20/20 Vision: An Eye on our Future sets forth a comprehensive plan to effect change. The standards and benchmarks are the foundation upon which schools are to build action steps based on best practices that will provide young people with essential knowledge, instruction, and skills that are rooted in faith and necessary to succeed in today's world. School leaders, leadership teams, school boards, faculty, and parents should be familiar with this ministerial plan, and school leaders should be using it to develop effective local strategic plans, as well as for support of on-going accreditation through the New England Association of Schools and Colleges.  

Religion Assessment Meetings:  The Office of Catholic Schools is exploring an instrument to assess student faith knowledge at various grade levels. Religion teachers interested in participating in the assessment preparation should contact Sister Mary Kolbe Heffern, F.S.E., Director of Faith Formation, to RSVP for the high school meeting January 7 at 2:30 p.m. and/or the elementary/middle school meeting January 21 at 3:00 p.m., at the Office of Catholic Schools. 

Webinar:  Literacy Strategies for a Math Classroom: Teachers and administrators of grades 1-12 are welcome to join this webinar and interact with learning strategies that teach students how to learn and achieve in a math classroom. Faculties or grade level professional learning communities may want to join together to watch and participate in this webinar.  Participants will leave with practical strategies that can be implemented in their math classroom the next day.

Multiplication Challenge!  During Catholic Schools Month, invite your students in grades 4-8 (or younger if you dare) to accept the challenge to master multiplication facts from 1-12! The purpose of this challenge is multifaceted:

• mastery of multiplication facts in support of higher level math skills,
• modeling for students the tracking of data,
• use of common assessments that facilitate instruction, and
• fun with math.

If you choose to accept this challenge, each participating teacher can download all the packet information from the website that includes:

• Multiplication pre and post tests with answers
• Calendar with facts of the day
• Multiplication tables and grids
• 6 Weekly Self-correcting Cumulative Reviews
• 6 Weekly Quizzes
• "Knock Them Down" List to record incorrect problems to focus on mastery
• Individual and Class Progress Graph
• Multiplication Challenge games that reinforce the multiplication tables and instruction in mathematics (These are also great ideas for indoor recess during bad weather days, a center activity, or any instructional down time.)

Have fun with this these activities that promote not only fluency of multiplication facts, but also a deeper understanding of multiplication that will enable the practical application and transfer of facts for higher order math skills.

Suggested Reading for School Administrators, School Board Members, Finance Councils, and Business Managers:  Using Financial Statements for Oversight and Planning by Catholic School Boards, by

Rick Robey (2014), National Catholic Educational Association, ISBN:  1-55833-577-3.   

Hispanic Outreach for Catholic Schools, Save the Date: On Wednesday, February 4, 2015 the Reverend Joseph V. Corpora, C.S.C. from the Alliance for Catholic Education at the University of Notre Dame will be conducting an important workshop on Hispanic outreach for the Archdiocese of Hartford. We are encouraging all pastors, school administrators, business managers, advancement staff and marketing staff, school staff, and parish staff to attend the session which will run from 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. on February 4 at the Archdiocesan Center at St. Thomas Seminary.  Father Corpora is one of the nations' foremost authorities on Latino outreach in Catholic schools, and he will present vital information on how to make our schools more culturally responsive to this growing audience in order to attract them to our schools. Father Corpora will discuss demographics as well as new approaches to finances, advancement, access, and enrollment that are better suited to the Latino audience. A broad representation from each school community is encouraged, since Father Corpora's expertise on this critical topic will be of great benefit to the Archdiocese.   RSVP's to the workshop are due to anne.clubb@aohct.org by January 23.

Planning an Effective Open House:  Many schools have plans well under way for an open house during Catholic Schools Month.  According to Renee White, Enrollment Management and Marketing Director of the Diocese of Arlington, Virginia, an open house is "the ultimate opportunity to promote your school brand."  She shares many creative tips with us on how to attract more families, plan for a successful open house, and, hopefully, increase enrollment in our schools.

• Be certain the school website is current. Parents want to know, "How will your school benefit my child?" They will have done their research before visiting the school, so make sure the website is appealing and up to date!
• Advertising can be done in many ways, including yard signs, parish bulletins, word-of-mouth, and social media. Cover all the bases.
• The invitation list should include families with baptized children (from the school parish and area parishes without schools), local preschools, Mom's "Morning Out" or "Mommy and Me" groups, and friends of current families.
• If possible, make sure invitations are hand-addressed - it's more personalized.
• Make sure marketing materials and admissions packets are well prepared. A rule of thumb is 20% print and 80% photos or white space in the marketing materials. Animoto and Infographic are online tools to help with marketing endeavors. Be sure to capture photos of children expressing joy!
• Now is also the time to train tour guides, enlist the help of student ambassadors, and appoint a hospitality committee. Refreshments should be simple - coffee, tea, juice, and muffins- and consider using tablecloths and napkins imprinted with the school's logo.
• On the day of the open house, the school should be "squeaky" clean.
• It's important to showcase your school's identity, so school colors should be seen everywhere and there should be a display of uniforms, spirit wear, and items such as grocery bags with the school logo.
• Invite the pastor to welcome people at the door.
• Registration should include a sign-in sheet requesting name and contact information for use in following up with open house visitors in coming weeks.
• The principal may wish to give a five-minute presentation. Teachers, as well as before and after-school staff, should be present.
• Curriculum materials should be visible.
• Tours offer a perfect opportunity to share matriculation data (% graduation rate, % of those accepted to colleges and universities, % taking higher math classes, etc.).
• When the tour has concluded, offer admission materials and an opportunity for a one-on-one discussion with the principal or admissions director.
• Finally, make sure to follow up with open house visitors. At the very least, an email should be sent to attendees to thank them for coming, but it is recommended that the principal send a hand-written note of thanks, along with an invitation to future events.