Diocese of Lansing Catholic Schools

Based on all that has been learned in VOICES and the School Evaluation Inventory planning process, the Diocesan Coordinating Commission recommends:

1. That Catholic schools become more cooperative and collaborative on a regional level and be assisted in finances accordingly.

2. That a diocesan-wide development plan for funding Catholic schools be instituted.

3. Determine regional development relationships for consideration of consolidation of existing development efforts.

4. Design a plan to deepen the awareness that every parish has an obligation to make Catholic school education available, affordable and accessible.

5. Draft new job descriptions for the pertinent department of education and catechesis personnel and seek appropriate consultation with the board to accomplish items 1-4.

Religious Education
Any parish that does not offer religious education for its children and youth will offer a reasonable subsidy to each parish family attending sessions in a neighboring parish.

Home schoolers
Parents are the first educators of their children. Home school children will participate in parish programming according to the wishes of the parents.

What is the overall state of Catholic education in the diocese?
Our Catholic schools continue to maintain high standards of excellence and continue to practice the church’s mission of educating and forming our children to be strong Catholic leaders of tomorrow. Our educational programs continue to gain national recognition for their superior content. There is a strong emphasis on learning the basics, with a focus on the development of higher-level thinking skills. The catechetical formation program is renowned and it is dedicated to the formation, as well as the education, of the whole person.

Our diocese also looks at total education – offering numerous opportunities for young and old alike to learn. These opportunities include, but are not limited to, religious education for youth, young adults, adult faith formation, lay ministry formation and college-level programs.

One of the greatest concerns is the declining enrollment in so many areas of the diocese, coupled with financial increases across the board.

What are the main challenges facing Catholic schools?
The goal of our Catholic schools is to provide affordable and accessible faith-based education across the diocese. But there are major hurdles we must overcome in order to achieve that goal. They include decreasing enrollment, rising tuition costs, declining urban populations and increased costs for technology, staffing and infrastructure. Due to Michigan’s economic difficulties, some areas have greater challenges than others.
 
What are the major successes that Catholic schools have accomplished? Through this planning process, it has become evident that many schools have implemented successful programs to address the issues mentioned above. Catholic schools have always been known for providing outstanding Gospel-centered and leadership-focused education. The schools also are implementing creative tactics to provide students more opportunities through collaborative partnerships. For instance, some Catholic schools are partnering with their public school peers to provide non-core curriculum classes. It saves both schools precious resources; Catholic schools save dollars by not paying for extra staff salaries and the public school is able to count a portion of the students’ time during the school day, thus receiving reimbursement in the state school-funding formula.

How was the school review process implemented? In 2006, Bishop Mengeling appointed a coordinating commission to examine parish structures for the diocese that also looked at school accessibility, affordability and availability. Each parish and school was given an opportunity to provide detailed information about its structure and viability. After the evaluations were completed, a regional review panel assessed the information on a parish/school basis, as well as on a regional basis, and presented its assessments at parish assemblies. Parishioners and school families had opportunities to ask the regional panel members about the panel’s findings.

After the assemblies, the review panels’ findings were forwarded to the Diocesan Coordinating Commission – a 17-member panel appointed by Bishop Mengeling. The commission’s task was to do a thorough assessment of the regional findings and, based on them, provide recommendations regarding the most effective deployment of pastoral ministers and the use of facilities. This preliminary diocesan plan was presented to the bishop’s advisory councils (consisting of the diocesan finance council, college of consultors, presbyteral council, council of vicars and the pastoral council), which reviewed the recommendations and provided feedback. The coordinating commission’s final recommendations were sent to Bishop Boyea, our new bishop, in June 2008. He approved the final plan.

What were the main categories the commission looked at when reviewing improvement processes for schools? Ten main areas were reviewed: Catholic identity; enrollment trends and projections; financial trends, projections and criteria; enrollment; school administration; staffing; instruction; facilities; parent and community involvement; and teacher turnover.

Will there be across-the-board financial cuts? Not necessarily. It depends on the financial model that will be adopted by each region. It became clear from the beginning of the process that the regions need a centralized school system. The current model of parish-run schools may have seen its day. One parish shouldn’t be responsible for the burden and control of educating a majority of an area’s youth at its own expense.

Additionally, tuition scales will need to be reviewed with individual and family rates in order to adjust the current system that allows some within the system to “shop” for the best educational bargain. This will be a consultative process so that changes will not adversely affect families and parishes.

From the start, the beauty of this process was to have each school, region and then the diocese review the schools individually and collectively to ensure that the needs of current and future students and families will be met. This allowed for programs to be looked at individually, without across-the-board cutting, but rather with an eye toward consolidation of redundancies that can be shared in neighboring parishes.

Are there other items that must be taken care of to make the Catholic school system within the diocese the best it can be? The first step in any journey is to plot a course. To further each of the region’s plans, it is important that the diocese begins with mission, vision and value statements that speak to the heart of what our schools strive to achieve. Without a road map to guide us, we cannot set a course for a Gospel-centered environment in which to educate the next generation of Catholic evangelists. Based on the information from SEIs and parish assemblies – and input from parents and the diocesan leadership – a mission, vision and value statement for our schools has been developed to direct this continuing journey.

With the mission, vision and value statement in place, the diocese has made a commitment to ensure that a Catholic education should be accessible, available and affordable to all families. This will help come to fruition through a diocesan-wide endowment fund for education called for in the pastoral plan developed in 2001.

It is important to note that schools cannot stand alone. This is a time for the community to come together: neighboring parish with neighboring parish, region to region, and the entire diocese as community. It is a time for all parishes to step up and support Catholic education, especially today, the first time in modern history that Christianity is not the prevalent religion in the world.

Mission of Diocese of Lansing Catholic Schools
Serving Christ through providing superior Gospel-centered, affordable education that develops compassionate Christian leaders.

Vision
 He designs, we build, they grow.

Value Statement
The Catholic Schools of the Diocese of Lansing value an educational system that strengthens the Catholic Church by fostering a collaborative learning environment throughout the diocese, schools, administrators, teachers and learners so that a Catholic education is affordable to all, ensures equitable resources to all staff, and enriches, motivates and cultivates the spiritual, academic, social and physical needs required to develop compassionate Christian leaders.