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Text Box: In the Fall of 2009, School Board President, Ann Pond, initiated the Long Range Planning Committee in order to develop a Strategic Plan for St. Ignatius School. After consulting with parents and administrators, it was decided to utilize the wealth of resources among our parents to begin this planning process. The committee, chaired by Kati Arata and Glenn Cochran, included Eric Berrios, Ernie Burch, Annette Carwie, Susan Duffey, Erik Eways, Tonja McGuire, Betsy McDermott, Kirby Plessala, Lisa Robertson, Susan Scheid, Jill Schock, Melinda Seiter, Terri Stadther, Sue Stuardi, David Turnipseed, Rene’ Wagnon, Stephen Wilbur, and Kelly Woodford. Over 85 parents and teachers participated in a series of Focus Groups that were held in March and April 2009. Participants were asked to identify strengths and weaknesses related to Education, Student Life, and Spirituality. The results showed that there are many things that parents like about St. Ignatius School. Some of the most frequently identified strengths included the Saxon Phonics and Math Curriculum, the spiritual life, full time art and music teachers, and having our preschool and Mother’s Day Out programs on the same campus. Parents and teachers also liked the many academic contests and other areas where students are able to excel and receive recognition. While we are happy to report on the things that people like, there is always room for improvement and parents and teachers provided excellent, constructive suggestions for areas of change. The committee reviewed all of the feedback provided by focus group participants and identified the key areas for the next year. Planning/Implentation Teams are being developed to work on various areas of improvement. As these areas have been

Text Box: reviewed, it is evident that there are already some actions being taken. Communication was ranked as the number one issue. Plans are underway to allow the school and parish to use Constant Contact to allow group emails to be sent to all members of the parish, school, etc. Email groups will be developed for each grade and class and there will be capability for developing other sub-groups as needed. Each class will also have a parent volunteer to assist the classroom teacher in updating their website and other technology/communication issues. The New Families committee of the PTO is also working to improve assimilation of new families. In addition, a guide is being developed to explain to new families details regarding the various activities, traditions, etc. that are sometimes assumed to be common knowledge (e.g., Hass cards for First Communion, Red/Green Day, Little Field Day/Big Field Day, graduation dolls, etc.) Resource Support was also rated as a top priority area. As a result of this feedback, the school board has voted to establish a Resource/Special Needs committee for further evaluation and feedback regarding the Resource Program. Also, a full time Certified Resource Teacher will be hired for the 2009-2010 academic year. A workshop for parents and teachers on identifying and understanding special needs issues is also going to be developed. There were many questions and concerns regarding educational programs. While the Planning/Implementation teams will be examining these areas in depth, some issues are already being addressed. The Foreign Language program is being restructured and the school is considering use of a lab-based instruction in foreign languages with a

Text Box: teacher moderator. Funds from the SCRIP program are being targeted for this program. Discontinuing foreign language in K-5 is being considered to allow more in-depth instruction in middle school, as well as to allow more instruction time in K-5 for core curriculum, such as reading, math, and writing. Planning/Implementation Teams Leaders have been identified and are in the process of recruiting volunteers. Please contact any of the following if you are interested in serving on a team: Communication: Kati Arata 460-4135 vkarata@belsouth.net Sue Stuardi 342-4282 suestuardi@bellsouth.net Resource/Special Needs: Tonja McGuire 473-2733 tonjamcguire@comcast.net Athletics: Melinda Seiter 344-2588 mlseiter@bellsouth.net Glenn Cochran 343-1690 gcochranmd@comcast.net Academics: Erik Eways 460-2552 ewayss@bellsouth.net Eric Berrios 345-8908 romewedding@aol.com Stephen Wilber 380-0028 smwilber@comcast.net Student Life: Susan Duffy 342-6617 spduffey@gmail.com Susan Scheid 316-0979 dsscheid3@aol.com Spirituality: Annette Carwie 342-7887 carwie5@comcast.net Rene’ Wagnon 316-3587 renedon@comcast.net We are very excited by all the enthusiasm that this planning process