MISSION STATEMENT

St. Mary’s Ryken is a Catholic, coeducational college preparatory high school, operated under the Xaverian Brothers’ sponsorship, committed to academic excellence and to individualized student growth in faith, moral probity, physical health, social demeanor, and responsible citizenship.

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PHILOSOPHY

St. Mary’s Ryken, sponsored by the Xaverian Brothers, is a Catholic, independent, co-educational college-preparatory school. The school draws inspiration from the Gospel and the Catholic faith as well as the charisms of its founders, the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth and the Xaverian Brothers. Central to the SMR philosophy is the mandate to teach as Jesus did, to reach out to all to achieve the Kingdom of God.

SMR recognizes that each individual is unique and gifted with innate goodness. The community of St. Mary’s Ryken encourages the respect for and appreciation of diversity, and nurtures a faith-filled view of existence. Christian service is an integral component of the SMR philosophy and practice. St. Mary’s Ryken provides an integrated approach to the students’ development as loyal, intelligent, and self-directed persons.

Essential to the educational methodology at SMR is the characteristic of living in concordia. This perspective on learning allows the students’ intellectual growth to flourish in an environment not hampered by undue competitiveness. Students experience diverse and progressive opportunities in academics, fine arts, athletics, student activities, and campus ministry. The challenge of the SMR education is to enable students to realize their potential, continue their academic journey, and assume responsibilities in their family, the civic community, and the professional world.

Imbued with the spirit of its founders, St. Mary’s Ryken prepares young men and women to continue this work in a global interconnected new millennium. Our task as educators is not accomplished by ourselves. We share this mission and its various responsibilities with parents, who are the primary educators, the communities in which they live, and the local Church.

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PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE ON THE STRATEGIC PLAN

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. Last June at graduation the first graduating class of Ryken High received their fiftieth honorary diploma and this spring St. Mary’s Ryken will graduate our 27^th class. These traditions are part of an extraordinary history of Catholic education in Southern Maryland. The legacies we carry forward from 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 courses, increased math, science and fine arts curriculum, student activities 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 continue to 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.

Taking 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, the power of our legacy that leads us to commit to the foundation of tomorrow’s history.

Sincerely,

Mary Joy Hurlburt
President

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ST. MARY'S RYKEN STRATEGIC PLAN

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 to assure the program is expanded in light of the latest educational ideas and that the program serves the needs of students with learning differences so that they can excel in 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 fine arts course offerings

§ continue to develop AP programs

§ assure that 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:

1. Maintain salaries and benefits that are on a competitive level regionally and build greater predictability and clarity to compensation for faculty and staff.
2. Provide a professional development educator to maximize student learning and best practices for teachers. Encourage innovative teaching methodology and curriculum development.
3. 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.
4. Research, identify and support educational initiatives that provide school-wide growth with the leadership in the local business community and Patuxent Naval Air Station. Establish partnerships with institutions of higher learning i.e. St. Mary's College, Catholic University, Mt. St. Mary's University, University of Maryland.
5. 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:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Complete the lower level of Romuald Hall to meet the growing needs of our Instrumental and Choir programs. Enhance the sound and lighting system in the theater, upgrade handicap accessibility in the theater.
4. Expand improvements made to the original classroom buildings that will provide a comfortable and safe learning environment.
5. 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 21^st century to ensure its position as a leader in Catholic college preparatory education.

Key Strategies:

1. Secure capital endowment, and annual fund support through a comprehensive campaign to accomplish the goals of the strategic plan.
2. Strengthen the advancement efforts in the areas of cultivation and stewardship particularly for alumni.
3. Develop an endowment to enable St. Mary's Ryken to sustain competitive compensation and professional development funding for faculty and staff.
4. Develop endowments designated for financial aid, technology, and campus beautification and building maintenance.
5. 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:

1. 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.
2. Establish specific enrollment strategies for projected demographic growth in the Southern Maryland region over the next five to ten years.
3. 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.
4. Create a magnet program on "leadership" for students
5. Develop a speaker series and guest faculty program in person and on-line, so that St. Mary's Ryken is recognized as a center of Catholic leadership and intellectual growth.

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