Five Considerations For Small Catholic Schools

The N.C.E.A. has recently published a book and sponsored a series of podcasts for small Catholic schools,  the purposes of which are to equip principals, diocesan leaders and board members with tools to help these schools become self-sustaining and to grow, as well as to build networks of support and collaboration. 

I have been a principal of two relatively small Catholic high schools, 330 students or less, for most of my career. The N.C.E.A.’s suggestions resonate with my experience. Adding (I hope) to that discussion, here are my top five considerations for those of us leading small schools: 

First, do I have something worth selling?  I believe in Catholic education; indeed, I’ve attended Catholic schools as a student, teacher or principal every year since I entered kindergarten in 1967. All four of my children have attended Catholic  schools, K through 12. But if being “Catholic” were enough of a reason for parents to choose  our schools, we wouldn't be closing so many of them. 

Tim Uhl, now superintendent of the diocese of Buffalo, NY, once asked this provocative question on his “Catholic School Matters” podcast:  “If my tuition were FREE, would I fill my school? And if not, why not? “

Here’s how I might frame it:  Do we offer a unique program, different from the larger, wealthier, Catholic schools 10-15 minutes away from us? People assume it’s good for a small, struggling school to be part of a diocesan “system” of schools, but if that system insists we hire teachers with the same credentials, that we teach the same curriculum, that we follow the same yearly calendar, or begin and end school each day at roughly the same time, the “system” is virtually guaranteeing we can’t compete. What if I could be a dual language school? What if I could be a year-round school, with afternoon pick up times at 5:30 p.m. to assist working families? What if I were a diocesan school that followed a classical curriculum? Or if my pre-K3 through first grade program were based on the Montessori model? I’ve written more about this here.

Second, what am I unwittingly saying about myself to others? When we are worried about our enrollments, we often project ourselves as “poor, poor pitiful me” without meaning to do so. We are too apt to use powerless phrases like “my hands are tied,” or “If we had the money,” or “if we were larger.” But each time we use these phrases, we undercut our community’s confidence in us to be places that are strong enough to deliver an excellent education.  Being small should not prevent us from having large, bold aspirations, though it often does that to us, without us noticing.

Very deliberately, we should layer our school with mission statements, operational principles, and stories that convey the sense that we are a “small but mighty” community, full of optimism and confidence in the power of our school to transform children’s lives.  

It starts with our mission statements. Are our mission statement too wordy, and thus completely forgettable? We should change them! Make them simple, but aspirational. I’ve written about this here, and given examples.  Can we articulate the unshakeable principles of the school to which all of us agree? If not, we should work with our most literate teachers and try to do so, then wordsmith it down so that we say something that is stirring and poignant. 

And do we take the time to tell stories that show our mission in action? Do we use the “bully pulpit” of our job as principals to share these stories at PTO meetings? At new parent orientations? At sports banquets? Do we put our kids in a position to visibly “incarnate” this mission for all to see? For example, I ask our male and female “Ideal Graduates” to address our families at the end of our baccalaureate mass, reflecting on their four years at our school-just a two minute talk. Their joy, their faith, their enthusiasm for life serve as an eloquent testimony to the beauty of our school’s mission. 

Third, what does my tuition-setting say to others about our school? Many of us are reluctant to raise tuitions substantially for fear of losing our most vulnerable families, making our enrollments even worse. And we’ve inherited a legacy from the sisters where Catholic schools were, by today’s standards,  almost free!  As a result, many of our schools are the cheapest non-public schools in town. While noble on one level, in a free market economy, people typically associate price with quality. If I am the “K-Mart” of educational options available, people will regard me as inferior.  Don’t misread me. I don’t want us to be an “elite” private school that caters only to wealthy families. We lose our souls as a Catholic school if we go that route! Rather, I believe we should aim our tuitions for the middle of the market, and then generously increase financial aid to families who need help to meet our elevated targets.

 
To reflect on this further: In desperation for students, some liberal arts colleges have announced, with as much fanfare as possible, that they’re cutting their tuitions in half. I am sure their internal logic is they were likely only getting 50% of what they charged in tuition anyway, due to financial aid. So why not parlay that reality into something that garners attention? My answer: “Because they’ve  just told everyone that their school is only half as good as they once said it was!”  But we do this all the time in our Catholic schools. Perhaps once upon a time, given the unassailable reputation of the sisters who ran and staffed our schools, being “cheap” was attractive in the marketplace. You knew you were getting a “deal” because the sisters were so amazing. But the sisters are gone now, and parents are more apt to reason that a cheap Catholic school cannot charge more because the locals know it’s not worth it.  

Fourth, do I have a strategic plan that lays out our school’s dreams for the future?  Some of my colleagues say that creating a strategic plan is a waste of valuable time, and indeed, most schools do not have one. But I believe that’s a huge mistake. By focusing on the “what if?” our school is able to present itself as creative and pro-active about its future—two characteristics  often missing in struggling schools. And it doesn’t cost anything to dream! 

In the years leading up to his death, self-made Nashville entrepreneur Jim Carell began to give away much of his fortune to charitable causes, many of them to schools, including Pope John Paul II, where I was the principal. His reasons for being generous, he told me, was “I can’t take it with me, and this way, I  enjoy seeing how my money can help people.”  As you might imagine, there were many of us lined up at his door!  

Once, I had occasion to visit him just after he had been solicited by a struggling school in the area.  He told me, grumpily, that the same school had asked for a gift the previous year "to keep from closing"  they had told him.  He gave them what they asked for, but they were back again this year, making the same appeal, so he told them no.  "Here’s the thing," he said to me, "I don’t back losers. It’s just throwing my money away.” 

That statement “I don’t back losers,” may sound harsh, but it’s a window into how donors think about their charitable giving. If, through their giving, they are merely sustaining the “same ole, same ‘ole” in our schools for another 6-12 months, their enthusiasm for giving diminishes rapidly. Rather, they want to know their giving can act as a catalyst for new ideas and programs at the school, that their gifts have the potential to re-vitalize our schools! 

This is where a strategic plan can really help us—it allows us to talk thoughtfully and optimistically about our future to potential donors, and for that matter, to the families of potential students. Here’s what we’ve done at our school.

Fifth, do I have the right people in place? When I was a younger principal, I believed I had an obligation to give weaker teachers and staff members a significant amount of rope to “improve.” But I no longer think that. My job as principal is to find the right people to effectively implement the school’s mission for the sake of our kids. If a teacher takes 5 years to become minimally effective, I’ve hurt four years worth of students. To be more specific: If I have someone whom lives COUNTER to our mission, I immediately remove that person, or at best, I don’t offer that person a contract for next year. And if I have someone who can only weakly advance the mission, I give that person an improvement plan for next year, and determine if he or she has been effective in meeting that plan before rehiring the following year. Incremental improvement is not enough. 

Hiring the right teachers is the most important thing we do as principals. Here’s the four characteristics I seek in the hiring process: Teachers must be deeply knowledgeable about their subject matter and curious to learn more, they must have a kind of “with-it-ness” around their students (which cannot be really taught)  they must love teenagers and enjoy their company, and they must be on fire to serve the Lord.  If I find teachers who hit all four of those marks, they will be powerful witnesses our mission, and give people a living answer to the question, “Why this Catholic school?”

Concluding Thoughts: As a principal of a small Catholic high school,  I want people to view us as plucky, creative, fiercely independent, bold in our aspirations, confident, and strong. I want people to hear over and over again phrases such as “small but mighty,” “passionate about changing lives,” “excited about possibilities for our future,” “proud of our students,” and that there’s an “optimism for excellence” here. And I want us to be known for our evangelical zeal, that the Christian life is “joyful,” “a challenging adventure,” and that our school invites students to “not conform to this world, but to be transformed by the renewal of their minds” so as to discern God’s will for their lives.  

If we start thinking of ourselves this way,  if we start using this language around our schools, if we position our schools as unique in the marketplace and set tuitions accordingly, if we develop forward thinking strategic plans and hire grace-filled, hard working teachers to implement these plans, we’re on a very nice trajectory in building a successful, self-sustaining Catholic school. And as far as enrollment growth and fund raising, we are 80% there!

May God give us the courage and grace to lead our schools accordingly!