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Strategic Plan
Dear Providence Parents,
Last year Providence Montessori celebrated its 40th Anniversary. Our two
founders, Sister Marcia Jehn and Sister Mary Cletus Hehman have retired and
we've had a year of celebration and reflection; we’re poised to move forward
into a new era.
To continue to make Providence an even better place, the 2006-2007 Board of
Directors wants to update our parent families on both the strategic plan and to
let you know that we have been working on clearly defining our short term
goals. But first, we'd like update you on the goals listed in our 2003 to
2008 Strategic Plan.
Our first goal was to build an expansion to accommodate specialized programs. We
needed dedicated space for such activities as art, physical education, music,
Spanish, and an expansion of the library. Our 'Building Providence Brick by
Brick' campaign has been completed and the Founders Arts and Activities Building
(FAAB) was dedicated in May 2006.
Our second goal was to provide the staff with a more comparable salary to their
peers in public education. The HR Committee and the Finance Committee have
worked to develop a multi-year plan, to get our staff salaries at more
competitive levels. This plan takes into account the training, educational
attainment and years of experience, and its one year into its implementation.
Our third goal was to work to ensure long- term financial security while aiming
to keep tuition increases as low as possible. The Finance Committee arranged for
a fixed interest rate bond to finance the FAAB. In addition, a plan has been
implemented for increasing the rate of return on our savings.
Our fourth goal was to increase community knowledge awareness of Providence and
Montessori education. Under the dedicated and skilled leadership of our
Director, Kathy Regan, and our volunteer board, we now have an active Marketing
Committee that is helping to create a “branding” of Providence through print,
radio and TV ads, as well as the development of yard signs, postcards and an
information packet. The overall goal is to build Providence’s image and name
recognition so that families can learn about our school without having to depend
solely on word-of-mouth advertising.
Our fifth goal was to maintain an academically challenging curriculum. With the
addition of the FAAB, we have been able to expand our physical education, art
and Spanish programs, that has been extended to all levels. We are increasing
our computer capabilities by creating a secure network on the grounds that will
allow for controlled Internet access.
Our sixth goal was to establish a fund to provide financial aid. While we have
set up a process for application, and we have a small fund established, it is
far from being a significant enough source to provide scholarships; this is an
area we need to focus on for the future.
Our seventh goal was to build an endowment. This would allow us more flexibility
in funding for financial aid as mentioned above, for scholarships and for
enhancing programs, limiting tuition increases, acquiring adjacent land, and
much more. As with the financial aid, a small endowment fund has been started.
This is another area we need to work on for the future.
This year a new ad hoc committee has been formed to work on a new short and long
term strategy plan. In conjunction with the Parent Education and Marketing
Committees, this group of volunteers has worked diligently with Director Kathy
Regan to improve our retention rate in all grade levels. While the Parent
Education committee is working on increasing parents' understanding of the
Montessori philosophy and the importance of the three- year cycle being
completed, the Marketing Committee has been working on getting the word out to
the public about what a special place Providence is for children. Kathy Regan
works daily to ensure that all of these committees are working on concert, to
ensure continuity, and to plan for future generations of Providence 'granduates'.
Thanks to the efforts of a truly dedicated director, an outstanding staff, a
volunteer board, and our community of parent volunteers, a tremendous amount of
progress has been made. The hard work and dedication of our founders, our
Director, and the parents over the years has kept the Providence vision alive.
Now we need your help to carry Providence Montessori into the future
Please watch this space for future updates. As always, if you have any
questions or if you have expertise in any of these areas and would be willing to
volunteer, please contact Kathy Regan, Jim Mrvos or me.
Respectfully,
Sarah Moore Katzenmaier,
Parent Volunteer
Kagen's Mom, Classroom VII in 2006-2007
Click here to download the strategic plan. You will need Acrobat Reader to
access the file. If you do not have Acrobat Reader, you may download it
free here.
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