STRATEGIC PLAN 2021-2025
A good school provides a rounded education for the whole person. And a good Catholic school, over and above this, should help all its students to become saints. -Pope Benedict XVI
Introduction
TABLE OF CONTENTS
President’s Letter
Mission, Vision and Values Cardinal Directions Strategic Pillars
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Catholic Identity and Culture
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Academics and Programming
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Enrollment and Community Engagement Operating Model
Conclusions
Administration, Board of Directors and Strategic Planning Committee
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INTRODUCTION
ishop Dunne has proudly taken its place as one of the leading learning institutions of Dallas, providing quality, Catholic, college preparatory education to the leaders of tomorrow. Bishop Dunne’s rigorous curriculum and technology leadership have ensured an almost 100% college acceptance rate and millions of dollars of scholarships for our graduates. At the same time, we embrace community, social justice, and the core values of our founding orders: tradition, integrity, service, faith, and excellence. With much accomplished and much already underway, this strategic plan further strengthens a solid and successful program. Bishop Dunne Catholic School’s comprehensive strategic
plan provides for a future that acknowledges our existing strengths and identifies opportunities for Bishop Dunne to excel in the future as the community adjusts to the new normal associated with the post-pandemic environment. This strategic plan has been created through a cohesive, community-wide process; the result is an ambitious map for the future. The 2021-2025 Strategic Plan includes four major pillars with separate strategic goals and objectives: Academics and Programs, Catholic Identity and Culture, Enrollment and Community Engagement, and Operating Model. This plan will allow us to enhance and extend our school’s academic excellence, college preparation, learning environment, and value.
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PRESIDENT’S LETTER
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n the Bishop Dunne Strategic Plan, we envision what 2025 looks like for our extraordinary school. What began as a broad concept materialized into specific goals and strategies for us to use as guideposts for the next five years.
Bishop Dunne is unique among schools in Dallas. As a diocesan Catholic school, we are the only school enrolling students in grades six through twelve. We have a rich history, with distinctive characteristics, that makes us stand out among our peer schools. We are dedicated to educating the whole child with a challenging and nurturing college-preparatory curriculum; demonstrating a daily commitment to valuing and celebrating diversity; and cherishing and exemplifying our Catholic tradition. As we enter our seventh decade, we want to honor the traditions and charisms our founders established in 1961 and continue to enhance and expand their legacy into the future. Our Strategic Plan focuses on four key components: Academics and Programs, Catholic Identity and Culture, Community Engagement, and Operating Model. Each pillar outlines our plans for the next five years. The Board of Directors and administration will use the Strategic Plan to develop annual priorities that will position Bishop Dunne to be a vibrant institution for another sixty years. The Strategic Planning Steering Committee began this process in the fall of 2020 and, despite the pandemic, forged ahead with determination and hope. I am proud and grateful that so many people contributed to our strategic planning process. Board members, faculty and staff, parents, alumni, and community members helped develop the plan to lead us to achieving our goals for the future. Our future is bright. As we plan for and work toward 2025, we are excited about the support Bishop Dunne enjoys among members of our school community and within the larger North Texas community. We are, and will be, a joyful community of faith, one that adapts to changing times and technologies, but that will always strive to offer students the very best of Catholic education.
Mary Beth Marchiony President
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MISSON, VISION AND VALUES MISSION
Bishop Dunne Catholic School empowers each student to explore, inquire, lead, and serve through a college preparatory education in a joyful community of faith.
VISION
Inspiring future leaders to innovate and serve by delivering the best Catholic education to the students of North Texas.
VA LU ES •
Encourage the development of each student’s intellect by delivering a rigorous, college preparatory academic experience.
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Nurture the spiritual growth of each student by modeling Catholic morals and ethics, and promoting social justice.
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Promote the growth of the whole person so students develop physically socially, and emotionally, empowering them to mature into servant leaders.
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Adopt and implement principles and practices that foster the continued growth and stewardship of the resources needed to maintain the school’s long-term operational vitality.
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CARDINAL DIRECTIONS EXPLORE
Bishop Dunne students explore a progressive curriculum in an innovative and creative environment with Catholic morals, ethics, and a sense of Apostolic Tradition as their compass. Students develop an appreciation of their own uniqueness and value as a person, uphold a high level of social and civic responsibility, and become truly productive members of a global society. Our positive and nurturing environment encourages spiritual growth and faith development; our strong extracurricular program stimulates enthusiastic spirit while the challenge of competitive sports inspires collaborative teamwork; and our commitment to the arts engenders self-expression, a love of culture, and an appreciation of beauty and joy.
INQUIRE
As a college preparatory school, Bishop Dunne sets the highest academic standards, embracing a rigorous curriculum with individualized instruction, a positive support system, and innovative technology. Our academic community of inquiry inspires a love of learning, intellectual curiosity, and the well-rounded development of all students. Our graduates are prepared to be creative problem- solvers and discerning, independent thinkers who will succeed in college, career, and life.
LEAD
Bishop Dunne is dedicated to fellowship, social justice, and service within and to a multicultural community. Students are involved citizen leaders who work with honesty, excellence, and perseverance; treat people with charity, fairness, and respect; and demonstrate leadership and initiative in a school setting as well as in the wider community.
SERVE
Bishop Dunne provides a positive, warm, stimulating, and enriching environment based on trust, responsibility, dignity, respect, grace, and integrity. We celebrate our faith and lives together and perform faithful acts of service and witness together. Our community is dedicated to social justice, human worth and dignity, environmental conservation, promoting responsible choices and ethical principles, and a commitment to what is right and good.
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STRATEGIC PILLARS CATHOLIC IDENTITY AND CULTURE
The Catholic Identity and Culture pillar will address the strategic goals and objectives to sustain, enhance, and integrate faith in school life consistent with our Catholic mission and values.
ENROLLMENT AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
The Enrollment and Community Engagement pillar will address strategic goals and objectives intended to increase enrollment and encourage greater engagement from parents, alumni, friends, donors, the diocese of Dallas and city of Dallas to support the advancement efforts needed to sustain Bishop Dunne long term.
ACADEMICS AND PROGRAMMING
The Academics and Programming pillar will address strategic goals and objectives that will strengthen, extend, and enhance Bishop Dunne’s academic and extracurricular programs to meet the needs and goals of current and future students and families in support of the school’s mission, vision, and values.
OPERATING MODEL
The Operating Model pillar will identify the strategic goals and objectives to address the future needs of the school’s infrastructure and operational processes to provide a sturdy physical and financial foundation in support of the school’s academics, extracurricular programs, services, and faithbased culture.
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CATHOLIC IDENTITY AND CULTURE Bishop Dunne will sustain and grow a diverse and interconnected community that exemplifies the school’s Catholic identity, character, and values, and promotes respect and inclusivity among all its members.
GOAL 1
Maintain and enhance Bishop Dunne’s Catholic Identity, heritage, tradition, and mission.
Strategy
a. Ensure that the Campus Ministry, Catholic identity, and faith formation are evident and embedded across all disciplines and school activities. b. Ensure that students learn how Catholicism is lived, celebrated, and experienced in other across cultures. c. Celebrate all the liturgical seasons observed by the Catholic Church calendar. d. Create opportunities for outreach to the community centered on prayer and fellowship. e. Ensure that students are taught the rich history of Bishop Dunne Catholic School. f. Ensure that Bishop Dunne’s facilities reflect a strong Catholic identity and a sense of history and pride.
GOAL 2
Provide activities that present opportunities for our students to grow spiritually through campus ministry, service opportunities and outreach.
Strategy
a. Design and implement a comprehensive service program that offers middle school and high school students an array of opportunities to serve the community. b. Assess and expand Bishop Dunne’s Peer Ministry program. c. Assess, evaluate, and provide the retreat programs for students and faculty.
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GOAL 3
Ensure an atmosphere of acceptance, understanding, sensitivity, and inclusivity with a focus on the dignity of the human spirit.
Strategy
a. Promote the creation of student-led clubs that address specific needs/issues of the student population. b. Increase the cultural competency of Bishop Dunne students, faculty, and staff. c. Increase and enhance opportunities for students to engage in our culturally diverse population.
ENROLLMENT AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT Bishop Dunne will develop an admissions program focused on meeting enrollment targets through engagement in the broader community and driven by strategies to attract and retain families. Furthermore, Bishop Dunne will develop an advancement program that will engage a broader donor base to increase donations to the school. These programs will be supported by systems and processes to track and measure progress toward the established goals.
GOAL 1
Build strong brand awareness specifically in the southern region of the DFW Metroplex by fostering relationships with parishes, feeder schools, and NEW target groups that will lead to healthy enrollment growth.
Strategy
a. Develop marketing and advertising campaigns and initiatives designed to build brand awareness by effectively conveying Bishop Dunne’s unique attributes. b. Demonstrate the value of faith-based and specifically Catholic education. c. Create programs leading to greater involvement at feeder schools. d. Identify additional feeder schools and develop a plan to build relationships and meaningful partnerships with each. e. Build relationships with other groups of families to build brand awareness.
GOAL 2
Build an annual calendar of engagement and process to attract and enroll new students.
Strategy
a. Develop a comprehensive Admissions Marketing Plan that considers the competitive landscape and includes digital footprint goals and strategies. b. Create targeted messaging for specific audiences. c. Establish annual evaluations and assessments for enrollment targets.
GOAL 3
Develop a robust student recruiting and retention program.
Strategy
a. Evaluate alternative tuition models; structured to attract more families. b. Create a streamlined admissions and enrollment system. c. Cultivate a “seamless” environment between the middle and high school; maintain what is special and unique to middle school, so that high school can still feel new.
GOAL 4
Foster a culture of engagement and giving among targeted stakeholder groups.
Strategy
a. Develop a volunteer system and program that encourages participation by each targeted stakeholder group. b. Create an ambassador’s program to communicate the value proposition of the school. c. Develop a systemic donor relations program and calendar that creates a healthy, well-defined giving cycle with a clear pattern and rhythm for engagement. d. Identify and develop the resources needed to infuse donor program best practices into the fabric of the Dunne brand and within messaging to all stakeholder groups. e. Develop an action plan to reach established benchmarks for stakeholder groups (e.g., alumni, parents, and donors) with target goals at the one year, three and fiveyear marks.
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ACADEMICS AND PROGRAMMING Bishop Dunne will strengthen and expand its tradition of academic and programming excellence with innovative instruction to increase competitiveness with peer institutions and build self-sufficiency.
GOAL 1
Develop academic programs with a strong college preparatory curriculum so that students have the necessary resources to challenge themselves to achieve their potential, and to equip them to compete for merit scholarships and, if they choose, admission to highly selective colleges and universities.
Strategy
a. Develop and offer a college-prep curriculum taught by highly qualified teachers providing unique experiences and supporting independent thinking. b. Incorporate community involvement and social justice in the academic curriculum whenever appropriate. c. Build intellectual skills, such as analytical and critical thinking, to prepare students to understand tomorrow’s opportunities and challenges and respond effectively to them. d. Explore new technologies and apply appropriate industry and professional tools to address classroom exercises and real-world issues. e. Prioritize and embed the values of cultural humility, inclusion, and growth mindset in course offerings. f. Ensure that counseling assistance available to Bishop Dunne students promotes mental wellbeing as well as successful college readiness. g. Assess the effectiveness of the College Ready Academy for students who are first generation college bound. h. Expose all Bishop Dunne students to unique opportunities and experiences to build their profiles that would open doors academically, personally, and professionally.
GOAL 2
Challenge students to expand themselves beyond academic with extracurricular opportunities to explore, lead and achieve excellence in athletics, arts, music/band, and/or clubs.
Strategy
a. Design and implement a comprehensive service program that offers middle school and high school students an array of opportunities to serve the community.
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b. Assess and expand Bishop Dunne’s Peer Ministry program. c. Assess, evaluate, and provide the retreat programs for students and faculty. d. Develop partnerships with outside organizations (other high schools, colleges, theater organizations, and art groups) to assist students in pursuing fine art opportunities. e. Integrate service-learning models in academic programming to enhance and strengthen students’ skills as servant leaders. f. Strive to build community through sports and performing arts groups, both within the school and beyond. g. Ensure that students have access to extracurricular programming, including athletic offerings, relevant to their interest and abilities, and to the Bishop Dunne mission. h. Ensure that all programs are accessible and welcoming to students with physical disabilities.
GOAL 3
Design and provide professional development opportunities for faculty and staff to expand and explore their potential as educators.
Strategy
a. Create programs and an environment where teacher and staff have opportunities to receive competitive compensation, financial, and administrative support. b. Provide learning opportunities and collaborative tools to adapt to ever-changing educational environments and passionately push students to meet their individual potential. c. Reward exceptional teachers with both financial incentives as well as financial aid to pursue advance education. d. Develop a funding plan to support faculty professional development. e. Establish and maintain program/activities to promote high morale, engagement, and retention within the faculty and staff.
OPERATING MODEL Bishop Dunne will strengthen current operations and facilities and build a future master plan that is responsive to the evolving needs of today’s students by building a dynamic and innovative environment to support the academic, co-curricular, and spiritual mission of the school.
GOAL 1
Develop an evolving high-level multi-year business model incorporating enrollment, tuition, fund-raising, and financial assistance plans.
Strategy
a. Manage budget and financial resources that account for enrollment and growth to support the sustainability and operations of the school. b. Develop a comprehensive plan for enhanced oversight of the physical plant particularly to include property and equipment both in the current year and for the future. c. Analyze and benchmark the school’s market competitiveness relative to faculty and staff compensation, financial strength, programs, and facilities.
GOAL 3
Create long-term facilities plan that acknowledges investments made in other diocesan high schools and makes the case that it’s time to invest in Bishop Dunne, which is the Dallas diocese’s only Catholic high school south of the Trinity River.
Strategy
a. Create and conduct a feasibility study for a Capital Campaign to fund current infrastructure, as well as future facility growth initiatives. b. Create a Master Plan for the development of Campus Facilities. c. Prioritize and implement improvement projects to improve, add to, or repair the school’s physical infrastructure.
GOAL 4
Update the transportation fleet to the support of all programs.
Strategy
a. Create a fleet management program designed to ensure high quality transportation for the school. b. Implement a creative and robust method of recruiting the best quality operators of the transportation system.
GOAL 5 GOAL 2
Assess and improve infrastructure to allow for the state-ofthe-art technology for academic, administrative, and operational functions.
Strategy
a. Update classroom technology. b. Ensure that labs have appropriate technology for daily instruction and academic competitions. c. Create a program for life-cycle management of technology for faculty and staff. d. Update the call management system for a more efficient and effective delivery and exchange of information.
Create a life-cycle management program to maintain the integrity of the physical and cyber security systems.
Strategy a. b. c. d. e.
Conduct an annual physical and cyber security audit. Design and construct a campus fencing system. Update video monitoring system. Implement a new campus access system. Update technology and cyber security, as needed, to maintain versions, features, and resiliency.
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CONCLUSIONS
o achieve our vision, we must focus on our core themes: honor and character; intellectual engagement and rigor; universal inclusion and diversity; an innovative and future-oriented environment; and stewardship and sustainability. We will advance these themes and work to accomplish the goals and objectives of this strategic plan over the coming years. The goals of this strategic plan are focused on people and programs, but the achievement of these objectives requires resources to strengthen current operations and facilities. Our future master plan will respond to the evolving needs of Bishop Dunne’s students, families, faculty, and leaders by promoting a dynamic and innovative environment that will support the academic, co-curricular, and spiritual mission of the school.
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BISHOP DUNNE CATHOLIC SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION Mary Beth Marchiony Stephen Guerrero Michael Alfers ’97 Rodney Butler Erica Culton Anna Lee Friesen Jennifer Hood Walter Johnson ’81 Kathryn Perry Eshombi Singleton Ramon Suarez Christine Voigt
President Assistant Principal Assistant Director of the Middle School Boys Athletic Coordinator Director of the Middle School Director of Human Resources Director of Admissions and Financial Aid Dean of Students Director of External Relations Girls Athletic Coordinator Chief Financial Officer Director of Instructional Technology
BDCS BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2020-2021 Shannon Cerise Ed Robben Veronica Alonzo Jonathan Buchanan ’98 Tom Clifford Arturo Herrera III ’09 Homero Gonzalez ’92 Jann Laws Jackson Tammy Kuykendall Genaro Lopez David Martinez Larry Milton ’79 Drexel Owusu Mark Valhala Wayne Warren ’79 Dave Woodyard
Board Chair Board Vice-Chair Board Member Board Member Board Member Board Member Board Member Board Member Board Member Board Member Board Member Board Member Board Member Board Member Board Member Board Member
STRATEGIC PLANNING STEERING COMMITTEE Ed Robben Shannon Cerise Drexel Owusu Tom Clifford Tammy Kuykendall Paula Day Homero Gonzalez ’92 Wayne Warren ’79 Jann Laws Jackson Elizabeth Wattley ’02 Mary Beth Marchiony
Chair BDCS Board Chair Academics & Programming Pillar Academics & Programming Pillar Enrollment & Community Engagement Pillar Enrollment & Community Engagement Pillar Operating Model Pillar Catholic Identity and Culture Pillar Catholic Identity and Culture Pillar President
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3900 Rugged Drive Dallas, Texas 75224 214 339 6561 bdcs.org