Renewed Vision

A Statement from the
Office of the Pastor of Divine Mercy Parish

Dear Brothers and Sisters in the Lord,

In January of 2020, Meitler Consulting (www.meitler.com) received a request from the Superintendent of Catholic Schools for the Archdiocese of New Orleans to partner with St. Elizabeth Ann Seton School to look strategically at the next level of success for the school by means of a long‐term plan. This planning process began in March 2021 with a mandate to create a plan that is visionary, mission-focused, comprehensive, realistic, achievable, and integrated – one organized around the four standards contained in the National Standards and Benchmarks of Effective Catholic Schools. The plan goals were created in light of the quantitative and qualitative data collected throughout the process.

The first visit to the school occurred in April 2021 with various individuals and groups being involved in the development of the plan. Individual meetings were conducted with the pastor, principal, assistant principal, the Chair of the School Advisory Board, a diocesan Financial Analyst, the school counselor, the Curriculum Coordinator, the website/social media coordinator, and the Superintendent for the Archdiocese of New Orleans. Focus groups were conducted with school parents, students, teachers, staff, and the Home and School Executive Board. Surveys were distributed to current families and the faculty/staff. Key to the development of the strategic plan was the Strategic Planning Committee. This committee included representatives from various constituencies and actively provided leadership, insights, and expertise that ensured the success of the planning process. After a delay caused by the COVID‐19 pandemic, the final version of the plan was presented to the pastor, school leadership, and the Superintendent of Catholic Schools on April 7, 2022. 

The comprehensive plan includes goals and action steps in four key areas:

1. Mission and Catholic Identity
2. Academic Excellence
3. Operational Vitality
   1. Enrollment Management
   2. Facilities
   3. Advancement
   4. Financial
4. Governance and Leadership

The strategic plan for SEAS, while focusing on the next five years, also establishes a vision that will be relevant well into the future. The goals and strategies developed in the strategic plan are designed to achieve this vision.
 

1. St. Elizabeth Ann Seton School provides a distinctively Catholic educational environment rooted in prayer, Sacramental experiences, knowledge of the Catholic faith, and a Catholic worldview in which all disciplines are understood in light of God’s divine revelation. The students put this culture into action through service, liturgical and para-liturgical experiences, participation in various artistic initiatives, and Catholic‐infused activities such as supporting pro‐life efforts
2. Leadership for St. Elizabeth Ann Seton School is faith‐based, enthusiastic, collaborative, and reflects the archdiocesan vision of Catholic education.
3. St. Elizabeth Ann Seton School has high expectations for all students and offers quality, 21st century opportunities of learning (curricular and co‐curricular). Students learn the knowledge and skills necessary for success in high school and are also engaged in real‐world applications of that knowledge and those skills.
4. Technology is current, integrated and effectively utilized to support administrative, teaching and student learning processes, always at the service of the human and spiritual formation of our students.
5. Parishioners of Divine Mercy Parish value their Catholic school as an asset and a fundamental mission of the parish, and the families of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton are integrated into the life and mission of the parish.
6. The school community is inclusive, welcoming students with a wide range of academic abilities and families of diverse socio‐economic groups, races, religions, and ethnicities.
7. St. Elizabeth Ann Seton School maintains an enrollment at 90% or more of capacity of two classes per grade which supports the educational mission, vision, and programs.
8. St. Elizabeth Ann Seton School attracts and retains the best faculty and staff and, to that end, is competitive in compensation and comprehensive in professional development opportunities.
9. The campus is safe, attractive, and welcoming, with a master plan to maintain the facilities needed for a premier 21st century educational program.
10. St. Elizabeth Ann Seton School has effective strategic and financial planning along with a comprehensive institutional advancement program to ensure a vibrant and sustainable future.

Over the next five years, our strategic plan will serve as the foundation for our Renewed Vision: Boldly Catholic | Academically Excellent | Rooted in Truth at SEAS. Our strategic plan, with its objectives, goals, initiatives, and preferred vision, is a culmination of months of discernment and deliberation. As these strategic initiatives begin to unfold in the coming months and years, it will become clear that this roadmap has emerged from our mission to foster a relationship with Christ not only for the students and families at SEAS but for all families in our parish. This mission necessitates that we cultivate a genuine communion among our teachers, administrators, clergy, and families grounded in love, holiness, and personal witness. 

This is truly an exciting moment in the history of Divine Mercy Parish as SEAS prepares to embark on a transformational journey that will allow us to serve as a model and guide for primary Catholic Education in the Archdiocese of New Orleans. This strategic plan fosters a vision of education and formation that is rooted in Christ, draws from the great treasure of the Church’s tradition, and aims at the full flourishing of the human person in wisdom, virtue, and holiness. It will inspire and promote a continued spiritual, intellectual, cultural, and operational renewal and transformation of our parish school. These strategic initiatives will also help us to refocus on the core mission of Catholic education: to form souls “to run forth to meet your Christ with righteous deeds at His coming, so that, gathered at His right hand, they may be worthy to possess the heavenly Kingdom.”

I envision that the continued renewal of SEAS will assist in the overall missionary conversion of Divine Mercy Parish so that together we may be formed into living witnesses of Jesus. I share this Renewed Vision: Boldly Catholic | Academically Excellent | Rooted in Truth not as a critique of the past but as a hopeful and faith-filled vision and plan for the future. I extend my gratitude to all who worked to develop this plan and all who will put this plan into action.

As we embark on the implementation process, I am reminded of the words of St. Francis of Assisi:  Led by the Spirit, Francis went in to pray, and he knelt down devoutly before the Crucifix. He was shaken by the unusual experience and discovered that he was different from when he had entered. As soon as he had this feeling, there occurred something unheard of in previous ages. The image of Christ Crucified spoke to him. “FRANCIS,” it said, calling him by name, “GO REBUILD MY HOUSE.”

Fr. Robert T. Cooper, Pastor
Divine Mercy Parish and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton School