National education
consultant advising diocese on
Journey in Faith &
Grace
Recommendations to help
shape strategic plan
When the Diocese of Buffalo announces
plans to restructure Catholic elementary schools in the coming weeks, it will
culminate more than three years of strategic planning. In January 2004, a 23-member steering
committee consisting of representatives from various constituencies in the
diocese met and established vision and mission statements, identified core
values and reviewed six areas of major concern: Catholic identity, governance, finance,
marketing, facilities and academics.
This work was then incorporated into
the Journey in Faith and Grace, the diocesan strategic planning process that
was launched almost two years ago.
In 2006, Bishop Edward U. Kmiec
retained the services of Robert F. Shea, president of
Shea Consulting Services in
Shea has been reviewing information on
Catholic elementary schools in the diocese and will compare and contrast it
with best practices within other dioceses throughout the
A secondary
school educator and administrator for 28 years, Shea
has worked as a teacher, department chairperson, director of student
activities, assistant
principal, principal
and president. For the past 15 years, he
and his staff have served as consultants to Catholic elementary and secondary
schools across the country.
“It is
vital in the life of any diocesan school system to periodically seek outside,
competent and objective analysis of all phases of corporate life and how they
relate to the local parish, school and wider Church,” Shea
said. “Issues of declining enrollment, questions about the strength and support
for Catholic education among parents and pastors, maintaining financial
stability, and addressing the issues of facility usage increases the necessity
for professional guidance form those who share the same faith-experience.”
Denise
McKenzie, secretary of Catholic education for the diocese, said, “We have taken
an extensive look at every Catholic elementary school in the diocese. Some of the parishes are using as much as 80
percent of their parish offertory to support their schools.
“Catholic education in our diocese has to change
now. Based on five-year enrollment
trends, it is clear that the demographics are not on our side. In our parishes, there are fewer children and
there have been fewer baptisms.” Infant
baptisms in the diocese declined 9.9% between 2005 and 2006.
“Our
Catholic elementary schools have done extremely well under difficult
circumstances,” McKenzie added, “and our excellent test scores reflect the dedication
of our principals, teachers and parents.
But we need to change the landscape of Catholic education in our diocese
in order to remain viable and financially stable going forward.”
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