Dear Parents,

In setting the annual budget, we always seek to achieve three goals: providing the highest-quality educational program, meeting the full financial needs of our students, and ensuring the long-term financial stability of the school. Needless to say, under current conditions, achieving all three goals will require a finely calibrated balance - and probably a generous dose of good luck. This year, the tuition and book rental fee total $13,900. In the coming year, that total cost will be $14,400. This is an increase of 3.6 percent, which is this school's third-lowest increase in the past twenty years.

An important factor in keeping this increase relatively low will be the elimination of Credit Cards as a method of tuition payment. The fees that the school pays for these credit card transactions have amounted to more than $150,000 a year. From speaking with many parents we have learned that a primary reason for using a credit card when paying  tuition is to secure airline miles - a good benefit, but one which entails a high cost for the school. In the interest of keeping costs down, we will not accept tuition payments by credit card, but will continue to accept tuition payments by other standard means: bank transfers, checks, and cash.

Another financial factor to be noted is the current inability of the De La Salle Christian Brothers, the religious order which founded the school in 1965, to provide financial support to their sponsored schools. The Brothers' Lasallian Education Corporation suffered significant losses to its portfolio value last year and has not yet experienced a commensurate rebound. The impact on De La Salle High School in the coming year's budget will be approximately $75,000.

The actual cost of educating our young men is only about 90 percent covered by the tuition that families pay.  In 2010-2011 each student's actual cost of education will be underwritten by $1,600 derived from fundraising and the generosity of benefactors. Your tuition payments and our benefactors' donations together represent a serious investment in your son's education, and will support the school in achieving the following:

We recognize that a tuition increase is not welcome news, and that for some families any increase may constitute a hardship.

I encourage those families to contact Marilyn Gardner at gardnerm@dlshs.org to apply for financial aid, or to visit the Financial Aid section of our website at www.dlshs.org.

Our plan for the coming year, carried out in partnership with you, should enable us to balance next year's operating budget, without diminishing De La Salle's trademark academic program or decreasing access to this school for students from all socioeconomic backgrounds. I hope that you will agree that we have struck an appropriate balance and that we are serving as wise stewards of De La Salle's extraordinary assets under extremely trying conditions.

Please feel free to contact me with any thoughts or questions you might have at 925-288-8112 or demarcom@dlshs.org.

In the Spirit of St. John Baptist de La Salle,

Mark DeMarco '78
President

 

Just a few weeks back, in mid-February, DLSHS was the beneficiary of a three-day visit by a team of educators exploring our Catholic Lasallian practices. In last month's Spartan Spotlight Newsletter, Mark DeMarco spoke about the Catholic Lasallian Assessment Process (CLASP) that was going to occur. You helped us prepare for the "visit" by actively participating in an online survey in January. The nearly five hundred survey responses from our parents (50% participation - WOW!) far exceeded what a visiting team normally receives. Let me thank you for taking a few moments to help. While your participation in the survey was very satisfying, your responses to the questions were both very encouraging and strong affirmation. 

While on campus, the visiting team spent time with random groups of students and faculty/staff. In addition, we conducted an all day in-service that provided an opportunity for the visiting team to share the results of their findings. In short, they told us that this school community is diligent in paying attention to its Catholic Lasallian mission.  And in doing so, it is clearly observed by our many, many constituencies - students, parents and alums. They were highly complementary of this school community and of the many ways in which we are truly effective in serving our young men as a Catholic Lasallian school. I don't believe we could have asked for a better outcome! So where do we go from here? That was the challenge they placed before us as they posed the question - what would we like DLS to look like in the year 2015 if we continued to develop our strengths and set a strategic direction that is in keeping with our Catholic Lasallian traditions? We had a very interesting discussion - visioning and all!
 
We are in the season of Lent. This 40-day period that is observed from Ash Wednesday to Easter on April 4 provides all of us with an opportunity for reflection and time for a personal inventory of our life. May it prove beneficial to you.
 
This is one of my favorite months because of the collegiate basketball playoffs known as March Madness. Whether a school makes it to the "Sweet Sixteen," the "Elite Eight" or the "Final Four," all those basketball programs have accomplished a remarkable feat. Sometimes it is easy to forget about the "journey" and merely focus on the destination.  When we merely look to the end and forget about what it takes to get there, we miss a great deal! I trust our young men enjoy their experiences in this school community as we advance them each and every day towards greater maturity and responsibility.
 
Have a great month!  

Br. Christopher Brady, F.S.C.
Principal