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FEATURE
Shine Together
Whether it be the location, the building, the uniforms, the faculty and staff, or the broader world around us, things have certainly changed at Cor Jesu Academy over the past 66 years.
However, some things don’t change, like the mission and Charism. As the world continues to evolve, especially as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, now is an important time for our Cor Jesu community to come together to celebrate our strengths, identify new opportunities and plan for how we can sustain and grow our mission and Charism into the future. In that spirit, Cor Jesu engaged in a Strategic Planning process over the course of the 2021-22 school year. CJA alumnae, Laurie Hunsicker Phillips ‘88 and Lauren Schwartze Wanner ‘05, helped guide the most recent plan. Laurie has previous experience as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), served as Chief Executive Officer of St. Patrick Center for 5 years, and is currently an adjunct professor at the Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis. Lauren works as a partner with Bellwether in its Strategic Advising practice area. Both women are members of Cor Jesu’s Advisory Board, and both share a profound love for their alma mater—one made evident through their commitment to leading a thorough and inclusive Strategic Planning process for Cor Jesu. The results of the Strategic Plan will be published under separate cover in 2023. In the meantime, we asked if they would be willing to share their reflections on the year of work that has led to this point. They answered the call as enthusiastically as when they were asked to lead!
Below are Laurie’s thoughts on the planning process, followed by Lauren’s remarks outlining the outcomes and next steps forward.
THE PROCESS
The CJA Strategic Planning process was an unbelievable experience for so many of us! We had well over 100 people join the process in person through individual conversations, focus groups Laurie Hunsicker Phillips ‘88 and our retreat weekend in March that hosted 80 CJA friends! We had even more people contribute through our planning survey, gaining the insights and opinions of so many touched by Cor Jesu—students, parents, past parents, alumnae, grandparents, faculty and staff, community members and friends of this amazing school. Needless to say, we had some great information and expertise to work with. The process was incredibly robust and inclusive, and our partnership with the consulting firm Partners in Mission (PIM) was invaluable. PIM specializes in consulting with Catholic schools around the country, and they spent a great deal of time getting to know CJA, both the faculty and staff, as well as our Steering Committee. We were blessed by their knowledge and experience. Our Steering Committee, which included eight domain chairs and faculty and staff liaisons, was top notch! We could not have asked for a stronger, more dedicated group to lead the conversations in our eight domains. This group, which included members of our Advisory Board, as well as field experts connected to CJA, committed six months of their lives to completing the process and creating the plan. The process was simple and exhaustive—conduct survey, gather data, talk, talk, talk, create narratives for each domain, distribute narratives
LEFT: Kathleen Casey (Partner with Partners in Mission), Katie Magee Thiemann ‘81 (CJA Director of Leadership Giving), Lauren Schwartze Wanner ‘05 (Strategic Plan Co-Chair), Laurie Hunsicker Phillips ‘88 (Strategic Plan CoChair), Sr. Mary Grace Walsh, ASCJ, Ph.D. (CJA President), Greg Markiton (Partner with Partners in Mission) at the Strategic Planning Retreat Weekend in March 2022. ABOUT PIM
Partners in Mission is a full-service consulting and professional education firm focused exclusively on developing excellence in Catholic school advancement and leadership.
THE 8 DOMAINS
• Academics and
Technology • Advancement • Career, College and
Wellness (CCW) • Enrollment • Facilities and
Technology • Finance • Mission and Charism • Student Life
to retreat participants, and gather for two days to find the most brilliant objectives to work on for the next five years. Whew—what fun we had! Most of our meetings, including our retreat weekend, were fueled by energy, love and Peanut M&Ms!
Lauren and I were blessed to lead this amazing team of people who were so generous with their time, talent, honesty and optimism. We received many emails during and after the process, especially from the retreat participants. A few comments:
“I thought [the] retreat weekend was amazing. You did an incredible amount of work. I’ve been in education for almost 40 years and it is one of the most concise and effective meetings I have ever attended. In the meantime, you created a fun, welcoming and loving atmosphere. Seeing the love for
CJA warmed my heart.”
– NINA SEE, PAST CJA PARENT AND GUIDANCE COUNSELOR AT SLUH
– MELISSA HOLLABAUGH VIEN ‘08 “I wanted to let you know how impressed I was with the structure, organization and professionalism exhibited throughout this process. You succeeded in creating an environment that allowed all of us to flourish. I hope the work product will advance this exercise towards the finish line. I am glad to have been a part.”
– ROB GOLTERMAN, PAST CJA PARENT
– SR. DIANE MASTROIANNI, ASCJ, MEMBER OF THE COR JESU BOARD OF DIRECTORS
As both a Co-Chair of the Steering Committee and the Domain Chair for Student Life, I found my favorite part of the process to be our focus groups with the students. They were engaged, excited, honest and just amazing! Having the student perspective was invaluable and we were lucky to also have three students join us on the retreat weekend where they continued to share their experience, knowledge and ideas to enhance our process. Lauren and I hold Cor Jesu very close to our hearts, and not only did we help create a meaningful, achievable and positive Strategic Plan for CJA, we also established new relationships and strengthened existing ones with Cor Jesu community members that we expect to continue well into the future. In fact, Lauren and I—who did not know one another before this process—feel like we are now more than just CJA sisters, but also true friends. At the end of the retreat, alumnae, current students, and faculty and staff, sang the Alma Mater. It brought tears to many of us, including two past CJA dads who thanked us for the wonderful experience they had working with the group, and for the richness CJA has brought to their daughters and their families.
TIMELINE June 2021
Advisory Board Dream Big Conversation
October 2021
Strategic Planning Process Kick-Off
November 2021 –February 2022
Surveys, Conversations and Focus Groups
March 2022
Retreat Weekend with Steering Committee Report
April – May 2022
Review of Objectives with Consolidation, Clarification, and Finalization into Six Themes (Pillars)
May 2022
Advisory Board Approval
June 2022
Governing Board Approval
August – December 2022
Draft Action Items
Early 2023
Present Final Plan to CJA Community
THE STRATEGIC PLANNING OUTCOMES
The incredible input from the CJA community throughout the course of the planning process showed just how special Cor Jesu is to so many people, regardless of whether they are a current Lauren Schwartze Wanner ‘05 student or parent or whether they graduated years ago. There were common themes across community members about what makes CJA so great. For example, we heard over and over again that Cor Jesu’s academic rigor is a tremendous strength and that the school’s mission and Charism—embodied by the Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus—are the true heart of the school. We also heard community members ask important questions, like:
Laurie and I were so grateful for the members of our community who asked these and other big questions, for which there are certainly no easy answers. The bravery and thoughtfulness that this community put into reflecting on our strengths, identifying our opportunities, and planning for CJA’s future is such an amazing sign of the love that so many have for our school. Through the amazing leadership of the Steering Committee and retreat participants, six pillars of Cor Jesu’s strategic plan were developed to respond to the questions raised by our community. They represent areas in which Cor Jesu has strengths that must be maintained and/or new needs and opportunities that must be addressed. The pillars (outlined below) give us focus and direction—indicating the areas we must prioritize over the next several years. They include:
1. Accessibility of a Cor Jesu Education, or work to ensure that every qualified student has the opportunity to access a CJA education and that the broader St. Louis community is aware of the many strengths of our school and community. 2. Discernment and Accompaniment on the Journey, or work to support each student in their development—spiritually, intellectually and social-emotionally. 3. A Vibrant Culture, or work to increase the diversity, sense of belonging and connectivity among faculty, staff and students. 4. Joyful, Student-Centered
Academics, or work to innovate on our academic program to meet the needs of today’s world while offering students more intensive supports necessary to thrive. 5. A Connected Community, or work to strengthen relationship-building, communication and development of our broader community (including faculty and staff, alumnae, parents and families, and others). 6. Collaborative, Coordinated
Organization, or work to develop the organizational and operational systems that help Cor Jesu run effectively.
Under each of these pillars are more concrete initiatives that lay out the work ahead.
NEXT STEPS
The intensive strategic planning process lays out an exciting vision and direction for Cor Jesu’s future. And, while the planning process is over, the work is really just beginning. In the months and years ahead, Cor Jesu administration, faculty and staff—with the support of the Advisory Board—will spearhead the work that will translate the plan into action, tracking progress along the way. Laurie and I were so honored to lead this strategic planning process and to get to speak to so many of you. I know I speak for both of us when I say that we leave this experience with an even deeper love of CJA’s past and present, as well as a lot of hope for CJA’s future. We know that the success of this plan will be driven by those in the building, but it will truly take the encouragement, support and ongoing feedback from all of us. We look forward to joining you all in the work ahead!
