in PK-4

Principal Ongoing PLC for collaboration, evaluation, and needs assessments; student training

Appendix I: Demographics

Following are comparison charts for Allen and Wells Counties, Indiana. Although our school radius typically does not pull in families much north of Fort Wayne or south of Bluffton, they do offer a snapshot of the environment from which our families come. Notable statistics:

● Economy ○ Total retail sales per capita, 2012

■ Wells County is over half of that of Allen County ● Income and Poverty

○ Median household income for both counties is almost 10% lower than the national average

● Education ○ Bachelor’s degree or higher, percent of persons age 25+ years, 2013-2017

■ Wells County is 40% below the national average ● Residency, 2018

○ 26% of our school families reside in Wells County ○ 72% of our school families reside in Allen County

Source: US Census Bureau - QuickFacts data are derived from: Population Estimates, American Community Survey, Census of Population and Housing, Current Population Survey, Small Area Health Insurance Estimates, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates, State and County Housing Unit Estimates, County Business Patterns, Nonemployer Statistics, Economic Census, Survey of Business Owners, Building Permits.

Appendix II: Enrollment Trends

Grade 2014-2015 2015-2016 2016-2017 2017-2018 2018-2019

Pre-K 7 4 11 8 5

Kindergarten 11 8 4 8 5

1st Grade 10 12 9 4 8

2nd Grade 13 10 12 7 5

3rd Grade 11 13 11 11 5

4th Grade 13 11 13 9 11

5th Grade 12 13 12 11 9

6th Grade 11 12 13 13 12

7th Grade 6 12 12 11 13

8th Grade 7 7 11 12 11

Totals 101 102 108 94 84

Appendix III: Student Performance Student Performance Data Document

St. Aloysius Catholic School, 2018-2019

Student performance at St. Aloysius Catholic School is implemented and evaluated in a variety of ways. We use standardized testing via the State of Indiana (iLearn) for grades 3 through 8 in math, reading, science and social studies. We also implement iRead-3 which is given in the spring to 3rd grade students in reading only. Both tests have online components. It is important to point out that many grade levels have enrollments at or under 10 students, which has a very significant impact on data results. All tests will be administered in the students’ homeroom classrooms where the environment is most familiar to him or her.

Additional in-house test data sources are NWEA and IXL Assessments. There are additional online programs that are practice and assessment pieces used for benchmark setting in reading and math as well as progress monitoring for all students in both reading and math areas. Teachers then have real-time data and core progress monitoring standards on which to base Tier I instruction in addition to Response to Intervention efforts. Teachers also use their own local assessments within their classrooms to aid in their planning, instruction, assessment styles, and applying appropriate accommodations as needed.

To improve testing fidelity, staff proctors are trained in test administration, timing, environment, and troubleshooting. The staff proctors their homeroom group, then the principal debriefs with proctors after each testing day of iLearn to address any issues or needs. Our student body is well represented by all standardized testing in which we participate. Our overall socioeconomic status, ethnicity and literacy are within the parameters of the assessments.

All tested subjects are taught in each grade level. Four subjects are departmentalized for

all fifth through eighth grade students: math, social studies and science while religion picks up grades 3 and 4 additionally. This schedule allows each student to work within certain grade-level subject matter deeply for an extended period of time. Half of the time is in whole-group instruction with the teacher and the other half is typically online at the student’s individual instructional level. We have seen increases in student grade-level performance through local assessments and online benchmarking and progress monitoring. We are confident that iLearn performance with show increases in both passing rates and growth.

Departmentalization also allows our teachers to deeply understand student needs and abilities over time. Department teachers collaborate weekly in order to appropriately adjust their daily instruction as needed, but also track student growth over time and come to know student abilities very intimately. Our school improvement focus has been on math – every student performs at or above grade level. Because our data shows a real need for improved strength in this area, we are creating an objective especially for males and students who matriculate to our school from public schools.

Our current School Improvement Plan goals can be summarized as follows: All students

will perform at or above grade level in math and reading. All student data from ISTEP+ (old) assessments is now shared with all teachers on our Google Drive online. We have recorded all student data into Excel spreadsheets that delineate results for teachers visually into actionable data. We use similar data points via NWEA in the same way in addition to default and custom reports available through our account in NWEA. Looking to other sources of data, like IXL and NWEA, we rely heavily on in-house assessment programs. Teachers can use this real-time data that more accurately indicates patterns of individual and performance-grouped student growth and ability. Because the programming identifies student instructional needs, our teachers can constantly re-evaluate planning, instruction, assessment. This process lends itself to students’ unrestricted academic growth regardless of their level. ISTEP+ (old) results are not foremost in our instructional planning and programming. Our in-house assessment tools have become our primary indicators of student performance and growth. ISTEP+ (old) indicates the validity of the tools we use on a daily basis.

Another very important consideration of our standardized assessed student population is the number of test-takers in each grade level. Most grade levels year after year may have fewer than ten students per grade level. When one carefully discerns the assessment results from ISTEP+ (old), it is clear that each student has a very significant statistical impact on overall school performance ISTEP+ (old) data. There are cases in which one student represents a subgroup. When our faculty studies assessment results, we are very careful to consider individual growth in a variety of ways.

Additionally, because of our size, we can individualize our instruction tailored to students’ needs consistently. We serve our students where they are based on the data and professional observations, and have the information at-hand to make informed planning decisions to steer students into the next level of learning.

● Following are data charts that represent each grade level as a whole.

● NWEA Benchmark Assessments: Math, Reading, Language Use Note: Due to statistical unreliabillity, summary data for groups of less than 10 are not shown. Note: EOY = End Of Year mean RIT as published by norming data, 2014 by NWEA

● ISTEP+ Report Card Summaries for the last 3 assessment years

● IXL Math and Language Arts Summaries

● iRead-3: We had a 98% pass rate over the last 4 years, but there will be no

published chart as our groups typically consist of fewer than 10 students.

Appendix IV: Curriculum Guide

Subject Grades Materials

Religion  Pre-K - K Allelu! - Our Sunday Visitor

K We Believe - Sadlier

2 Sacrament Preparation - Dynamic Catholic We Believe - Sadlier

1-6 Alive in Christ - Our Sunday Visitor

7, 8 Decision Point - Dynamic Catholic Theology Of The Body - Ascension Press

English Language Arts  K - 2 Superkids - Zaner-Bloser

  1 - 4 Writing Our Catholic Faith (Handwriting) - Universal Publishing

  2 - 6 Journeys (Basal Reader) - Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

  5 - 8 various novels/genres

  7 - 8 Grammar and Writing - Hake Classic Roots Vocabulary - EPS

  8 Collections - Readers Notebook - Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Mathematics  K - 6 Go Math! - Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

  7 - 8 Pre-Algebra & Algebra I - Glencoe/McGraw-Hill

Science  K- 8 Interactive Science - Pearson

Social Studies  K - 5 My World - Pearson

  6 - 8 various; US History - Holt/McDougal

Online Programming  All Grades Vocabulary/Spelling City; Xtra Math; IXL Reading and Math; NWEA Benchmark - Reading, Language and Math;

Google Classroom & Tools