State Of The School - Winter 2014 by Joe Accardi

State of the School

Winter 2014

St. Benedict Parish & Preparatory School 3900 N. Leavitt Ave Chicago, IL 60618 773-539-0066 WWW.ST. BENEDICT.COM

State of the School

Winter 2014

“Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible.” – St. Francis of Assisi For over a decade St. Benedict Parish and Preparatory School has strategically planned for the long-term vitality of our unique parish school. In collaboration with school parents, parishioners, alumni, board members, community members, faculty and students, St. Benedict Preparatory School (SBPS) has responded to the changing needs of our parish and local community, building upon our legacy of success and securing our future. As a community, we started to do what was necessary. As we gained momentum, we were able to do what was possible. And now looking back over the past decade, even when some couldn’t think growth and vitality would be possible, our work together seems as though we are achieving the impossible. St. Benedict Parish and School models the spirit that St. Francis of Assisi refers to in his quote printed above. Thank you for your support and confidence in what we are able to achieve together. Our St. Benedict worshipping community makes all the difference to so many children and families. St. Benedict Preparatory School continues to grow and strengthen in our mission, offering quality PK-Grade 12 Catholic education on the north side of Chicago. We continue to implement our strategic plan, Vision of Excellence 2016, and strengthen our unique PK-12 Catholic, coed school. Again, we expect to have waiting lists in the early childhood and primary grades; our applicant pool and student body in the secondary school continues to strengthen as we implement programs to shape the culture of college prep learning. This strong interest in our school will allow for enrollment growth; in turn, the school can keep tuition costs affordable while working on continual program and facilities improvements. Many school parents make a significant financial commitment to send their child(ren) to SBPS. We want our families to know that we are committed to keeping parents well informed about where their tuition dollars are going, as well as the vision and plan for the school. It is also time to start planning for the coming school year of 2014-15. Part of the planning involves creating a realistic budget that projects the cost of quality, Catholic education. There is a lot to consider when setting tuition and determining the school financial goals. It is our goal to continue growth of the school programs, strengthen the Catholic college prep culture, all the while having successfully paid off the debt incurred over the past years. We have also been addressing the physical plant needs and plan to continue this during the coming year. There have been many improvements made over the past decade at SBPS thanks to the dedicated staff, supportive parents, caring pastors and generous donors and parishioners. This year’s budget and tuition information supports the ongoing efforts to continue to grow our school according to our strategic plan, Vision of Excellence 2016. The school advisory board has been implementing our 5-year strategic plan in order to realize our “vision of Catholic school excellence.” Please refer to this publication for more details on the strategic plan goals as well as accomplishments. Please enjoy this year’s State of the School Address! Gratefully, Father Jason Malave, Pastor

Ms. Rachel Gemo, Chief Executive Oﬃcer

State of the School

Winter 2014

2013-2014

A CCOMPLISHMENTS

A Solid State of School Endowment is Growing

Thank you for helping us eliminate the debt!

At the end of last fiscal year, St. Benedict Parish established an endowment for tuition assistance for education. With some gifts of stock, donations in honor of the late Christopher Ford and other alumni donations, parish and school leadership saw the opportunity to begin a savings for tuition with this $20,000 in order to help keep Catholic education affordable. In only six short months, the school has already received an additional 33 gifts totaling over $38,000 from alumni, former school parents and parishioners, including a generous gift of $15,000 from the estate of Christopher Ford. Our goal is to grow this endowment over the next several years so that interest generated can help offset the amount of tuition assistance given to school families.

NATIONAL CATHOLIC EDUCATION ASSOCIATION

2014 OUTSTANDING BOARD AWARD The St. Benedict Preparatory School Advisory Board oversees the activities and development of St. Benedict Preparatory School, the only Preschool (PS) - grade 12 coeducational parish school in the Archdiocese of Chicago. It includes a diverse group of 21 elected members who are experts in their fields, including education, finance, fundraising, law, and marketing, as well as eight non-voting members from the school and parish staff.Over the past four years, the board has experienced much success, including: Increased enrollment by 186 students; Along with parish leadership, helped retire the parish and school’s loans totaling over $2.1 million; Created an endowment for tuition assistance and a facility savings fund; Increased annual fund over $40,000 and participation up to 50%!

Congratulations to the members of our School Advisory Board!

2013-14 Accomplishments

Worth Celebrating! Loyala University Update

At the beginning of the school year Loyola University School of Education launched their new teacher preparation program, “Teaching, Learning and Leading with Schools and Communities.” The innovative teacher preparation program completely transforms how future teachers will be prepared by embedding teacher training into classrooms and community organizations, essentially Loyola University professors bring their classrooms into the ﬁeld teaching the content while providing students with real world examples, observations and experiences. As part of the new design St. Benedict Preparatory was approached to become a partner school because of our reputation for our ﬁne academic program and professional teacher culture. This September we began hosting the following sequences - Bringing Language Learning and Developmental Theory into Practice - Educational Policy: Then and Now - Individualizing Assessment and Instruction for Diverse Students

When they talked to their peers placed at other schools, they came to realize how fortunate they were as well. You, your teachers and your support staff could not have been more welcoming and supportive of me and my candidates and your students were equally awesome.

What you have created at St. Ben’s is special. I just wanted you to know how much I appreciated our work together. Let’s hope that there are The partnership has proven to be a wonderful resource more opportunities in the near future.” for both our teachers and the Loyola students. Dr. Brigid Schultz, Loyola Professor “My students were so lucky to have had their experience at St. Ben’s. ARCHDIOCESE OF CHICAGO - OFFICE OF CATHOLIC SCHOOLS

2014 DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD Ms. Janet Olson-Gallagher has been an invaluable member at St. Benedict Preparatory School over the past two decades! She served in the high school development oﬃce for 3 years, a fourth grade teacher for 10 years and the elementary school admissions director and annual appeal coordinator for 4 years, where she has assisted the school board in more than doubling the net proceeds of the parent appeal! Building enrollment and building fundraising support has impacted St. Benedict Preparatory School in so many positive ways, that her dedication and service should be commended. Thank you Ms. Olson Gallagher, for your decades of dedication & service!

Mrs. Jean (Bahr) Hybinette ‘72 has been at St. Benedict for 35 years! She has taught computer technology and inspires students to use their creativity and collaboration on projects. As a colleague Mrs. Hybinette has mentored countless new teachers and provided her gentle and kind guidance as they adjust to both St. Benedict and teaching, and she is always willing to help on various committees. Each and everyday Mrs. Hybinette comes to school and makes St. Benedict Prep a better place to learn and teach. Thank you Mrs. Hybinette for your years of service and energy!!

2013-14 Accomplishments

Fund Our Future Gains Momentum – Together We Achieve Our Goals! The Fund Our Future Appeal (in its 9th year!) is the PK-12 School Advisory Board fundraising campaign. Parents are asked to make monetary contributions to the school to cover the difference of the cost of tuition and the actual cost of education. 100% of this money goes right to SBPS(PK-12)! The School Advisory Board adopted the name, Fund Our Future, because a successful appeal does lead to a vibrant future! The $1,150 difference between tuition and the actual cost to educate a student in K-12 is covered through the fundraising efforts such as Fund Our Future. This initiative also helps us achieve great things like helping the parish pay off all our building and school loans. We are currently debt free and the Fund Our Future Appeal contributed to our debt-free status! Last year, 50% of the Fund Our Future gifts were put toward the parish and school loans. The Archdiocese matched this money dollar for dollar. Thanks to the efforts of the school advisory board, this campaign has grown tremendously over the past nine years. We hope you will be able to contribute this year.

Fund Our Future Appeal STATS Parent Campaign Total Raised Total # Gifts # of Familie

2007-08 $19, 880 53 gifts 47 donors

2008-09 $32,630 65 gifts 57 donors

2009-10 2010-11 $50,894 $80,415 95 gifts 116 gifts 85 donors 97 donors

2011-12 $113,570 158 gifts 150 families

2012-13 $124,486 319 gifts 315 families

13-14 (so far!) $93,453 206 gifts 197 families

The above total reflects both money donated and gifts pledged. We’d also like to thank the parents who have taken advantage of the matching gift program at their places of employment. We will be receiving at least $4,435 in matching gifts! Even though we are only four months into our annual Fund our Future appeal, we are definitely on track to meet last year’s total and increase the amount of families participating. We still have five months of this fiscal year left. Our goal is 100% family participation—whether the gift is $5, $50, $500 or more. Won’t you help us reach our goal of 100% participation?

Thank you to the 206 families who have already contributed.

Did You Know?

Last year, in conjunction with the school advisory board, the school enacted a $500 New Family Fee to establish savings for capital facilities improvements. This one-time fee is paid by all new families enrolling at SBPS. Currently, we’ve collected over $62,000 this year and hope to use it to fund some capital projects around the campus. See the rest of the State of the School for an overview of some large projects that will be scheduled soon.

2013-14 Accomplishments

Programmatic Improvements Implemented in this Current School Year • • • • • • • • •

Handwriting without Tears Program and Teacher Training for Preschool PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports) in grades K-5 Religion Textbooks and Family Life Textbooks for Middle School Mandarin Course for Secondary School and Mandarin Club for elementary students New Middle School Course: Bengal Prep Jr. for 6th grade – Focusing on Executive Functioning Document Cameras – in secondary math classrooms and two third grade classrooms First and third grade interactive science kits Brain Pop and Pebble Go – online curriculum support for elementary and middle school New website design

New Positions Added This Year • Additional third grade teacher (4th classroom) • Additional fourth grade teacher (3rd classroom) • 6-8th Inclusion Facilitator for Middle School (thanks to the Christopher L. and M. Susan Gust Foundation) • Full-time Early Childhood Spanish Teacher PK- 1 • Full-time Early Childhood Physical Education Teacher PK-K • Mandarin Teacher for Secondary School • Director of Operations for Parish and School • Director of Communications for Parish and School

Facilities Improvements in 2013-14 at SBPS • • • • • • • • • • • • •

New floor tile in three early childhood classrooms (in elementary building) New classroom furniture, books and instructional supplies for new classrooms Secondary school library repainted Upgraded secondary school library furniture donated from DeVry University New weight room equipment Brought on BUCK Services beginning July 1 for summer deep cleaning as well as regular school year cleaning. Installation of GYM Curtain (thanks to the Athletic Fundraiser) painting of the preschool halls and new carpeting division of room 349 into two classrooms to accommodate school growth general upgrades in rooms across the campus remodeling of elementary school offices as well as reassignment of office space New facility scheduling software See Major Facilities Upgrades Section for other projects

2013-14 Accomplishments

Awarded Merit Based Scholarships to SBPS Seniors

Proof that SBPS Vision of Excellence 2016 is Working:

Inclusion Is Everybody’s Business St. Benedict Preparatory School is committed to providing quality, Catholic inclusion education to families who seek this for their students. Why? • It is Catholic: we have a moral and faith-ﬁlled call to be inclusive • Inclusion education EQUALS excellent teaching practices by excellent teachers • Research shows ALL students beneﬁt regardless of ability

and ten Brink Foundation) • Continued partnership with United Stand in order to provide services, small group and individual counseling • Mrs. Ann Kulig as student services coordinator for the PK-12 School

2) Teacher Training to support Inclusion Education* • Patrick Schwarz workshop on Diﬀerentiated Instruction and Lesson Planning • Two-hour mini teacher workshops on campus to further teacher training • Co-teaching with Inclusion Facilitators We welcome all students into the general classroom, and • Commitment to teacher attendance at workshops equip teachers and families to help students learn and and graduate coursework thrive; this is considered inclusive education. While we are committed to hiring quality, caring teachers and 3) Administration Team planning to implement whole school vision* keeping class size small, we realize that this isn’t always • Summer planning workshop with Paula Kluth enough to do our best job. Teachers need additional • Monthly inclusion education team meetings with training on educational best practices, classroom administration manipulatives and resources, as well as specialized • Outside evaluator to review program eﬀectiveness – consultation and support. to commence soon* This year, SBPS has been able to strengthen our • Clear program and admin goals to grow program commitment to Inclusive Education in several ways: *generously supported by the Christopher L. and M. Susan Gust Foundation 1) Established an Inclusion Education Team • 3.5 facilitators (*2 positions funded by outside source) With these wonderful resources, we have been able to help • Inclusion Facilitator Supervisor and Coach to mentor the 12-15% of the school population who have learning facilitators * disabilities or other individual needs. When teachers are • Continued partnerships with Aspire to provide onsupported, and student needs are addressed, we create a site service and teacher training (thanks to the Cleary better learning environment for all students.

State of the School

Winter 2014

L OOKING TO N EXT S CHOOL Y EAR ...

Looking to Next School Year...

Accreditation as a PK-12 School through AdvancED and the Office of Catholic Schools - An Overview of the Parent Survey Feedback Having a parish school is an awesome gift that the St. Benedict community treasures. This gift comes with tremendous responsibilities, however. Together, we need to work in partnership to be good stewards of our PK12 parish Catholic school. This takes a lot of physical work, but it also takes a lot of mental work as well. In order to maintain excellence in all we do, we need to gather data from our stakeholders, listen to their feedback, reflect on what is shared and collaboratively determine strategic goals for growth and improvement. This process is what schools do in order to be accredited by an outside organization. This past fall, St. Benedict Preparatory School, in conjunction with the Office Catholic Schools of the Archdiocese of Chicago, began participating in the AdvancED accreditation process. St. Benedict Preparatory School is the ONLY school in the Archdiocese of Chicago who is going through this process as a PK-12 school. We are humbled to have this distinction and look forward to completing the accreditation process. (The elementary school is currently recognized by the State of Illinois and the High School is accredited already by AdvancED). One step of the accreditation process is to survey of the school’s various constituencies: school parents, school students and faculty. The purpose of the surveys is to collect feedback about our school program, analyze the feedback data, and look for feedback trends. The goal of all this reflection is to determine 2 to 3 academic goals for the coming year. A team of school faculty representing PK-12 will develop these goals with input from the surveys and other factors/data. These goals will be presented to the whole faculty later this spring for review and ultimately shared with our community. These goals will also be integrated into our parish school’s strategic plan, Vision of Excellence 2016. Even though we are currently analyzing the feedback from the survey, especially reflecting on opportunities to improve, we thought it would be helpful to provide a brief snapshot of the areas in which the parish PK-12 school is excelling and common themes of positive feedback. We would like to note that when you review the “open-ended” responses from three groups (school parents, faculty and secondary students) you will see that common themes pop up across all groups. What is compelling about this feedback is that all groups are in sync with each other – every group identifies similar strengths of the school. We believe the data and comments below demonstrate that we are being good stewards of our parish school. We look forward to sharing more of the survey feedback and strategic goals with the parish community. We want the St. Benedict family to have confidence in this thriving parish ministry.

What do you like best about our school? Parent Survey Responses Strong sense of community

Great teachers

Small class sizes

“The sense of community.” “The families involved in the school” “The close knit school community” “I appreciate the sense of community - there is a connection between teachers, administrators, and parents I find important.”

“Our classroom teachers are absolutely incredible!” “The teachers! They put a TON of energy and support so my child can be succesdsful.” “The teachers are engaged, caring and supportive.” “Genuine love of the children by St. Ben’s staff and teachers”

“The small class sizes.” “Small classroom size is maintained even with recent jumps in enrollment; HUGE positive!”

Looking to Next School Year...

What do you like best about our school? Parent Survey Responses Focus on academics

Administration

“Clear focus on academic success” “The curriculum is great. The kids are learning beyone the level at other schools”

“The CEO consistently demonstrates her ability to make good decisions based on the needs and mission of the school. Her leadership is what keeps the school thriving.” “We love the inclusive environment, caring administrators, and warm teachers.”

Teacher Survey Responses Strong sense of community

Great teachers

Professional Culture

“Community, sense of family, teachers and students genuinely care about the school.” “The feeling of family and community.” “I think SBPS is a wonderful, involved community where everyone has the opportunity to learn and grow from one another.”

“Teachers know every student as individuals, not just as a student body.” “The ‘family atmosphere’, that we are all a family, not just a bunch of people that are here in the building.” “hard-working and collaborative teachers” “All teachers here are striving for the best for all students and are willing to put in the extra time to help/watch them succeed.”

“There is a culture of respect and honor among the faculty.” Great sense of community; everyone’s ideas and opinions are valued; open to change and growth; open to honest duscussion; open to continuous reflection.”

Focus on academics

Administration

“Our academic program is beyond excellent!” “The administration and faculty continuously strive to ensure innovative learning is taking place.”

“The school administrators are extremely supportive and are committed to excellence.” “I know that my coworkers, administration & support staff are genuinely interested in the success of our student body.” “We love the inclusive environment, caring administrators, and warm teachers.”

Looking to Next School Year...

What do you like best about our school?

Secondary Student Survey Responses Strong sense of community

Great teachers

Student Engagement

“I love how close everyone is.” “I like the house system and how you can interact with others from different grades.” “The thing I like best about our school is the house system. I like this because we are able to work with our fellow classmates, and are able to communicate and do fun activities together.

“If you need help with something then a teacher will stay after school with you or stay after class to help you learn the concept.” “I like that we have a lot of nice teachers who can help you when you need help.” “The teachers are amazing.”

“The thing I like best about my school si how we do activities and projects instead hearing boring lectures.” “The thing that I like best about my school is that all the teachers have different metheods to help us learn

Focus on academics

Student Culture

“My school helps prepare us for what is to come in the future.” “Most of the things we do in class are pretty fun and challenging.” “It prepares us for a bright future which is done through service, being challenged, and commitnment to success.”

“Many students in the high school are very kind and friendly to everyone.” I like that everyone is friendly and makes you comfortable.”

What do you like best about how we nuture Catholic Faith?

Parent Survey Responses from Catholic Idenity Survey Jan 2013 “I believe the value based focus is very helpful in developing strong morals and values in children and the strong presence/recognition of Christ in the classroom, etc. is beneficial.” “Our teachers are amazing. They make all the kids feel special and teach them amazing catholic values.” “We chose St. Benedict Prep because of the programs, leadership, values and educational opportunities it provides for students and because every year we have more to look forward to in terms of positive experiences for our child. St. Ben’s is helping create a wonderful person with amazing sense of self and values as a partnership with us as parents.”

“St. Benedict excels in every aspect of teaching and developing a young child into a strong, confident, respectful young adult. This is done through teaching Catholic values in all facets of their education. We are blessed to have our children there.” “In addition, the daily commitment of Father Jason with the school is outstanding and Father Jason’s way of communicating with the children is wonderful.” “It is very nice to see Fr. Malave partnering closely with the school and building a strong partnership with the staff, students and families of both our parish and school. This is a very welcome change for our community! “

Looking to Next School Year...

Areas Being Considered for School Improvement From Parent Survey Feedback Part of the AdvancED process is determining academic goals for the faculty to work on the coming school year. However, we were able to also identify areas of further school improvement that we hope to address with the help of school faculty, school advisory board, parent volunteers and the wider parish community. Some of these areas are explained below in no particular order:

1) Teacher retention and the ability to both attract and retain great teachers – Our awardwinning school advisory board has just completed teacher focus groups to hear feedback about teacher motivators and de-motivators in the hopes to recommend strategies to enhance teacher retention. Clearly from survey feedback, our teachers are truly a GIFT and we need to look for ways to help them stay with us. 2) Increasing opportunities for individualized instruction for all students – we’ve been engaging

in much professional development to create an inclusion education community for any student who wants a St. Benedict Prep education. Inclusion education means meeting the needs of all students no matter how academically talented they are. We need to oﬀer enriching and engaging learning for all students, challenging all students and supporting all students. It is a tall order to meet the needs of a diverse learning community, but we are up for the challenge. Currently the faculty and administration are reviewing ways to support diﬀerentiated learning focusing on increasing rigor, integrating 21st century learning skills and using the best of technological resources and our PK-12 program to address the needs of our student body.

3) Increasing the integration of technology throughout the PK-12 program – while our secondary school has been a “one-to-one device” and “bring-your-own-device” environment for several years, our preschool classrooms have recently adopted iPads in the classroom learning centers, and our whole campus has been investing in IT infrastructure, we can still do better. We have started looking at interactive whiteboards to be used in some elementary classrooms starting next year. We plan to integrate them more universally in conjunction with the parish and school master plan. 4) School traﬃc concerns, morning drop oﬀ and afternoon pick up logistics – while a growing

school is a blessing, it also does present some challenges, especially regarding the volume of traffic at key points of the day. We want to keep our students and families safe, be good stewards of the environment and also reduce the amount of traffic stress on the area and on ourselves. We will be setting up a school traffic advisory group soon. We hope to devise some practical, common sense strategies for easing the traffic impact. With new strategies and procedures, plus a few bus routes, we aim to make the morning and afternoon commute to school more pleasant.

5) Improving and Upgrading Facilities – we heard you! There is a desire for safer, cleaner, upgraded and more modern facilities that will meet the needs of a growing college prep school. There is a current plan underway to address daily custodial and maintenance needs under the direction of our new Director of Parish Operations, so expect to see improvement soon. For the bigger picture needs, Father Jason will be commencing a Campus Master Plan project soon, engaging all parish and school constituencies. We are hoping for full community engagement – so look out for more information soon. These are exciting times for St. Benedict Parish and Preparatory School.

Looking to Next School Year...

6) Communication about re-visioning of the parish school into ONE PK-12 school, with emphasis on the secondary school. We heard you here as well – we need to communicate more clearly and

proactively about the strategic goals of the school’s future, especially about what is happening with the secondary school. You want to know our goals, how are we improving and the hard proof to show it. And, you want all of this communicated clearly and concisely. We’ve recently revamped the school website and hopefully with this more user-friendly tool, our community will be better informed. Our school advisory board PR/Marketing committee is also working on a communications plan and messaging points for all of us to use. And recently, we’ve hired a Director of Communications for the parish and school to also help create more eﬀective communications as well, such as a revamped, more user-friendly BUZZ. We look forward to telling our compelling story.

7) Fundraising and asking for money and stuff all the time – Successful fundraising is an essential component for a Catholic school, this you get. However, how can we be more thoughtful of how often we ask for financial support? Recently, the school finance committee began compiling a calendar of the fundraising events and programs across the campus. We will be looking at this to come up with recommendations and best practices to reduce the number of times we ask for something yet finding a way to meet our financial and community outreach program goals. 8) Continue to strengthen our great parish and school community – Our community is our

greatest asset. This was acknowledged time and again, whether it was from parents, students or faculty. However, we cannot rest on our laurels. We need to continue looking at ways to be open, welcoming, dynamic and inclusive. We need to ensure that as the school grows, we don’t lose our sense of “family.” We need to make sure we value all members of our community, we continue to invite all to the table and ﬁnd ways to eliminate anyone feeling alienated from our community. One of the major goals of the Parish Strategic Plan (to be rolled out soon) is to strengthen the partnership between parish and school. We hope the overall parish and school community building strategies impact and strengthen the overall school community as well.

Planned Improvements for Next Year 2014-15 • • • • • • •

Additional fourth grade classroom (4th classroom) and ﬁfth grade classroom (3rd classroom) Interactive Whiteboards for Kindergarten and First Grades Handwriting Without Tears Program and Teacher Training for Kindergarten Support Materials for Balanced Literacy Program Grades K-5 Director of Parish and School Stewardship (Advancement Support) ACT Prep Class for secondary students Additional facilities work to upgrade and modernize classrooms throughout the campus Computer Based Adaptive Assessments (NWEA Measures of Academic Progress MAP Testing) for students in grades K-12 to inform teaching • Major reconstruction of the Byron Wall of the secondary school • Replace gym roof • Master Planning Project

Looking to Next School Year...

Other factors impacting the 2013-14 cost of education at St. Benedict Preparatory School • • • • • • •

Health insurance annual increase of $720 for a total of $9720 per full time employee Increase in property/casualty insurance costs 2.5% wage increase for staﬀ and teachers (wage increases set by Archdiocese) Increase in per pupil “assessment” required by the Oﬃce of Catholic Schools Increase in custodial services costs Security system annual subscription fee Additional $100 increase for middle school (grades 6-8) to cover cost of electives and the many options available.

Overview of Major Facilities Upgrades Either Completed or Commencing Soon Heating Plant Upgrades for the Campus • Work completed 100% asbestos remediation of main campus heating plant. • Work completed 100% re-insulation of main campus heating plant • Repairs completed to bring boiler #1 into code compliance

Project Total: $77,323.00

Looking to Next School Year...

School Campus Security System Installation (using proceeds from last year’s Ball and Auction’s Fund-a-Need which raised $26,500) • Project is moving forward with installation of wiring with chosen contractor Precision & SBTC • Initial Scope includes: • Card Readers at all school entrances/Outside and Courtyard • IP cameras at main entrances monitored by reception. • Re-Keying of existing doors • Door Open Indicators on all Ext. Doors • System Monitoring Integrated IP web based • Replacement of doors 3.5 and 4

Project total cost: $144,911.00 Cost Breakdown: • • • • •

$83,500 Base System (including panels, door hardware, and installation) $24,946 Cable, raceway, and cable installation) $12,965 Replacement of Doors and Frames for Doors “4 & 3.5” $10,000 Additional IP Cameras $1,700 Update Door Closers Building 1

Looking to Next School Year...

Gymnasium Roof Replacement – Spring 2014? The Facilities Committee has determined that the roof membrane of the gym is in need of replacement. We are currently in the process of soliciting bids. Due to ongoing leakage, this project will be scheduled ASAP once weather permits.

Building 2 Facade Repairs (The Wall :) • • • • • • • •

Repair of South Wall of Original High School Building along Byron Street. Scope includes: Scaﬀolding from driveway entrance to corner of school entrance Remove all exterior courses of brick. Remove outside steel plate on lintels and shelf angles Replace steel and weld to existing beams Apply perm barrier Install new face bricks Replace any broken stone along parapet and stone base.

Project cost approximately $185,000

State of the School

Winter 2014

M AKING C ATHOLIC E DUCATION A FFORDABLE

Making Catholic Education Affordable

Making Catholic Education Affordable at SBPS St. Benedict Preparatory School has adopted the Tuition Covenant financial strategy suggested by the Office of Catholic Schools. Essentially this plan encourages Catholic schools to • Base tuition on what it actually costs to educate a child (this is the non-parishioner rate) • Provide financial assistance to families who demonstrate need (our Tuition Covenant Grants) • Ask families who can afford the cost of this education to pay full cost or at least contribute the difference in costs between parishioner tuition and the per-pupil cost (Fund Our Future) Families who demonstrate financial need are encouraged to apply for a Tuition Covenant Grant. This grant is awarded to families with students in grades K-12. These grants award families up to forty percent of the amount of tuition. There are many factors considered in this process besides income earned: number of children in Catholic schools or college, single parents, death of a spouse, loss of work, disability, etc. Families need to complete an application and submit it to SBPS by Friday, March 14th. Applications are available in the elementary school office or secondary school office or on the school website. The financial assistance form allows parents to explain any special circumstances that need to be considered. Families with more than one child in Catholic schools are encouraged to apply for the Tuition Covenant Grants. The goal is to support families of any size to afford a Catholic education for their children. Financial assistance awards will be distributed in May so that parents can make their decisions regarding registration for next year. High school families awarded Tuition Covenant Grants need to fulfill a Work Study agreement by May of the school year. Essentially, high school families need to complete one hour of volunteer work for each $20 awarded in tuition discount. Last year over 16,000 volunteer hours were completed by high school students and families who received the benefit of tuition assistance. These students have supported parish and school programs and events. Their work is critical to the overall program success.

Making Catholic Education Affordable

TUITION & FEE SCHEDULE St. Benedict Preparatory School PRESCHOOL Program 2014-15

Tuition and Fees

3 Half - Days

3 Full - Days

5 Half -Days

5 Full - Days

Annual Tuition Supplies Fee Activities and Trips Fee FACTS Tuition Program Fee

$6025 $200 $110

$6725 $200 $110

$7125 $200 $110

$30 per family

$6365

$7065

$7465

Total Tuition and Fees

Additional Fees, Costs and Incentives Fundraising and Volunteer Requirements The tuition and enrollment fee includes all program course fees and expenses (except middle school “one-toone” technology costs). There is no mandatory fundraising fee or volunteer requirement. Our school community has thrived over the past years because families give generously of their time, talent and treasure. We encourage families to contribute as their time and income allows.

New Family Enrollment Fees $200.00 per child for NEW families PLUS the $500 new family fee. These fees are due at the time of enrollment and guarantees your child’s space for the school year. The enrollment fee and the new family fee are NON-REFUNDABLE. Non-parishioner fee $600.00 per child – this fee is rolled into tuition payments Annual Re-Enrollment Fee $200.00 per child for CURRENT SCHOOL FAMILIES (due at enrollment)

FACTS Tuition Payment Program By enrolling in FACTS, parents can make 11 equal monthly payments from July to May. The payments are automatically deducted from a speciﬁed bank account. Parents will be billed $30.00 per family FACTS enrollment fee with their ﬁrst tuition payment. All school families participating in either the two-payment or 11-payment plan need to enroll in FACTS.

Preschool Extended Care Annual Fee (no increase in rates since 2006-07) Three Days AM $500.00 Five Days AM $900.00 Three Days PM $1650.00 Five Days PM $2600.00 Three Days AM/PM $2100.00 Five Days AM/PM $3400.00 *** AM extended care hours 7AM to 7:45AM PM extended care hours 2:45PM to 6PM *** NEW FAMILY FEE $500 per family This ONE TIME initial fee is for families new to the school. The funds raised from this fee go into a special capital improvements account and will be used for extraordinary building and maintenance costs. This fee is considered part of the enrollment fee and is non-refundable.

Making Catholic Education Affordable

TUITION & FEE SCHEDULE St. Benedict Preparatory School Elementary School (K-5)

Grades Kindergarten through Grade 5 TUITION for 2014-15

St. Benedict Parishioner Tuition

NonParishioner Tuition

Annual FACTS Enrollment Tuition Program Fee Fee

1 Child

$5,925

$7,075

$200

$30 per family

2 Children

$10,750

$13,050

$400

$30 per family

3 Children

$15,575

$19,025

$400

$30 per family

4 Children

$20,400

$25,000

$400

$30 per family

Additional Fees, Costs and Incentives Fundraising and Volunteer Requirements

The tuition and enrollment fee includes all program course fees and expenses (except middle school “one-toone” technology costs). There is no mandatory fundraising fee or volunteer requirement. Our school community has thrived over the past years because families give generously of their time, talent and treasure. We encourage families to contribute as their time and income allows.

Early Re-Enrollment Incentive

Re-enroll by Friday, March 14, 2014 to receive $75.00 oﬀ the tuition balance – (ONE DISCOUNT PER SCHOOL FAMILY). The annual re-enrollment fee is due at the time of enrollment and guarantees your child’s space for the school year. The Annual Re-Enrollment Fee is NON-REFUNDABLE.

NEW FAMILY FEE $500 per family This ONE TIME initial fee is for families new to the school. The funds raised from this fee go into a special capital improvements account and will be used for extraordinary building and maintenance costs. This fee is required at enrollment and is non-refundable.

Making Catholic Education Affordable

TUITION & FEE SCHEDULE St. Benedict Preparatory School Secondary School

MIDDLE SCHOOL 6th – 8th GRADE TUITION for 2014-15

St. Benedict Parishioner Tuition

NonParishioner Tuition

Annual FACTS Enrollment Tuition Program Fee Fee

1 Child

$6,025

$7,175

$200

$30 per family

2 Children

$10,950

$13,250

$400

$30 per family

3 Children

$15,875

$19,325

$400

$30 per family

4 Children

$20,800

$25,400

$400

$30 per family

Additional Fees, Costs and Incentives Fundraising and Volunteer Requirements

The tuition and enrollment fee includes all program course fees and expenses (except middle school “oneto-one” technology costs). There is no mandatory fundraising fee or volunteer requirement. Our school community has thrived over the past years because families give generously of their time, talent and treasure. We encourage families to contribute as their time and income allows.

Early Enrollment Incentive

Register by Friday, March 14, 2014 to receive $75.00 oﬀ the tuition balance – (ONE DISCOUNT PER SCHOOL FAMILY). The annual enrollment fee is due at the time of enrollment and guarantees your child’s space for the school year. The Annual Re-Enrollment Fee is NON-REFUNDABLE.

Middle School One-to-One Technology Fee $100

(these costs will be rolled into annual tuition costs) Incoming 6-8th students need to bring their own laptop or table device. The fee contributes to the overall cost of technology support and infrastructure for the campus.

Graduation Fee for 8th Grade Students $85 – this cost will be rolled into total tuition and fees due. NEW FAMILY FEE $500 per family This ONE TIME initial fee is for families new to the school. The funds raised from this fee go into a special capital improvements account and will be used for extraordinary building and maintenance costs. This fee is required at enrollment and is non-refundable.

Making Catholic Education Affordable St. Benedict Preparatory School

High School

Tuition and Costs for the 2014-15 Academic Year Freshman

Sophomore

Junior

Senior

Tuition Retreats and Activities

$9450

$100

Technology

$100

Total

$9,650

$275 tablet lease $9,825

Additional Fees, Costs and Incentives Fundraising and Volunteer Requirements There is no mandatory fundraising fee or volunteer requirement. Our school community has thrived over the past years because families give generously of their time, talent and treasure. We encourage families to contribute as their time and income allows.

Early Re-Enrollment Incentive

Register by March 14, 2014 to receive $75.00 oﬀ the tuition balance – (ONE DISCOUNT PER SCHOOL FAMILY). The annual re-enrollment fee is due at the time of enrollment and guarantees your child’s space for the school year. The Annual Re-Enrollment Fee is NON-REFUNDABLE (Enrollment must be check or cash).

FACTS Tuition Payment Program By enrolling in FACTS, parents can make 11 equal monthly payments from July to May. The payments are automatically deducted from a speciﬁed bank account. Parents are asked to pay the $30.00 per family FACTS enrollment fee. All school families participating in either the two-payment or 11-payment plan need to enroll in FACTS.

Graduation Fee for Seniors $175 – this cost will be rolled into total tuition and fees due. Other Costs and Fees that Impact Overall Cost of Education The tuition and enrollment fee may not include all program course fees and expenses. Some courses may have a nominal lab or course fee to help cover extraordinary expenses. Most high school course require families to purchase textbooks and other learning materials. Information on purchasing/renting textbooks, purchasing uniforms and paying athletic fees will be forthcoming.

High School Program One-to-One Technology Fee $100 per student Incoming 9-12 students need to bring their own laptop or table device (except for seniors still participating in the ASUS Tablet lease program). The fee contributes to the overall cost of technology support and infrastructure for the campus. NEW FAMILY FEE $500 per family This ONE TIME initial fee is for families new to the school. The funds raised from this fee go into a special capital improvements account and will be used for extraordinary building and maintenance costs. This fee may be rolled into tuition or paid in full in July.

Joe Accardi

Published on Feb 19, 2014

State Of The School - Winter 2014

Published on Feb 19, 2014

State Of The School - Winter 2014

jaccardi

Go explore