Town Hall Forum

Presented by: HASA  Board Members:  Chair - John Prozinski  Vice-Chair – Liesa Thill  Secretary – Jennifer Ranweiler  Rachel Hoelz  Mary Lossow  Mark Lelwica

CHARACTER. COMPASSION. VALUES. These three attributes should be the hallmark of any disciple of Jesus. Most especially, we in our Catholic schools are called not only to exhibit these attributes to one another, but also to bring them to the world in the way that Jesus did.

St. Francis of the Lakes Catholic School, in cooperation with family, is committed to challenging students to grow spiritually, academically, and socially within a Catholic centered environment.

Heather Erickson – Board Chair Chad Knudson – Vice Chair Tommy Woog – Secretary Ray Charpentier Phil Laube Lisa Pehrson Mike Brusseau John Prozinski – Home and School ex-officio member

Our budget is met with three forms of income: Tuition Parish Subsidy Fundraising and donations The cost of educating a child in our school is $5,300. Our total school budget is $989,821

Budget income breakdown

Budget expense breakdown

How are we doing so far with our fundraisers?

 MWF Preschool – 20  T TH Preschool - 20  Kindergarten - 32  First grade – 30  Second grade – 31  Third grade – 23  Fourth Grade - 24  5 th grade - 14  6 th grade - 16  7 th grade - 11  8 th grade - 8

 The school works really hard at maintaining consistency and continuity among the teachers and classes.  Sometimes class sizes fluctuate from year to year, and that can impact staffing. We may address these changes by: ◦ moving staff into grades that have a higher demand or ◦ by adding educational assistants when there aren’t quite enough students to warrant a second teacher.  Of course, we would love to have many, many more children attend St Francis, and we would certainly add teachers to handle the increased population!

Current Context and RealityUnacceptable MeansResults Parameters The following realities necessitate potential changes for our school … In making decisions regarding our school’s future we will not … Plans/changes for the school will support our efforts to … Current Context  Large changes/flux in enrollment  Middle school enrollment/program subsidized by lower grades/students  Unstable financial support in the region (economic factors at parishes)  False perception that there are fewer academic/extracurricular opportunities  Perception that students don’t perform as well here.  Perception the kids “pray all day”  Preschool enrollment limits feeder opportunities  There is no 9-12 Catholic school in the area  Perception that small # of students in grades 5-8 limits social opportunities for kids  Transportation may be challenging for some families, especially outside of Brainerd district  There is a financial cost to families and a commitment to raise money Unacceptable means  Sacrificing our Catholic identity  Hiring unlicensed teachers  Lowering education standards  Close the school  Violating laws  Raising tuition beyond what the average Catholic family in the area can afford  Making our school uninviting or difficult for families with limited financial means  Keep our stakeholders in the dark  Sacrifice sense of family/community Results parameters  Financial stability  The premier elementary/middle school in the Brainerd Lakes area  That Catholic families consider St. Francis as the FIRST educational option for their kids  We will have full waiting lists for families wanting to enroll  Staff paid well for their work  More stable tuition assistance fund to help families be here  Stable teaching staff-less turnover in staff – keep our great teachers in place  Increased academic opportunities, such as language arts ( other languages ), technology and learning through technology, advanced science courses  High level of family satisfaction (annually) as evidenced in surveys.

To gather parent perceptions about St. Francis of the Lakes School as well as to include parent input as the School Board embarks upon a new strategic planning process that will set the course for our school for the coming years. Why survey parents this year?

 140 surveys completed  72% of parents who completed the survey reported being very satisfied with the direction of the school, and 28% reported they were somewhat satisfied.  99% of parents said they would recommend our school to other families.

 69% of parents reported the quality of education was excellent, 31% that is was good and less than 1% reported it is fair.

Areas of Strength: 1. Catholic Education 2. Small school setting 3. Our staff 4. Safe environment 5. Sense of Community

1. messages (by far) 2. Letters/notes/agenda book 3. School reach 4. Personal phone call

1. Staff Respect for Children – 83% agree strongly, 17% agree somewhat, none disagree 2. Staff Encouragement of Students - 81% agree strongly, 19% agree somewhat, none disagree 3. School is Welcoming - 81% agree strongly, 16% agree somewhat, 2% disagree somewhat, and 1% disagrees strongly 4. School Communicates Well – 78% agree strongly, 18% agree somewhat, 3% disagree somewhat, and 1% disagrees strongly

5. Staff Respect for Parents – 76% agree strongly, 22% agree somewhat, 2% disagree somewhat, none disagree strongly 6. High Quality of Education - 75% agree strongly, 24% agree somewhat, 1% disagrees somewhat 7. Responsiveness to Concerns - 73% agree strongly, 24% agree somewhat, 1% disagree somewhat, and 2% had no opinion 8. Stronger Education Than Other Schools – 68% agree strongly, 25% agree somewhat, 4% disagree somewhat,1% disagrees strongly, and 2% had no opinion

Thank you for keeping our school a special place. God bless you and your families.