STRATEGIC PLAN STRATEGIC PLAN
ST. JAMES ACADEMY HIGH SCHOOL
ST. JAMES ACADEMY STRATEGIC PLAN
St. James Academy was founded in August 2005 with the mission of passing on the Catholic faith to the next generation. As we approach our 20th anniversary, that mission continues to thrive on a daily basis. In 2020, the Board of Trustees and the Administrative Team began implementing a three-year Strategic Plan aimed at expanding the school’s facilities and enhancing its programs. Several significant achievements were realized during this time, including the completion of key buildings, the creation of new positions, and the addition of innovative academic offerings.
• Created a Campus Master Plan for expansion of our facilities
• Initiated a Capital Campaign for parking, tennis courts, a stadium, and a Cultural Arts Center
• Completed the St. Joseph Fieldhouse
• Built the Spark Center for Academics
• Created the Director of Culture and Engagement position
• Added additional course offerings, including a new Rhetoric and Media Arts program
• Established a new teacher-leadership model and additional supports for teachers
Over the past three years, St. James Academy has made great strides in growth and improvement. Following a review of our previous strategic plan, along with input from senior leaders, faculty, parents, and the Board, we’ve updated our strategic goals for the next three years. These goals reflect the feedback from our surveys and ongoing discussions with the school community. We are excited to continue enhancing our engagement with parents, further developing academic strategies, and pursuing the long-held dream of a Cultural Arts Center, which is supported by our Mission Forward Campaign and generous donors.
Our enrollment is at an all-time high, and campus expansion is underway, including the new stadium, fieldhouse, tennis courts, and Cultural Arts Center. Despite these physical improvements, our core mission remains the same: to pass on the Catholic Faith and form disciples of Jesus. This mission, entrusted to us by Archbishop James Kelleher over 20 years ago, is stronger than ever and continues to guide our path forward. The growth of our newly established Futures (Alumni) Board also helps strengthen connections with our alumni, ensuring that St. James Academy’s mission endures for future generations.
Andy Tylicki President
Kathy Rasmussen Board Chair
"Christ is not an afterthought or an add-on to Catholic educational philosophy; he is the center and fulcrum of the entire enterprise, the light enlightening every boy and girl who comes into a Catholic school,”
Archbishop Michael Miller, The Holy See’s Teaching on Catholic Schools
MISSION
St. James Academy exists to pass on the Catholic faith to the next generation. The community is rooted in the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church and is dedicated to developing the minds and hearts of young people to know Truth, choose Good and live virtuously in the service of others.
VALUE STATEMENTS
PRAYER AND SACRAMENTS
We value a life rooted in prayer and the sacraments. We have established a tradition of living the sacramental life on a daily basis as a means to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
TRUTH
We value a rigorous, well-rounded academic education rooted in the liberal arts and Catholic intellectual tradition, balanced with modern innovation, that leads to a discovery of Truth.
RELATIONSHIPS
We value a tradition of cultivating relationships through community and prayer. We intentionally create bonds with our students, staff, and families, united with Jesus and the Magisterium of His universal Church.
LEADERSHIP
We value preparing our students to share the light of Christ in the world by following God’s plan for each one of us. They learn and practice the skills to be leaders in their families, parishes, communities, fields of study, and workforce, within whatever vocation God calls them.
2025-2027 VISION STATEMENT
St. James Academy will be the leading Catholic high school where students learn to live the Faith, to pursue Truth through the liberal arts combined with modern innovation, and to find a relationship with God, each other, and the adults who love them.
CONTINUE PARENT AND FAMILY INITIATIVES
Continue the work started during the previous strategic plan to further engage families intentionally in the education and formation of their children and provide meaningful opportunities for all family members to contribute to and engage with St. James Academy.
1. Create a quarterly reflection opportunity for students and parents tied to the grade-level Essential Question.
2. Broaden the impact of Father/Son and Mother/Daughter retreats by increasing participation.
3. Establish events as follow-ups to Parent Boot Camp for each semester.
4. Regularly publish updates from the Faith and Mission department to the broader community.
DEEPEN THE LIBERAL ARTS APPROACH TO EDUCATION
Take further steps in renewing the intellectual life at St. James in a manner that is thoroughly Catholic in its vision and implementation to create new educational opportunities for students and open up avenues for holistic and interdisciplinary learning.
1. Conduct a Curriculum Redesign process with each department.
2. Create, implement, and assess high-impact learning and service opportunities during Interim Days.
3. Create new electives made possible by classroom spaces added during the capital campaign.
CONNECT WITH OUR ALUMNI
Next steps in living our mission should include maintaining the important relationships started at St. James after students leave in order to support them as they live God’s plan for their lives.
1. Continue to develop the Generations Board to enhance opportunities for further alumni engagement.
2. Engage alumni in the planning of our 20th and 25th anniversary celebrations.
3. Initiate four to five alumni-specific events a year to encourage our graduates to stay connected to St. James.
COMPLETE MISSION FORWARD CAPITAL CAMPAIGN
Continue to take steps to complete phase one of the facilities that will improve student life and foster a sense of belonging and community spirit.
1. Complete tennis courts, parking lots, spaces for track and field events, and phase one of Marian Stadium.
2. Continue developing plans for the Cultural Arts Center to create this critical space dedicated to human formation and leading hearts to God through beauty.
3. Continue to raise dollars for the Mission Forward Campaign, ensuring that the expansion of our campus does not interrupt the operations essential to providing a top-tier Catholic education.
ENSURE BEST PRACTICES ARE BEING IMPLEMENTED
Create mechanisms to review effectiveness and encourage growth within our personnel and programming to ensure the success and sustainability of the mission of St. James long into the future.
1. Formalize and require standardized feedback systems for administration, teachers, coaches, etc. to aid in goal-setting and continuous improvement.
2. Create a systematic approach to after-action reviews of events and initiatives.
3. Review and update existing stakeholder surveys for effectiveness and update them in alignment with the new feedback systems.
Not Final Rendering
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Kathy Rasmussen, Chair
Mike Mahoney, Vice Chair
Teresa Kempf, Finance Chair
Vince Cascone, Archdiocese Superintendent
Andy Tylicki, President of St. James Academy
Mike Book
Brandi Digiorgio
Dan Himmelberg
John Kmetz
Steve Smith
Jeff Tauscher
Fr. Scott Wallisch
Zena Weist
Fr. Jaime Zarse
GENERATIONS BOARD
Ernie Rodriguez, Board President - Class of 2009
Bridget Ferrigan (Roszel), Board Vice President - Class of 2011
Annalise Feder - Class of 2012
Ben Maskus - Class of 2013
Kim Feist (Peterson) - Class of 2009
Blake Nearmyer - Class of 2012
Taylor Welding (Nill) - Class of 2016
Luke Heller - Class of 2018