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On March 10, 2005 the school and pastoral staff, school board, home and school, parish council, and the finance committee came together and reflected on the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in relation to Precious Blood School. In addition the pastor shared the development of pastoral regions process in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati.

The four groups recognized the school had many strengths and found it difficult to limit their final thoughts to four key strengths as they look to the future. A key strength is the academic excellence and strong catholic identity within the school. People affirmed the Spanish program, laptops, technology and diversity of the curriculum to meet the student needs as examples of the strong academics. In addition there is a strong catholic identity with the 75% catholic to 25% non-catholic policy. The school having a diverse population is a real asset. There was real affirmation and support for the dedication, commitment and quality of the faculty that created the excellent learning environment within the school. The people are extremely pleased with the school.

People found the schools weaknesses to center around the need for increased technology, stronger and more consistent discipline, communication and additional financial resources.

The need for increased technology, more competitive salaries, staff, development strengthening the facilities and lack of a science lab all relates to funding issues. There needs to be a way find additional financial resources to minimize these gaps in order to maintain and strengthen the academic excellence.

Increased communication and governance are issues that arose from the desire of people wanting involvement in the school. There is a strong desire among the parents to have increased influence in shaping the future direction of the school.

There are many opportunities for strengthening the school from Trotwood strategic development direction, collaboration with University of Dayton, around staff professional development, evangelization and strengthening Catholic identity. The participants felt that collaboration is an important part of their future to maximize relations with both colleges and business to strengthen their program. These collaborative relationships offer the opportunity for staff development, technological support and other resources that increase the capacity to offer a quality education. There is a real opportunity for evangelization in the school that would strengthen its Catholic identity.

A significant plus is the Salem/Trotwood revitalization efforts currently moving forward. This project will strengthen the geography around Precious Blood and offer opportunities for increased collaboration. Although a challenge to the school, the new Trotwood schools offer opportunities for people moving in and staying in the area. This stability is important for having long term viable schools.

The school threats focus on the changing demographics, increased number of charter schools and success of the revitalization in Trotwood. With the loss of population, especially 25 – 44 years: old it creates ad real challenge to the school population. This population represents the child bearing age. Additionally, the growing number of Charter Schools will siphon off more of the declining student population. These two trends are major threats to the viability of Precious Blood School.

There was a concern about what happens if the Trotwood revitalization projects are not successful. This could lead to increased crime, housing decline and people moving to the suburbs. The impact would only continue the trends of declining population and issues similar to the urban area that have grown over the past five years.

Overall there is enthusiasm, dedication and belief in the future viability of the school. In the large group reflections people raised questions and concern around the dialogue with St. Rita’s. People were seeking clarity and next steps within the process. Fr. Bill gave the participants and overview of the challenges facing the schools based on current baptism trends. His remarks shed light on the urgency of the question and need to plan for the schools future.

St. Rita Summary

On March 17, 2005 the parish and school staff, education commission, pastoral and finance councils came together and reflected on the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in relation to St. Rita’s school. In addition the pastor shared the development of pastoral regions process in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati

These groups recognized the school has many strengths and focused in particular on academic excellence, family groups (groupings of students at school consisting of one student from each grade with 8^th grader that sit together at mass and do other activities together to provide a sense of belonging), faculty, and diversity. They affirmed that the students are well prepared for high school and receive many awards and recognition. There are high expectations placed on the students to learn and excel. This commitment is seen because of the strong faculty and their academic leadership. In addition the family groups create a strong value and committed group of students to achieve the vision and direction at St. Rita’s.

As weaknesses, these groups focused on the inconsistent discipline, lack of personnel to provide for special needs and below average students, and financial issues. The discipline issue focused in two ways removing students who are problems and strengthening the screening process for potential students for discipline problems and academic challenges. There is an assumption that we can be all things to all people. This has both its benefits and challenges and people feel the school is experiencing the down side of being that open.

The financial issues impact the capacity to retain younger teachers, strengthen curriculum and maintain fiscal viability. This is an issue that needs to continually be monitored and expanded to find new ways of generating financial resources.

There are real opportunities in exploring parishes without schools in particular St. Paul’s and Transfiguration. With stronger marketing to these families this could be a means to increase enrollment.

In addition the importance of collaboration with business and Precious Blood School creates new opportunities. This partnership with business could offer additional financial and other resources to strengthen the academic program. Again another potential untapped source is the alumni of St. Rita’s. They offer potential ways of collaboration for funding and other expertise to expand the schools capacity.

The threats focus on changing neighborhood and decreasing enrollment. The area around St. Rita’s over the past five years has seen a decrease in the population which has led to the decrease in enrollment. This is also reflective in the loss and aging of the parishioners. All of these issues have been impacted by the negative economic issues of the past five years in the Dayton and surrounding area. Both the city of Dayton and Montgomery County have experienced a loss in population and jobs.

People were impressed with how even though the groups see the school from their unique lens they have similar understanding of the school. There is a strong commitment and belief in the schools future.

Click here to view a summary of the next step in this process, the Open Forums

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