Recap of the March 5 Diocesan School Board Meeting

The Diocesan School Board met on March 5, 2014. Some of the highlights:

• The Board was joined by representatives from the St. Vincent de Paul School Advisory Board. Sr. Julie, principal, talked about the school's marketing efforts and how they have managed to get their enrollment up to over 600. The key: reaching out personally to families at Sunday Mass, promoting the Arizona Tuition Tax Credit, and making sure families know tuition assistance is available for those who want it. Thanks to the help of the Daughters of Charity and the utilization of the tax credit program, St. Vincent de Paul has become a shining example of how schools can really reach out to their community and fill their classrooms. (Note: any local school advisory board who wishes to come to a meeting of the Diocesan School Board is welcome. See your DSB representative for details.)
• The finance committee reported that the high school enrollment and budget figures are all healthy. The high school admissions departments are looking at record numbers of applicants for the upcoming school year.
• The spring in-service will be held on March 5 at 5:30 p.m. at St. Gregory. The topics will be curb appeal, composing your school's elevator speech, and digital marketing. The latter topic will be the major gist of the evening, featuring a presentation by Eric Olsen of Fasturtle, a digital marketing company. About 100 people are signed up.
• The Catholic Schools Office reports that principal searches are being conducted at St. Jerome and St. Theresa, ten schools have completed the accreditation process with ten more coming up next year, and a steering committee is in place as we begin a feasibility study for the planned West Valley high school.