State of the School 2025

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ST. BENEDICT PREPARATORY SCHOOL STATE OF THE SCHOOL 2025

“There is an appointed time for everything, and a time for every affair under the heavens.”

Ecclesiastes 3:1

As this familiar line from Ecclesiastes was being proclaimed at Father Steve Kanonik’s funeral in January, the tears started to well up in my eyes. Yes, we know that there is a time for everything, but sometimes the timing of significant events in our lives just doesn’t make sense. Sometimes the timing of these events throws so much off the course. Father Steve’s untimely death has certainly left a hole in our community and has put some plans on hold. Now, we find ourselves waiting for the next pastor who will be the shepherd of our parish and school. The absence and uncertainty are certainly palpable.

In this time of uncertainty, though, we have many strengths here at SBPS to provide us a solid foundation to continue working on our mission. Because we have a vision and stick to the mission, we persevere in faith during this time of waiting.

Despite our challenges there has been continued progress and successes this year. This year’s State of the School intends to help celebrate this progress and success so far this year. We usually publish the State of the School tandem with the new tuition rates for the new school year so parents can feel confident about the financial investment they’ve made in their children.

Many school parents make a significant financial commitment to send their child(ren) to St. Benedict Preparatory School. We want our families to know that we are committed to keeping parents wellinformed about where their tuition dollars are going, as well as the vision and plan for the school.

Our goal is to continue the success of school programs, implement the new school strategic plan all the while promoting our successes and accomplishments. 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 years at SBPS thanks to the dedicated staff, supportive parents, caring pastors, generous donors and parishioners. There are many successes which we are excited to share with our stakeholders. As we await the arrival of our next pastor, let us continue to build a strong parish school that we can proudly hand over to him.

Please enjoy this year’s State of the School!

Ms. Rachel Gemo, Head of Parish School

St. Benedict Preparatory School

Making Catholic Education Affordable at SBPS ST. BENEDICT PREPARATORY SCHOOL HAS ADOPTED THE TUITION COVENANT FINANCIAL MODEL. ESSENTIALLY THIS PLAN ENCOURAGES CATHOLIC SCHOOLS TO: • Base tuition on what it actually costs to educate a child (this is the standard rate) • Provide financial assistance to families who demonstrate need (our Financial Aid 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 (Annual School Fund) Families who demonstrate financial need are encouraged to apply for a Financial Aid Grant. This grant is awarded to families with students in grades K-8. These grants award families up to forty percent of the amount of tuition. There are many factors considered in this process : 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 Thursday, March 28th. Applications are available through 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 Financial Aid Grants. The goal is to support families of any size to afford a Catholic education for their children. Financial assistance awards will be awarded in April so that parents can make their decisions regarding reenrollment for next year.

2025-26 COST OF EDUCATION • Approximate 10% Health Insurance Increase - $17, 338 per benefits-eligible employee • Approximate 25% Increase in property/casualty insurance costs • Approximate 3.8% wage increase for staff and teachers (wage increases set by the Archdiocese) • 45% Increase in electrical costs and other utilities such as water and Internet • Added mandatory operational expenses from the Archdiocese We value all that our parishioner families do for the parish and school. You make our community vibrant and dynamic. Membership as an engaged parishioner at St. Benedict Parish requires that families give of their time, talent and treasure to support its many ministries. This participation is essential to the life and the lifegiving of the parish. It is because of this participation that St. Benedict Parish and Preparatory School will extend the $1,100 parishioner grant for each family, plus an additional $1,000 for each sibling. A family with three students K-8 is receiving a parishioner grant of $3100 in tuition discounts.

Please understand that being a parishioner at St. Benedict Parish means more than just completing the parish application. Since parishioners are given the benefit of lowered tuition, they are expected to attend Mass regularly, volunteer in parish or school ministries and support the parish financially according to the means of the family. Family participation in parish activities is essential for the growth and vitality of the school. This is the essence of stewardship.

State of the School 2025

We are dedicated to ensuring that all students are meeting their academic potential, no matter where they begin. We measure our progress in this area by conducting i-Ready Diagnostic Assessments three times throughout the school year. Teachers utilize the assessments to determine how to best personalize each student’s learning and to monitor progress.

COMPARISON TO STATEWIDE AND LOCAL MEASURES

87%

84% 77%

71%

67%

64%

76% 35%

60%

27%

Although our students significantly outperform statewide reading and math proficiency levels, our goals are set much highter to insure all students are growing academically.

87% of our students are on/above grade level for reading and 84% for math.

According to the Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR), only 35% of Illinois students are meeting proficiency standards for reading and 27% for math.

You can also see how our students compare to local CPS schools.

64%

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74%

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Our ac system targets stu We achiev gain in rea the 2 scho

GRO W

Not only have we achieved gains in the percentage of students reaching proficiency in both reading and math, we have also seen the percentage of students falling seriously behind decrease each of the last three years.

2021/22

T H

cademic mwide goal udent growth. ved a 3-point ading during 2023/24 ool year.

INCREASING STUDENT PROFICIENCY OVER TIME

2022/23

87%

84%

1%

1%

2023/24

2021/22

2022/23

2023/24

Learn Fearlessly PROGRESS iReady Scores GRADE

SUBJECT

2021-21

2022-23

2023-24

6th

Reading

68

83

85

6th

Math

78

90

85

7th

Reading

71

85

92

7th

Math

72

80

86

8th

Reading

70

75

85

8th

Math

75

78

74

The above chart shows the percentage of students meeting or exceeding grade level benchmarks.

Students perform better the longer they are with us. In the middle school years, achievement really comes from a student’s hard work and perseverance. We are blessed to have a student and faculty culture that values learning and growing.

Investing in a K-8 SBPS education pays off. When we look at the middle school’s test scores, we can see achievement continues to blossom. In a competitive high school market, students must test well to get into the top schools.

The next chart shows the success and growth of the same cohort of students as they travel through the middle school years.

Proof is in High School Acceptances: Of the members of the Class of 2025 who tested at a Catholic High School, 95% got into their top choice.

Middle School Progress 2021-22

2022-23

2023-24

Class of 25 Reading

68

85

85

Class of 25 Math

71

75

74

Class of 24 Reading

71

75

92

Class of 24 Reading

71

78

86

St. Benedict Preparatory School

Why Catholic Education? Why a St. Benedict Catholic Education?

SBPS

Bell

Coonley

Audubon

Waters

Blaine

McPhereson

Jahn

Teacher-Parent Trust

99

72

52

93

84

77

75

60

Socialization of New Teachers

95

45

76

99

52

69

60

35

Parent Involvement in School

93

77

74

87

85

80

68

48

Human & Social Resources in the Community

78

86

98

99

84

89

60

66

Student Responsibility

78

75

52

63

71

77

52

33

Parent Influence on Decision Making in Schools

77

72

60

68

77

72

61

45

Student Peer Relationships

72

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

Peer Support for Academic Work

69

69

59

66

55

60

61

65

Safety

66

61

64

68

47

58

33

76

Rigorous Study Habits

62

59

n/a

53

40

57

41

85

Teacher Safety

62

46

47

65

51

57

52

56

Math Instruction

60

55

56

68

67

77

63

78

Quality of Student Discussion

59

61

37

45

58

96

30

32

Quality Professional Development

58

60

36

83

75

69

68

34

Teacher-Principal Trust

57

47

15

63

47

51

37

27

Program Coherence

55

31

35

89

68

76

52

19

Classroom Rigor

53

49

52

63

48

49

51

65

Parent Supportiveness

53

42

60

43

33

47

1

29

School Commitment

49

48

16

59

61

65

48

26

Instructional Leadership

44

40

26

71

42

52

40

14

Collaborative Practices

43

30

28

60

58

65

34

25

MEASURES

With the 5 Essentials Survey data, we can measure the important “soft” markers of school strengths. As you can see from the chart above comparing SBPS to most of the local public schools – there is something that stands out about Catholic education. Our community – students, staff and parents – are united in a common set of values and expectations. Grounded in faith and united in mission, the St. Benedict community creates a safe, caring, supportive environment where collaboration, commitment and high expectations translates into excellence. Yes, a Catholic Education costs more than a public education – but your children are worth it!

State of the School 2025

Learn Fearlessly PERFORMING ARTS ALIVE AT

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1ST-8TH GRADE

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4TH-8TH GRADE

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6TH-8TH GRADE

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Benedictine Children’s Choir 3RD-8TH GRADE

35

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Lead Responsibly FOSTERING LEADERSHIP Numbers of Student Leaders LITURGY COMMITTEE - 82

SERVICE COMMITTEE - 16

HOUSE LEADERS - 25

STUDENT COUNCIL - 32 ES/15 MS

St. Benedict Preparatory School

Parents Answer the Call HOME AND SCHOOL ASSOCIATION

2024 FUN RUN RAISED $144,000+ 2024 GARAGE SALE RAISED ALMOST $30,000 2023-24 ANNUAL SCHOOL FUND RAISED $250,000+ 2024 GALA GOAL RAISED OVER $600,000 THANK YOU COMMITTEE MEMBERS AND DONORS! THE SCHOOL ADVISORY BOARD WILL BE SEEKING NEW MEMBERS SOON Areas of expertise and interest needed: Facilities & Construction, Marketing, Communications, Diversity & Inclusion, and Catholic Education. Email to learn more at sbpsadvisoryboard@stbenedict.com.

State of the School 2025

Serve Joyfully ATHLETICS Student Athletes

Coaches

FALL Flag Football - 32 Cross Country - 96 Girls Volleyball - 79

FALL Cross Country - 8 Flag Football - 2 Girls Volleyball - 10

WINTER Boys Basketball - 117 Girls Basketball - 76 Dance - 14

WINTER Boys Basketball - 22 Girls Basketball - 19 Dance - 1

SPRING Baseball - 52 Track - 25 Boys Volleyball - 39 Girls Volleyball - 85

SPRING Baseball - 3 Track - 6 Boys Volleyball - 5 Girls Volleyball - 10

BITTY SPORTS Running Club - 79 Basketball - 165 Cheer - 48

BITTY SPORTS Running Club - 1 Head coach with 6-10 parent volunteers each day Basketball - 35 Cheer - 3

State of the School 2025

A Year of Progress: AN UPDATE ON OUR STRAT Our Strategic Plan, “Aspirations 2028,” is our guiding document for the direction in which we are collectively moving the school forward. This is done with the help of faculty, staff and the school advisory board. Over the course of the past year, we’ve been working on our goals and objectives outlined in this plan. Here are some of our accomplishments so far this year.

I. LEARNING FEARLESSLY: TALENT DEVELOPMENT The school faculty and administration has been working on implementing Standards Based Learning and Assessment under the guidance of Deb Nicholai, a Marzano Group consultant. Thanks to the 2024 Gala, we were able to afford this important professional development resource to help the faculty and administration learn how to use Standards Based Learning and proficiency scales. We have mapped out our professional development plan for 2025-26. We look forward to communicating more about Standards Based Learning over the summer and the coming year.

Additionally, the administration created new faculty-led teams to help implement the school responsibilities regarding this strategic plan. We have an active group of leaders facilitating curriculum committees such as life skills, service learning, math, English-langauge arts, science, educational technology and social-emotional learning.

II. SERVING JOYFULLY: A PLACE FOR EACH PERSON Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee is proud to share that we have established a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committee on the board. We have seen in recent months, corporations backing away from upholding DE&I principles. The school advisory board and administration feel it is essential to do the work of DE&I here at SBPS since our Gospel values teach us to be an inclusive community.

One of the first things this committee accomplished was writing a Root Beliefs Statement for DE&I for the school community: “In alignment with our Catholic values, rooted in Jesus’ teachings of love and acceptance, we are dedicated to building a vibrant and inclusive school community that embraces our ever-growing diverse backgrounds. We engage students, faculty, parents and the wider community in ongoing dialogue and collaborative initiatives that promotes equity and understanding our differences, while driving meaningful change together.”

In conjunction with the Catholic Identity, the DE&I Committee has worked to bring more awareness of our community via grade appropriate service projects. Next steps include working on plans to enhance diversity education for all SBPS stakeholders. There are also plans to host an “Around the World“ potluck celebration of cultures and countries in 2025.

The Catholic Identity Committee is focused on expanding service opportunities for our students and families. Our goal is for service to become more of a regular occurrence throughout a student’s school year. This fall, each class K-5 had a chance to volunteer at various organizations and will have another opportunity in the spring. Moving forward we hope to create a “roadmap” of what a student’s volunteer “career” will look like when they graduate from 8th grade. Additionally, we’d like to create volunteer opportunities for the whole family.

St. Benedict Preparatory School

TEGIC PLAN

Aspirations

2028

The Catholic Identity Committee also created a job description for a Director of Student Life who will oversee the implementation of a rich co-curricular and extra-curricular program. SBPS Administration hopes to be interviewing for this position soon.

III. LEADING RESPONSIBLY: FACILITIES FOR THE FUTURE The facilities committee has been organizing essential facilities projects needed around the campus, prioritizing the work and advising on projects. The facilities committee plans to hire an architect firm to create a vision for updating the old high school building (building along Bell) to support current and future PK-8 programming and parish needs. The facilities committee was very instrumental in the remodeling of the Ackerman Center as well as the gym/church chiller replacement.

IV. LEADING RESPONSIBLY: THOUGHTFUL STEWARDSHIP The Finance Committee led the annual review of the school operating budget to recommend tuition adjustments to the Advisory Board and school leadership. We have developed a flexible financial model template to evaluate scenarios in the school operating budget. This committee has also collaborated with the Director of Finance and Operations to create a comprehensive snapshot of teacher salary, benefits, bonus, and stipend opportunities over time.

The Development Committee has been working hard to make progress on our strategic plan goals for Aspirations 2028 focusing on alumni relations. We are excited to announce that we are bringing back the alumni committee to re-engage our alumni community and continue to foster the amazing relationships that St. Ben’s helped develop. We are looking forward to hosting our workshop on March 24th at 6 PM in Heidenreich Hall where anyone interested in getting involved in alumni relations and events can come learn more about our alumni engagement plan and get involved. This committee also revised the Director of Development Job Description and separated out the alumni relations responsibilities.

V. LEADING RESPONSIBLY: SHARING OUR STORY The Marketing Committee of the board is supporting Ms. Ashley Foster, Director of Enrollment and Marketing, with strengthening the Parent Ambassador program. They continuously provide marketing ideas and feedback on marketing content such as yard signs (print/video/social media). Additionally, they provide support for Open House events and help expand community outreach that promotes Preschool and Kindergarten enrollment. This committee is also working on gathering quality parent and student testimonials for marketing and promotional purposes.

As you can see, the board and SBPS school staff have made a lot of progress in year one of implementing the strategic plan. Please go to the school website if you’d like to see the plan in its entirety. If any of the goals and objectives excite you, please consider joining the School Advisory Board either as a 3-year member or as a committee member. We will begin seeking board applications after spring break.

State of the School 2025

School Culture Catholic Identity - What Parents and Students are Saying We believe our faith-based approach to education not only contributes to greater academic outcomes, but also provides the next generation with the skill set and moral compass to achieve a fulfilling, successful tomorrow. We measure our progress on Catholic identity initiatives through a supplemental survey to the annual 5Essentials Survey.

We believe that supportive environments encourage growth. We measure our progress in this area by conducting the 5Essentials Survey annually. This survey includes teachers, students, and parents, and was developed by the University of Chicago. Their research has shown that schools strong on at least three of the five essentials are 10 times more likely to improve student learning than schools weak on three or more.

“Masses and prayers at our school effectively engage the children and meet them where they are at in their faith journey.”

- 92% “Parents encounter teachers and staff witnessing the Catholic faith in their interactions with others.”

- 96%

“When we pray and go to Mass together at my school, students have many opportunities to actively participate ” - 94%

“My child is receiving a Catechetically-based, rigorous education in the foundations of the Catholic faith.”

- 100%

“My school teaches me about the value of love and respect for people of all races.”

- 97%

“SBPS provides ways for parents to grow in their knowledge and love of the Catholic faith.”

- 97%

St. Benedict Preparatory School

“Religious instruction is academically rigorous and rooted in Catholic catechetical teaching.”

- 98%

What Make SBPS Different Most school supplies included in tuition (only need to buy a few things during summer)

No additional instructional/book fee (Tuition covers approx $320 per student)

No mandatory service hours No mandatory fundraising Field trips in PK-5 are included in the tuition

(approx $115 per student)

Middle School programming

(Electives, Advisory, Agora, Bengal Prep, House)

Inclusion Program, Full-Time Nurse and Counselor

S t a t e o f t h e S c h o o l 2 0 2 45

19 Middle School

Electives

Creative Writing Sportology Community Outreach Theater Art Civil Rights Creative Writing Popular Literature Coding Journalism Gardening Dance Epic Engineering Geometry International Studies Forensics Communications Band Strings

Parish Education Endowment Update

Part of the legacy of St. Benedict High School (1950-2019) is our Parish Education Endowment. Currently our endo It was established to provide a savings account for our school, managed by the archdiocese, from which the intere awards. The annual awarding of scholarships is a way the endowment assists current families who have children e nine (9) key individuals who made an impact on the community during their time here. Each scholarship is awarde that exemplifies our unique program. The endowment oversight committee has recently approved the updating of scholarships to be awarded to rising students in grades 4-8 as well as certain ones that are strictly for our rising m All the awards have been increased or maintained at $1,000 each. Applications are taken in November each year w of January during Catholic Schools Week.

Scholarship Honorees

How Does the Endowment Work?

SCHOLARSHIPS TO BE AWARDED TO UPCOMING STUDENTS IN GRADES 4-8:

1) Gifts of cash, stocks, etc. are deposited in our

endowment account with the Archdiocese of C

2) The interest from this account is then awarded scholarships to current students.

3) This interest is divided to fund the yearly awar students who exhibit excellence.

BAND AND STRINGS

CREATIVE SPIRIT

CHOIR

In Memory of Mr. Edward Stark

In Memory of Ms. Carol Molenda

In Memory of Susan (Kass) Perschke, ‘65

SCHOLARSHIPS AWARDED SOLELY TO UPCOMING MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS:

Therefore an endowment with $200,000 on depo a year will earn the school approximately $10,000 current interest rates. So growing the endowmen ensure funded scholarships for many years.

Donate Today to the Endowment F For more information contact Mr. Joe Accardi, Director of Alumni Relations at 773-509-3832 CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP

COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP

CREATIVE WRITING

In Memory of Fr. Arthur Krueger

Honoring Mr. Bob McTigue

In Memory of Mr. Patrick Heffernan ‘72

MATHEMATICS

PERFORMING ARTS

SCHOOL SPIRIT

In Memory of Sister Natalie Gerlach, S.S.S.F.

Honoring Mrs. Laurette Kittler

In Memory of Coach Chris Ford

St. Benedict Preparatory School

or jaccardi@stbenedict.com

MS. GEMO PRE ANGELINA BITYOU WI 2025-2026 CHOIR SCHOLARSHIP IN ME SUSAN KASS PERSCHKE ‘ YEAR’S AWARD C

owment has grown to over $290,000. est would provide the funding for scholarship enrolled. These scholarships are named for ed for an academic talent or Christian virtue the scholarship program to allow various middle school grade students to apply. with the naming of awardees at the end

d in

Fund!

ESENTS ITH THE R AWARD EMORY OF ‘65 AT THIS CEREMONY.

$ Investments

rds to

osit for 0 at the nt will

Endowment

(A School’s Savings Account)

Tuitions & Grants

Operating Account

(A School’s Checking Account)

Returns on Investments

special Chicago.

Large Donations & Other Major Gifts

Expenses & Salaries

S T. B E N E D I C T P R E PA R ATO R Y S C H O O L

Aspirations

2028

2023-2028 Strategic Plan Overview Summary To view our 5-Year Plan, please go to: stbenedict.com.

Learn Fearlessly. Lead Responsibly. Serve Joyfully.