REPORT OF THE VISITING TEAM
TO THE SCHOOL COMMUNITY OF
Immaculate Conception School
Dardenne Prairie, Missouri
SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PLAN
Team Visit Dates:
March 11-12, 2010
INTRODUCTION
We, the members of the Visiting Team, commend the community of Immaculate Conception Catholic School, Dardenne Prairie, Missouri, for engaging in the Process for School Improvement and producing an exemplary document that is comprehensive and detailed. Your efforts speak to your strong commitment to “practicing Jesus’ teaching as a way of life, making decisions in the light of Jesus’ values,” as stated in your school philosophy. We are fully confident that this will continue to be carried out as you build up the Kingdom of God.
We commend Reverend Bob Reiker, Pastor of Immaculate Conception Parish, and Associate Pastors, Reverend Steve Giljum and Reverend John Caffe, for their support, visible presence, and commitment to meeting the spiritual and academic needs of the school. We commend their leadership in engaging the parishioners in providing beautiful, modern, up-to-date facilities for their growing school community.
The Visiting Team extends a special commendation and thank you to Mrs. Janet Eaton, Principal, for her dynamic leadership, vision, collaboration, and consultation with all segments of the school community. We appreciate and commend Mrs. Eaton’s efficient and professional approach to ongoing long-range planning, which provides consistent, continual guidance for the development of the whole child.
We commend our gracious host, Jonathan Batchelor, Assistant Principal, for his dedication to Immaculate Conception Catholic School and his professional collaboration with the principal and teachers.
We wish to further commend the faculty and staff of Immaculate Conception Catholic School for creating a child-centered environment that is nurturing, loving, and conducive to learning. We commend them for their dedication to their ministry as witnesses to our Catholic faith.
We thank the School Improvement Process Leadership Team and the School Improvement Team for their guidance and leadership, and all members of the sub-committees for their time, effort, and excellent work on the report.
We commend the students for their warmth and friendliness, and their engagement in their own learning experience. Their interactions with the Visiting Team were open, welcoming, and comfortable. We were very impressed with the respect demonstrated to us, their teachers, their principal, and one another.
We congratulate the students and their teachers for their active participation in a very reverent, inspirational liturgy. We were especially impressed by the number of students involved in liturgical ministries: choir, cantors and leaders of song, lectors, banner-carriers, servers, musicians, and offertory processors.
We wish to thank the community for welcoming us in an open and friendly manner during our visit. It has been our pleasure to spend time with your community and to assist you in this component of your School Improvement Process. We ask God’s blessing on you now and in the years to come.
COMMENDATIONS
Catholic Identity
We, the Visiting Team, commend:
· The administration, faculty, and staff for making Catholic Identity truly present at all levels of the school and parish communities.
· The principal, faculty, and students for visibly manifesting the Gospel values and messages of Jesus Christ in their daily activities.
· The parish office, the school, and the PSR for all working together, harmoniously supporting mutual goals for the spiritual benefit of the whole parish.
· The administration, faculty, and staff for making the teaching of religion a priority as they work daily to integrate the Gospel message into all academic areas of the school’s curriculum.
· The collaborative effort of the school community to “connect with Christ” and support each other through daily prayer and regular celebrations of the Holy Sacraments.
· The principal and faculty for instilling in their students a deeper appreciation and understanding of Social Justice and Traditional Catholic Practices of the Catholic faith journey.
· The daily presence of the parish priests in the school and their involvement in the religious education of the students.
Educational Issues
We, the Visiting Team, commend:
· The pastor, principal, and faculty for their success in living their school mission of educating the whole child. This is evidenced in the exceptional programs, such as:
o Visual and Performing Arts
o Advisory Program
o Flex Math
o Read, Right, and Run
o Selected gender-separate classes
These programs foster students’ interests and strengths within and beyond academics.
· The administration, faculty, and staff for their commitment to addressing the needs of each child through:
o Differentiated instruction
o Learning consultant
o Counselor
o Reading and math resource teachers
o Math team coach
· The faculty and staff for working together to achieve academic excellence through their sincere commitment to Catholic education, their love for teaching, enthusiasm for their subject matter, and their obvious and evident respect for their students. The teachers appreciate the importance of motivating students by identifying student interests and highlighting their successes.
Institutional Issues
We, the Visiting Team, commend:
· The Pastor, Associate Pastors, and parish community for providing and maintaining state-of-the art, attractive facilities that meet the educational needs of the school.
· The parish and school communities for providing a safe and secure environment that is conducive to learning and insures the physical well-being of the school community.
· The Pastor and parish community for their ongoing efforts to plan for long-term financial stability.
· The Principal and School Board for hosting Town Hall meetings for the purpose of gathering information from parents to assist with formulating the long range plan for improvement.
· The School Board for their award-winning activities that strongly support such efforts as long-range planning, improving the facilities, and re-designing the school website.
· The Administration and Faculty for fostering and supporting parental involvement in the school.
· The Administration for their efforts to be family-sensitive and for providing extended care for children of working families.
EVALUATION OF THE SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PLAN
1. Are the Improvement Goals clearly defined?
While each of the goals clearly defines a direction and outcome, the Visiting Team recommends that Catholicity Goal I be revised to include the target population. The goal currently reads: “To instill appreciation, understanding, and commitment for our Catholic faith.” The suggested revision of the goal statement might read: “Students will appreciate, understand, and be committed to our Catholic faith.”
2. Is there a plan for assessing achievement of the Improvement Goal?
Yes, there is a plan for assessing each goal. The Visiting Team, however, recommends that the assessments provide an observable, measureable evaluation of the goal, e.g., baseline surveys, comparison analysis of student projects, comparison of ACRE test results. Some of the measures listed in the “evidence” column of the plan might be named as means of assessing achievement of the goal.
3. Are the activities consistent with the school’s philosophy, mission, and goals for student learning?
Yes, the activities are consistent with the school’s philosophy, mission, and goals for student learning.
4. Is there reason to believe that if the activities are fully implemented the Improvement Goal will be adequately addressed, and are there activities that the Visiting Team suggests in addition to or in place of those in the plan?
The activities and tasks outlined adequately address and develop the improvement goal. The Visiting Team especially commends the administration and faculty for establishing and sustaining a strong school improvement team (SIT) that continually advances and monitors the plan.
5. Is there clear assignment of responsibility for activities?
Yes, there is clear assignment of responsibility for activities.
6. Are the activities attainable in the suggested timeline?
Yes, the activities are attainable in the suggested timeline.
7. Is the Evidence of Implementation adequate to reflect successful
completion of the activities?
Yes, the Evidence of Implementation is adequate to reflect successful completion of activities.
CONCLUSION
It has been our pleasure to serve as the Visiting Team for Immaculate Conception Catholic School, Dardenne Prairie, Missouri. Your continuous Plan for Improvement gives evidence of harmony and unity among many segments of the educational community at Immaculate Conception Parish.
The Visiting Team appreciates the detail that was given to the preparation for our visit, as well as the support and assistance provided during our stay. We truly were impressed with and gratefully accepted your warmth and friendship during our visit.
We wish you every blessing as you continue building on a solid foundation with vision for the future.
The report we have presented is the consensus of the team members listed below.
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Lucia Signorelli, Director of Leadership Development
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Sr. Rosario Delany, Principal, Holy Infant School
Facilitator of the Visiting Team
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Terry Becherer, Teacher, Ascension School
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Anne Stockman, Teacher, St. Joseph School, Manchester
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Mike Welling, Principal, Incarnate Word Parish School