Strategic Master Plan & Goals
From the President
Dear Friends,
This is a very exciting time for St. Mary’s Ryken High
School. I am proud to share with you our strategic plan. The legacies we carry forward from the extraordinary history of Catholic education in Southern Maryland - St. Mary’s Academy and Ryken High
School - have become in St. Mary’s Ryken the foundation of tomorrow’s
history.
As
we planned for future growth over the past few years we broadened
Advanced Placement (AP) courses, enhanced the curriculums in the math and science departments and expanded student activities, fine arts and athletics. Technologies have
continually been upgraded. Today, most of the campus is wireless and all
faculty have laptops. Our students continue to be accepted into their
first choice colleges across the country. We have seen a steady
increase in enrollment and remain proud of the outstanding service our
students and alums dedicate themselves to throughout the
world. They embody a voice that understands clearly what “falling in
love with the service of God” means.
It
is time to focus on our future. The strategic plan addresses the future
needs of our school. As we look to the future, we must continue to focus
on providing excellence in college preparatory programs and attracting
and retaining the very best teachers. We must have new athletic
facilities for our growing student population. We need to upgrade a
physical plant that is over fifty years old. We need to maintain our
beautiful campus.
It
is time for us to commit seriously to endowments for the long-lasting
future of the school and to assure that every student has an
opportunity for a Catholic education. This is part of our tradition and
our legacy in
Southern Maryland.
The
strategic plan has evolved over the past three years from the dedicated
work of board members, parents, alumni, students, faculty and
administrators as a result of two important self-study tools. First and
foremost, we examined our Catholic identity as a college preparatory
Xaverian Brothers sponsored school through the Mission Effectiveness
Study, which is used by all twelve of our Xaverian Brothers high schools. This study examined six broad areas, identifying how St.
Mary’s Ryken consciously brings the mission to life on campus. Through
a separate series of surveys with parents, alumni, students and faculty,
the school prepared for our second self-study which would lead to the
outcomes from the Association of Mid-Atlantic States Re-Accreditation
report.
Using the outcomes from the two self-studies during a historic Board of
Directors’ retreat, five important goals were identified for the future
of St. Mary’s Ryken. With those goals identified, ongoing work began
with faculty, administrators, alumni, parents and board committees.
Key strategies have been identified and refined over the past year to
achieve these five goals.
It
is the strength of our faith, the history of our tradition and the power
of our legacy that leads us to commit to the foundation of tomorrow’s
history.
Sincerely,
Mary
Joy Hurlburt
President
Strategic Plan Goals
Goal 1: Prepare every student for a lifetime of growth
in faith, academics, leadership, and community.
Key Strategies:
1. Responding to our Mission
Effectiveness Study, St. Mary's Ryken will:
- enhance the Campus Ministry program to be a vital
part of our students' lives
- re-evaluate
the Ryken Program in light of the
latest educational best practices and ensure that the program serves the
needs of students with learning
differences so that they can excel withiin the college preparatory
curriculum
- emphasize
a healthy lifestyle by hiring a full-time nurse
2. Develop
a strategic technology master plan, which will enhance teaching and
student learning across the curriculum.
3. Building
on
our college preparatory curriculum that is comprehensive, rigorous
and intellectually challenging, St. Mary's Ryken will:
- continue
to improve standardized test scores
- add
a non-western foreign language
- enhance
the course offerings in the fine arts department
- continue
to develop AP programs
- ensure that the curriculum reflects global awareness and social justice
Goal 2: To
draw, to hold and to sustain the strongest possible faculty who will be
committed to the Xaverian philosophy of education and to fulfilling the
mission of St. Mary's Ryken.
Key Strategies:
- Maintain
salaries
and benefits that are on a competitive level regionally and
build greater predictability and clarity to compensation for faculty
and staff.
- Provide
a professional development educator to maximize student learning and
best practices for teachers. Encourage innovative teaching methodology
and curriculum development.
- Expand
opportunities for faculty, staff and administrators to remain at the
top of their profession. Encourage, support and nurture individual
professional growth, department and cross-curricular growth and
school-wide initiatives by developing a cohesive professional
development plan to expand over the next five years.
- Research,
identify
and support educational initiatives that provide school-wide
growth in cooperation with the leadership in the local business community and the Patuxent
Naval Air Station. Establish partnerships with institutions of higher
learning (i.e. St. Mary's College of Maryland, Catholic
University, Mount St. Mary's University,
University of Maryland).
- Recognize
and
reward outstanding performance and accomplishments. Link the
cohesive professional development plan to teacher supervision and
evaluation.
Goal 3: Build,
renovate and maintain facilities to enhance teaching and all learning
experiences for our students. Key Strategies:
- Construct
a
new athletic gym that will meet the growing needs of our student
population while also meeting our vital need for a place where the
entire school community can gather.
- Rebuild
the
track, upgrade fields and create a new turf field, which can be
used by our outstanding student athletes in the competitive Washington
Catholic Athletic Conference and by the greater community.
- Complete
the
lower level of Romuald Hall to meet the growing needs of our
band and choir programs. Enhance the sound and lighting system
in the theater and upgrade handicap accessibility in the theater.
- Expand
improvements made to the original classroom buildings that will provide
a comfortable and safe learning environment.
- Build
a
science center that will consolidate the science classrooms and
laboratory facilities in one area with state-of-the-art equipment and
technologies. Build a new student center for students that includes an
upgraded food service area and a completely upgraded kitchen.
Goal 4: Strengthen
St. Mary's Ryken's financial foundation for the 21st century
to ensure its position as a leader in Catholic college preparatory
education.
Key Strategies:
- Secure
capital
endowment and annual fund support through a comprehensive
campaign to accomplish the goals of the strategic plan.
- Strengthen
the advancement efforts in the areas of cultivation and stewardship
particularly for alumni.
- Develop
an endowment to enable St. Mary's Ryken to sustain competitive
compensation and professional development funding for faculty and
staff.
- Develop endowments designated for financial aid,
technology, campus beautification and building maintenance.
- Establish
a
long-range financial model that balances the current and future needs
of the school and that will guide the annual budget decisions such as
tuition.
Goal 5: Sustain
a thematic and comprehensive marketing program that targets enrollment
audiences and communicates clearly the message of St. Mary's Ryken High
School in Southern Maryland.
Key Strategies:
- Develop
a
strategic marketing plan that will assist the school in a
comprehensive approach and visual image of publications and marketing
materials. Know and understand the audience to whom the message will be
delivered.
- Establish specific
enrollment strategies for projected demographic growth in the Southern
Maryland region over the next five to ten years.
- Develop
and
deliver a key core message centered on the mission of the school,
which emphasizes St. Mary's Ryken's legacy of educating the whole
person.
- Create a magnet program on leadership for
students
- Develop
a speaker series and guest faculty program in person and online, so
that St. Mary's Ryken is recognized as a center of Catholic leadership
and intellectual growth.
Media Player