A New Beginning

Dear DeSales Family,

Colors are changing, rain is falling, mornings are crisp and evening comes much sooner; can it be the end of October already?  Where has the start of the year gone?  I have come to realize that as we entered this year, I am happy to say that some of our dreams have been fulfilled and yet we have many more to accomplish. 

Last year I shared with each of you our new vision and mission statements.  We have affirmed that DeSales students will be well equipped to successfully meet the challenges of modern day society with faith, dignity and integrity.  Additionally, it is our mission that:

            DeSales Catholic School provides . . .

A center of excellence that inspires individual students to reach their greatest potential inside and outside the classroom.

A nurturing community dedicated to advancing the highest academic standards and an exceptional faith-based education rooted in the values of love, compassion, mercy, sacrifice and justice as taught by St. Francis deSales.

Students with the fundamental building blocks to be innovative, critical-thinkers, and responsible future leaders.

If you take a moment to consider what the above vision and mission are really doing, they are helping us to focus our dreams and guide us along a path that will allow the entire DeSales community to grow in Christ and prosper in an ever-changing society. 

Moreover, these statements are a measuring stick by which we are beginning to evaluate ourselves by as the 2012 ~ 2013 school year also marked the beginning of our Middle States accreditation process.  This year plus long process will touch every member of our community in some form, some as committee chairpersons or members, and yet others to gage your opinion on focused standards as we see them through the above mission. 

The initial phase, Phase I, of the Middle States process involves an integrated study of our philosophy/ mission statement as well as a more thorough examination of our community.  These two study teams will examine how we define ourselves, where we have come from, where we want to go and how those dynamics have changed throughout our recent history. 

Phase II, a much more focused phase, will use the work of the first two study teams to look into our student services/activities and our curricular program offerings.  This is the time where we closely examine whether or not we are “walking the walk” that we have defined in our mission statement.

Finally, in Phase III the work performed during the first two phases will allow us to engage upon an examination of leadership at all levels from classrooms through our Board of Trustees and attempt to determine if its organizational structure is the most conducive to learning.  Additionally, during this phase we will review the resources that we employ to fulfill our mission.  Questions about our physical plant, the technology we employ, and the every environment in which we operate are going to be posed and need to be answered.  And, with all this information, a strategic action plan will be formulated to help address any weaknesses that appear as well as allow us to build on the inherent strengths that DeSales has.

I know that I have been rather long winded today, but I wanted to give you a brief picture of just what this year has in store for us as well as offer any who are interested to help in the process.  If you would like more specific information, or are willing to help based on what you already know, please contact any member of the Steering Committee, Mrs. Beth Marotta, Mrs. Stacey Pellicano, Mr. Joseph Granchelli, Mr. Paul Schuster and Dr. Fike. 

Thank you and God Bless you all,

Scott