Executive Summary. Notre Dame High School

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1 Diocese of Lafayette Mrs. Cindy M Istre, Principal 910 N Eastern Ave Crowley, LA Document Generated On January 13, 2016

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 1 Description of the School 2 School's Purpose 4 Notable Achievements and Areas of Improvement 6 Additional Information 7

3 Introduction Every school has its own story to tell. The context in which teaching and learning takes place influences the processes and procedures by which the school makes decisions around curriculum, instruction, and assessment. The context also impacts the way a school stays faithful to its vision. Many factors contribute to the overall narrative such as an identification of stakeholders, a description of stakeholder engagement, the trends and issues affecting the school, and the kinds of programs and services that a school implements to support student learning. The purpose of the Executive Summary (ES) is to provide a school with an opportunity to describe in narrative form the strengths and challenges it encounters. By doing so, the public and members of the school community will have a more complete picture of how the school perceives itself and the process of self-reflection for continuous improvement. This summary is structured for the school to reflect on how it provides teaching and learning on a day to day basis. Page 1

4 Description of the School Describe the school's size, community/communities, location, and changes it has experienced in the last three years. Include demographic information about the students, staff, and community at large. What unique features and challenges are associated with the community/communities the school serves? of Acadia Parish is the only Catholic high school in the parish--a parish rich in Cajun culture and tradition--where diversity and history abound. Home to approximately 62,000 people in 655 square miles, the parish ranges from picturesque town squares to rice fields and crawfish ponds. Acadia Parish, with an economy heavily dependent upon agriculture, is about 79.6% white, 18.3% black and 2.2% Hispanic. The median household income is $37,587, with 18.7% falling below the federal poverty line. Approximately 70.3% of its residents own their home and 72% graduated from high school, while 10% have a B.S. degree or higher. (2014 U.S. Census Bureau online facts) Catholic education in the parish dates back to the early 1800's and has been the anchor for a parish firmly rooted in Catholicism. It is from these deep roots that Notre Dame grew. of Acadia Parish began operation as a Catholic; coeducational school for students in grades 9 through 12 in September of It was formed from the consolidation of three Catholic area high schools in Acadia Parish: St. Michael of Crowley, St. Joseph of Rayne, and St. Francis of Iota. It was "temporarily housed" on the campus of St. Michael. In 1977, the Board of Directors and seven church parishes formally purchased proportionate shares of the existing facility from St. Michael giving NDHS a permanent home. The words NOTRE DAME mean OUR LADY and Our Lady serves as the Patroness of the school with her statue in our center as a constant reminder of our reason for existence. Today, is affiliated with the Diocese of Lafayette and is owned by eight church parishes located in Acadia Parish. Each church parish provides leadership in the governance of the school through the Advisory Council and financially subsidizes the school based on the number of their student parishioners. The school is site-based managed under the direction of a Chancellor (appointed by the Bishop of the Diocese of Lafayette), a team consisting of Principal, Administrator and Dean of Students, and an Advisory Council. Embodying its Mission, Notre Dame provides opportunities for academic, spiritual, athletic, and co-curricular pursuits. The faculty and staff of NDHS is comprised of forty-two hardworking individuals. A "snapshot" shows that 12% have been employed for over 20 years, 31% for over 15 years, and another 12% for over ten years. Approximately 25% are alumni of the school, 30% hold advanced degrees, 30% are male, 2% are black and 2% are Hispanic. These statistics pale in comparison to the 100% who are faithful Christians and who display great loyalty to the Mission of Notre Dame! of Acadia Parish has six Catholic feeder schools. The enrollment historically fluctuates between based on the population of these schools. In August 2015, the school year began with a census of white, five black, nine Asian, two Hispanic/Latino and two American Indian. Of the 402, 196 are male and 206 female. Approximately 25% of these students participate in the Honors track and about 93% participate in some athletic or spirit group. Between 65-80% of our graduates qualify for TOPS, essentially 100% graduate, and 90% attend a college or university. Over the past three years, our school has renovated the gymnasium and weight room, the school entrance and the old library. In addition, a new library/media center and field house were constructed at a cost of nearly $3,000,000. These new facilities and upgrades to existing buildings have allowed for the purchase and installation of more student devices, increase in broadband width and greater Internet speed. Although there has been a small decline in enrollment over the past three years, through the oversight of the Finance Committee of the Advisory Council and the financial generosity of many supporters, the school remains debt free. While each school in the Diocese of Lafayette has a structure and ownership unique to it, Notre Dame's eight-parish ownership proves to be both a blessing and a challenge. Page 2

5 Each owner parish pastor maintains a vote on the Board of Pastors and the "nay" of a single pastor with regard to borrowing money or embarking upon a capital campaign in the name of the school can mean a halt in a long- range plan of progression. Like all Catholic schools, Notre Dame shares the challenge of determining tuition rates and "walking the line" of staying within reach of those parents who desire a quality Catholic education for their student/s; all the while striving to maintain competitive teacher salaries, safe campus facilities and adequate technology. is indeed blessed that its roots are so deeply embedded in the community and that its stakeholders embrace our Mission "to educate its students in mind, body and soul with the love of Jesus, the discipline of Joseph and the faith of Mary." Page 3

6 School's Purpose Provide the school's purpose statement and ancillary content such as mission, vision, values, and/or beliefs. Describe how the school embodies its purpose through its program offerings and expectations for students. MISSION The Mission of of Acadia Parish is to educate its students in mind, body and soul with the love of Jesus, the discipline of Joseph and the faith of Mary. BELIEFS We believe -, in order to promote student learning and religious formation (our chief priorities), will provide experiences which lead all students to a relationship with Christ manifesting itself in justice, mercy and peace. - exists to provide a quality Catholic education in a well-rounded program of challenging academics and extra-/cocurricular activities that promote the development of students who emulate the characteristics of the Holy Family. - will provide a safe and comfortable environment and an atmosphere of mutual respect among teachers, students and staff to foster positive relationships and self-esteem. - will maintain a challenging curriculum that recognizes each student as a valued individual with unique physical, emotional, social, spiritual and intellectual needs. - will provide a variety of instructional approaches to accommodate the students' various learning styles as well as multiple assessment opportunities in which to demonstrate their mastery of skills and information. - will actively involve students in the learning process and constantly improve in all areas in order to promote confident, self-directed learning. - will promote cooperation among students, faculty, parents and the community-at-large to develop a sense of family and ownership in the school so that everyone shares the responsibility of advancing the school's Mission. PHILOSOPHY The philosophy of of Acadia Parish is stated in terms of Vatican II's decree on education: "A true education aims at the formation of the person in the pursuit of his ultimate end and of the good of society of which he is a member and in whose obligations, as an adult, he will share." Keeping in mind that every Christian has been entrusted with Jesus' mission of spreading the Good News of the gospel, and that each person spreads the gospel as much by his actions as with his words, we believe that as a Catholic high school, our formation of the total person must encompass not only a fostering of intellectual development, but also a sincere appreciation for the innate goodness of respect for all persons and all creation, a sense of responsible stewardship for our community and our world, and strong moral values by which to make the choices that determine one's overall way of life. SUMMARY The core mission and purpose of of Acadia Parish is to educate the whole child (mind, body and soul) while holding up the Holy Family, and particularly Our Lady, as examples. Each year, each student at NDHS is required to take a religion course designed to build a stronger relationship with Christ. It is the hope that these classes will have a lasting impact on the individual student's life throughout high school and as he/she matriculates to college, university, technical school, military life--and far beyond. School masses are celebrated weekly and on Holy Days and the Sacrament of Reconciliation is also offered weekly. Students are required to perform service in Page 4

7 their church parishes and in the community-at-large. They must attend a mandatory class retreat each year and are encouraged to take part in daily prayers, weekend and summer retreats and other service opportunities throughout the year. Even though it is an additional expense to the school, a rolling block schedule is maintained offering students eight credits per year. This allows students to schedule elective offerings that speak to a student's unique interests and career goals. Students receiving a diploma from NDHS meet the Louisiana Core 4 college requirements and pursue courses required for the TOPS scholarship program. In order to fulfill its Mission of educating the whole child, of Acadia Parish offers a wide variety of extra-curricular and co-curricular activities. In a study body of 402 students, 93% participate in at least one sport and over 99% participate in some schoolrelated activity or program. The ethic of hard work passed down from generations of French and German ancestors who settled and worked the land has produced student athletes who compete at the very highest levels with great success. Page 5

8 Notable Achievements and Areas of Improvement Describe the school's notable achievements and areas of improvement in the last three years. Additionally, describe areas for improvement that the school is striving to achieve in the next three years. In August 2012, realized a dream of 20+ years with the dedication of a 6000 sq. ft. library/media center. The new library houses a computer lab with 30 computers for student use and research as well as OPAC computers, and large video projection setup, internet ready t.v. In addition to the media, the library has two "pods" with tables and chairs and a comfortable seating area with newspapers and periodicals. A full-time librarian and a full-time volunteer staff the library with an additional faculty assigned during the 53 minute lunch period. Having this facility has changed the culture on campus. For years, many NDHS students never visited the small inadequate facility capable of seating students and classes could not be scheduled into the library due to lack of space. Now, every English class visits the library to be instructed by the librarian on usage of the databases and research tools. In addition, classes from every discipline schedule the media center for projects and it is not unusual for there to be 100+ students in the library during the lunch hour-- reading, doing homework, playing chess, and quietly visiting. It is a testament to Notre Dame's stakeholders that this building, and the additional renovations to the entrance and gymnasium, were totally paid with donations (in excess of 1.3 million dollars) in a period of three years. Additionally, in February 2014, a 7,000 sq. ft. field house was dedicated. This building, erected after the library was completed, addressed the need to nurture the entire child; mind, body and soul as stated in the school's Mission. At a cost of approximately 1.5 million dollars, the NDHS Foundation underwrote this building and holds the bank note. The current balance is $800, and the plan is to clear the note within the next three years. Integrating technology on a campus with buildings dating back to the 1950s and 1970s has been a challenge. Over the last three years, large strides have been taken to update the school's infrastructure. The school currently has a managed Wi-Fi and students are able to roam seamlessly through campus while remaining connected to the Internet. We have also upgraded all switches on campus to fiber and they are operating at GB speed. The school's bandwidth has been increased to a dedicated 20 MB synchronous fiber connection. We have undergone a campus-wide assessment by local consultants to assess the school's infrastructure and needs. In the past two years, 90 Chromebooks--with the management system--have been added to classes for student use. In addition to the media center, one computer lab and the Chromebooks, English II, III, and IV are currently one-to-one (student to laptop). The goal is that within the next 3-5 years, we will be able to implement a 1:1 program--using technology as an essential tool to transform student learning. One significant challenge to this goal is professional development for faculty who have not "bought in" to the daily student use of technology in the classroom. A targeted area of improvement concerns the use of data (standardized test scores as well as formative and summative course evaluations) to directly impact instruction, to direct differentiation in instruction, and to measure student success. The need for professional development in which teachers are in-serviced regarding use of this data and how the teacher can formulate strategies for differentiation has been identified and must become a priority. An additional area of improvement is to provide students opportunities to evaluate and give feedback on their learning through self-reflection and self-assessment. Along with this, students need to feel that they have at least one adult on campus who is "invested" in them--one adult who knows him/her well and shows interest in their education and future. Page 6

9 Additional Information Provide any additional information you would like to share with the public and community that were not prompted in the previous sections. of Acadia Parish is the only Catholic high school in the State of Louisiana with an Agriscience program. The existence of this program and the skills taught, speak directly to the agrarian nature of our community. Students in the agriscience classes learn a variety of valuable life skills, contribute to the up-keep of the campus facilities, and give back to the community-at-large by performing services such as building ramps for wheelchair bound residents and partnering with local nursing homes. Last year, we had four students who placed first in State Literary Rally (English IV, Calculus I, Physical Science and World Geography). As a credit to our Catholic formation, we currently have four alumni who are seminarians in preparation for the priesthood. In addition, our school is made up of students and faculty/staff with great heart. This year alone, we have given over $1500 to Wounded Warrior Project as well as $500 to fund the purchase a track chair for a double amputee and $750 to help defray funeral costs for the deceased handicapped sister of a student. Our students also work hard in sports. One of our female athletes holds the state record for the butterfly and has been a State Champion in Swimming for four consecutive years. In November and December of 2015, our volleyball team participated in the state semifinals and our football team became Division III State Champions. Each of these examples speaks to the Mission of our school and to our dedication to the development of each student: mind, body and soul. Page 7