Archdiocese of New York Launches Pathways to Excellence II

ARCHDIOCESE OF NEW YORK LAUNCHES

PATHWAYS TO EXCELLENCE II 

NEXT PHASE OF STRATEGIC PLANNING FOR CATHOLIC EDUCATION

LAUNCHES WEBPAGE TO SOLICIT CRUCIAL COMMUNITY FEEDBACK

 NEW YORK, NY  – Dr. Timothy J. McNiff, Superintendent of the Catholic Schools in the Archdiocese of New York, today announced the beginning of an ambitious strategic planning process to design the roadmap for its Catholic schools in the coming years, highlighted by the launch of a new webpagededicated to collecting feedback from key constituencies. The launch of this initiative and webpage mark an exciting new phase of planning for the Archdiocese, the first of which was realized via its Pathways to Excellence strategic plan in 2010.

“Now that considerable time and effort have been invested over the last several years in the execution of Pathways I, we believe this is an appropriate time to evaluate the plan’s progress and future direction,” explained Dr. McNiff. “In crafting our vision for the future, we continue to call upon pastors, principals, educators, alumni, donors, and families, as well as leaders in both business and education, to see where we can continue to grow both spiritually and in the classroom.”

With the start of this latest planning phase, dubbed Pathways to Excellence II, the Archdiocese of New York will identify and evaluate which implemented practices have been successful, and consider which should be updated. Pathways I has furnished innumerable improvements to the Catholic schools’ governance structure, fiscal health and, most importantly, the quality of academic and spiritual education provided for the children and families it proudly serves.

As part of Pathways II, the Archdiocese of New York is asking for feedback from all its key constituencies and stakeholders. To that end, a webpage,https://catholicschoolsny.org/about-us/pathways/, has been launched with a survey that all are invited to fill out. This feedback and commentary will help ensure a bright future for Catholic education in the Archdiocese of New York.

The survey includes questions on top issues such as:

·         “How would you rate Catholic identity in our schools?”

·         “How would you rate our performance in the leadership dimension?”

·         “How would you rate our performance in governance and finance?”

Each question also asks responders to provide feedback on how best to improve performance in the respective categories.

Building on the primary focus areas examined in Pathways I, Pathways II will incorporate several Domain Committees (Catholic Identity, Teaching and Learning, Leadership, Governance, Enrollment Management, Communications, Student Services, and Finance) whose work will be directed by an overarching Steering Committee. Over the next several months, the Domain Committees will be tasked with a multi-part review of Pathways I’s progress in their respective areas; provide feedback on the objectives present in Pathways I; and prepare specific tasks for strategies that can be accomplished in the coming years.

 About the Catholic Schools in the Archdiocese of New York:

Catholic Schools in the Archdiocese of New York serve more than 71,000 students from Pre-K to 12^th grade across 217 schools in nine regions throughout New York City and upstate New York. These regions are: Manhattan; Northwest/South Bronx; Northeast/East Bronx; Staten Island; Central Westchester; Northern Westchester/Putnam; Rockland; Ulster/Sullivan/Orange; and Dutchess. Archdiocesan schools offer a unique combination of academic and spiritual development that empowers children of all backgrounds to gain the confidence to realize their fullest potential. To learn more about the Archdiocese of New York’s Catholic schools, visit www.catholicschoolsny.org or Facebook atwww.facebook.com/CatholicSchoolsArchdioceseNewYork.