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St. John Catholic School Advisory Council: Working Together to Succeed in Our Mission
Ask anyone who is affiliated with St. John Catholic School, and they will tell you that it’s a special place — where students from pre-kindergarten to eighth grade can learn not just reading and math, but about the Christian faith and God’s love.
In addition to the teachers and staff, there is a special group of people who help us achieve the school’s mission, and that is the 10-member School Advisory Council, or SAC. The SAC assists with governance of the school, and chairs committees on policies, planning, facilities, development, public relations and finance.
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“We are a good group from a variety of backgrounds coming together for a common goal — to help St. John’s succeed,” says outgoing SAC President Ed Burke.
The SAC meets at 7 p.m. on the fourth Tuesday of the month in the school’s art room. Meetings may also be accessed through the Zoom online conferencing platform. Anyone from the parish or school can attend in-person or via Zoom. Members serve a two-year term with a maximum of six years.
“SAC members can be anyone from the parishes we serve who wish to help our school,” Ed says. “However, most members have children currently attending or graduated from St. John’s.”
The SAC members are looking forward to the 2020-21 school year. Having celebrated the retirement of Principal Mrs. Lexie Radebaugh after the last school year, they are excited to welcome Mrs. Cristel Miller.
“Mrs. Miller is well educated and has children enrolled in St. John, so she is highly motivated to help our school succeed,” Ed says.
The SAC applauds the staff for their work in implementing COVID-19 precautions — SAC members recognize this will be a challenge for teachers, staff, students and families in the coming school year.
In addition, SAC members recently instituted a five-year strategic plan to set goals for continuous improvement at the school.
“The plan is designed to be evergreen and updated annually as projects and goals are reached or if they must be pushed out further,” Ed says.
SAC members also want to reach out to families to invite them to join the school. In particular, Ed wants all parents to know there are options for financial assistance to attend St. John’s.
Currently, there are openings on the SAC as we begin to implement our five-year strategic plan.
“While a few of the committee chairs require some outside experience, most SAC positions only require someone who wishes to help St. John Catholic School continue serving its students,” Ed says.
Ed says new members learn “on the job.” Most positions only require about one to two hours per month.
