ARCHDIOCESE OF KANSAS CITY IN KANSASPROCLAIM HOPE CAFÉ NOTES

MARCH 30, 2014

CATHOLIC IDENTITY: Joint retreats between schools. Forgotten child syndrome. Program consolidation, band, art. Recruit a city wide youth group leader to help coordinate events Cooperation with archdiocese. Sometimes we feel left out. More promotion/adoption of

youth programs in Topeka. Special ed coordinator for all the schools Joint retreats Do more activities together among all the Catholic grade schools to increase a sense of unity Faith formation Become one. Get everyone on the same page Consolidate music/art instruction among schools Somehow bring kids together as a team- I’ve seen kids come together on football team and

connect. How else can this be done? Get Hayden students out to grade schools more often and get grade kids to Hayden more often.

Encourage unity between parents and teachers of each school. Communication between schools- why reinvent the wheel. Establish unity between all schools and parishes.

Topeka school logo opportunities for cross parishes to interact by layers of roles AKA -PTO’s- one meeting or year to exchange ideas. Kindergarten parents- opportunities to share experience.

Support each other’s fundraising events. Reinforce catholic identity to kid and families and various stages.

Reverence for Eucharist More parent participation Kids socialize with each other’s at Hayden events track meets, etc. Use Washburn Catholic Campus Center for central youth group events Sports- combine parochial league for sports to compete with each other against public

schools instead against each other Pope Francis as example: He goes where the need is Develop better special ed. programs for kids with needs and gifted Parents relationships building- give support to Catholic schools Get student co-reps together from different schools. Combine grade school events to include

two or three schools like field day at end of year Region wide youth group. Youth mass- regional Branding of schools. Marketing of the Catholic faith similar to the ‘Catholics Come Home’ Be true MTSS School have universal screener for all schools. Create middle atmosphere so

they are wanting to come in together. Do more evens for unity. Get everyone on same page with special ed. rograms. Combine sports, play together.

Going to Mass together and inviting each other to parish events. Bulletins are “old” way to communicate. Need new attractive way: one mass storage for all

schools, a way to filter by topic, steal info shamelessly for better of all. Model the monthly faith formation for teachers which all school teachers do and start doing

as a parish formation with each school parish.

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Common theme was identity at each individual school is OK. Area in need is strengthening identity among the six schools.

Need way to welcome those visiting the other parishes…recognize a visitor, welcome them. Host events at rotating schools and way to get families there among the schools. The collaboration needs to be there, doesn’t exist now due to sense of competition among schools.

Other activities and events involving all parishes, e.g. summer picnics, community fairs. Foster opportunities to build communities among all elementary schools. We need an umbrella community “branding” that encompasses all elementary schools. Sharing of information amongst parishes.

Maintain pre-K through 8th grade education system. Collaborate academic strengths to rest of schools that need work. Bring all schools together for activities- Mass @Hayden.

Use technology. Need a parent association amongst all parishes. Need umbrella strategic planning organization for entire city. Involve all parishioners; parishioners need to take ownership to save the schools.

City wide Catholic Girl and Boy Scout events- camping together annually? More opportunities for students to gather together across schools- currently have vocation

Day, Catholic Schools week Mass, concert during CS week. HFCS has great three religious teachers on staff. Mentoring from older students to younger

students. We feel collaboration with teachers of all catholic schools maybe like a particular day of month.

Get all the grade schools together more often to get to know each other. Better pre-k to teach parents early on about the benefits and cost of Catholic education. Then

better collaboration between parish schools to retrain enrollment into Hayden. It seems like the health and growth of your parish and parish school relies too much on your

priest alone. Too often you can look at a period of time and see peaks and valleys on who your priest was at the time and how he challenged and led the church.

Social events to mix with other schools Mini Steubenville retreats. Something exciting for youth Reach out to adults/families. Continue what’s being taught at school Nuns Presence of religious sisters on campus visible presence of priests on campus even if short

visits- Catholic identity Service projects, i.e. provide services to funerals Retreat for school children pre-k to 8th grade Teacher to teacher conference once a month maybe Work on sports or club collaborations between elementary schools Maintain existence of pre-k program (uniforms and all up to 8th grade) collaborate academic

strengths Would like to have more nuns at school Create collaboration among all schools, through groups, clubs, service projects, retreats, etc.

create friendships Youth groups, pray together, not separately at beginning of games. Communicate events among parishes and schools Students should not be afraid to share their faith and beliefs about Catholic faith Schools should share resources, i.e. teachers (science), music, etc.

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City wide retreat, service would also build relationship Give children a chance to form relationships with other students from other catholic schools

beyond sports. Promote Catholic identity through press releases e.g. Ralph Hip’s 4:00 show, Include

Prayer/meditation as basis for service. Catholic students participating in Fiesta Mexican parade. Centralized purchasing for all Catholic schools- economizing the purchasing. Two times a year students from Catholic schools march in St. Patrick’s Day Parade- each school. Catholic schools week- 5th -8th grade.

Common Topeka Catholic: school council, logo, youth coordinator, fund-raising Topeka area Catholic Youth coordinator to consolidate all catholic youth groups Regional marketing efforts. Get the word out in our community Have athletes lead prayer at parochial games. A collaborative Facebook Page. School youth

group service project across Topeka. Collaborative fundraiser. Families need to attend Mass on the weekends Pastors need to promote the importance of Catholic education form the pulpit Need to work on public relations- committee at school? Promoting identity more to external community. Market Topeka Catholic schools as a whole.

Service projects, Math Fairs, competition. “District” wide marketing. Collaborate more school to school in the grade schools – e.g. band, science fairs, choir, etc. maximize resources and costs shared between schools while keeping identity.

Collaboration for teachers between schools i.e. all first grade teachers in Topeka meet. More opportunities for our facilities, school councils etc. can meet and share together. Marketing- combat misperceptions- cost, quality Buddy system- parents, schools, classes etc. share and grow Pool resources from all parishes and schools to conduct consistent year-around marketing

and promotion of all Topeka Catholic schools. Increase participation of parents when children are younger. Promote our faith formation

Explore potential for a central administration for the catholic schools More unified effort to manage schools and create a culture of a shared school system. Not

only involving Hayden, but with leadership and strong presence of Hayden Student pen pal and student swap day (students spend a day at another school with a buddy) Centralized email and or website for collaboration and idea exchange. More interschool

activities. Hayden- at a minimum one all school mass each week. More connection with Hayden students and catholic school students- big brother, big sister

Topeka needs a leader to direct all schools grade schools and high school Hayden. Strong leadership at all schools is a must each of strong leadership has been evident during the rapid decline in our enrollment at all schools.

“Exit interview” with those going from grade schools to public jr. or high schools. Priests presence in schools. All 8th graders from all schools collaborate and so community

service together in joint projects for confirmation. Combined catholic Jr. High. All schools combine for annual grade level retreats.

Common Catholic school skate night. Common restaurant nights- all get together or grade level across town

Field days together for lower levels. Maybe have older grades help run the field days- leadership. Have one common spirit shirt to be worn a certain day each week or month for all to wear.

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City wide youth mass at Assumption on Sunday nights High school facilities, high school- more openness about price and scholarships for high

school and higher ed. Remove stereotypes. Shared resources- curriculum, technology, language/music, promotion of catholic ed. PTO’s/school councils- Topeka wide sharing and collaboration

Sharing resources among grade schools and possibly Hayden. Create more activities to bond schools together, e.g. Mikey Needleman Band, 5th grade vocation, catholic schools week mass

City wide service project put together by all the area grade schools Positive representation in the community. Collaboration: share specialized teachers, nurses,

gifted, languages, and special ed. Share resources: fundraisers/balls, marketing. Parochial middle school?

Document testimonies. Busses from grade schools to Hayden Move regional events- less competition with each other, work more as a district. Integrated

middle school- act as leader, or at lease more regional events for these kids You need one employee to oversee all of it Promote to kids in the parish religious ed programs City wide Catholic school celebration. Round robin school Mass and visitation to other

schools. Ex. HFCS to St. Matthew’s or MPHM to Mater Dei Entire parish community needs to be re-engaged in the education of the children. Declining

enrollment, raising tuition will likely cause even higher problems with school population. What Is the Topeka Catholic Institute? We need to think about some collective activities between parishes. Need to make cost to educate equal among schools because parish support is flat. Flat amount of parish support in all schools

Prayer, daycare/pre-k, Catholic schools week, all schools function, all school Mass Lack of communication between parishes. Enhance the value of our school. More

transparency and work together instead of independent. More parent involvement Teachers need time to meet with all schools to discuss curriculum, sacraments/ service

projects. Increase Mass attendance on the weekends. Develop city Catholic school service projects to

help students and parents form difference schools meet each other. Topeka Catholic schools newsletter highlighting activities and programs- ultimately allowing

the sharing of information. Collaboration between teachers to foster ideas and share what works.

Education fair with HHS and all other grade schools to entice others with similar faith backgrounds to seek us.

Teacher faith formation quarterly amongst all schools. Central location for information on education offered from all churches.

Good 5th grade vocation day. Need to work on a longer tenure of chaplain at Hayden (build relationships) i.e. Fr. Nick is at

MPHM, and does not interact with other schools and is rotated every three years. Need to work on pre-school-12, preschool also faith infused. Something else than sports and vocation day are opportunities to interact.

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Grade level collaboration among schools. Older together- paper, text books, supplies. More joint activities working together- spelling bee, catholic school Sunday, 8th grade collaborative dance, music programs, for lower levels too. Promote catholic faith

Topeka wide youth group activities especially involving RE Make priority “One” strengthen our faith instruction at home and school Promote activities of each parish, summer fest, German fest, fiesta How better to recognize efforts of Hayden students volunteering in community. Advertise

academic, social and service given back to the community. Author news articles for city paper and parish bulletins. E.g. help given to Moore. Consider an outdoor Mass at capitol or large green to unity schools. Need to link elementary schools to an identity, march at St. Patrick’s Day Parade, March at Fiesta, German Fest, Summer Fest, Jamboree, Irish Fest, March in recessionals- stations of the cross, Easter, Etc. ambassador program- consider sending ten to 20 students for a day or two to other catholic schools to help bridge and link schools or via webcast link.

STEWARDSHIP AND TUITION: Accountability on tithing and pledge. Johnson county model for tuition does not work for

Topeka. We are a poorer community and that does not work for us- a more blue collar community. Sustained commitment from KC to project a model that works for us. Too much overhead with administration. We could utilize that money in salaries to put back in the school.

Educating parents/families on what stewardship is, what if we don’t tithe, what will happen? Create foundation for all schools to increase the trust and end of life gifts. Tell our story all the time. Students participate in Sunday Mass more than one time a year

during CSW. Fr. Greg did a great job of explaining debt reduction and how we all could easily help. We need more of this- well communicated.

Utilize community resources to help fund Catholic education Ask the archdiocese to forgive the 1.7 million Hayden owes them Implement volunteer hours, parish subsidy, fundraisers, tuition, prove value to parish Focus on estate planning for parish schools and consolidate parish schools Develop a regional board to help all schools work together to work on funding for their

schools. Make sure those in true need can use CEF funds that are available. Increase Catholic identity so everyone feels positive to give, tithe, for future generations.

Keep priests in the parish linger to see things through /build relationships and trust for stewardship.

How can we make stewardship work for all the Church? Share resources. A model system “Topeka Catholic Schools” where all finances are the same across the board.

Scholarships, centralized school system. Trained financial managers for schools Set a flat rare for all grade schools and then share the supplies with other schools. Have

parish councils meet with families to set levels of tuition and tithing. Use a central marketing position to promote catholic schools.

Wichita is stewardship based. Talk up Catholic education value. Do not need any more negativity. Hayden facilities, academic opportunities can be an issue. Does it all have to be the same?

Individual parish special collection for all parish schools. Uniform tuition cost across all parish schools. Move to not set tuition, tithe only system.

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Marketing to full pay for those who can and they can deduct different from their taxes. Could Mr. Uhler incorporate general marketing into his job for all six schools?

Do we have an evangelization issue? People not giving what they can or should? We want to say stewardship model works. Market to full pay- get the families who can pay full to do it and that will help with those that can’t. We need communication between parishes more than the bulletin.

Group buying power- textbooks, supplies. No one at our table wants tuition!!Is there a third option? Pooling finances?

Why does the cost of tuition vary so much between the schools? How do we re-evangelize to parents that Catholic education is a worthy investment? Is tuition a reality?

All schools use same text books- cheaper and more consistent. Each parish tithe pooled together and then shared among parishes- stewardship model. Sponsors for student. Consolidate schools? Others people’s money?

$250,000 + debt each year at MPH. MPH is handling through legacies… current model not working. Parent share? Revisit stewardship model? - Fr. Jerry tells us it is not working. Build relationships with local businesses?

We do not think that Catholic schools can be funded solely from parents. We need to try to make the blend work if possible.

If this is the truth we all need to come as a community before the Blessed Sacrament to pray and ask for God’s guidance

Stewardship/tuition is a continuum zero an either or. The matter that should be considered is the % of subsidy from the parish.

Combination of stewardship and tuition. Explain stewardship. Ed. Savings accounts. Volunteer opportunities for parishes. All schools at the same price Catholic ed is for rich and poor. Tuition=loss of students. Educate families how stewardship

works Shift to tuition will greatly reduce enrollment in Topeka Catholic schools! Fewer practicing

Catholics. Responsibility as Catholics to invest in Catholic schools. Stewardship not working where fees are high. Why would increasing fees help?

Educate parish members from foreign countries who are accustomed to government funding the church

Unify cost structure for all schools Universal screener for everyone. Everyone on same page for special ed. Every parish member needs to stay involved in supporting the church. More equitable tuition

payments based on percentage of net income City-wide 10% tithing by families with kids in Catholic schools. Combine pool city wide What percentage of tithing dollars goes to the school? All parishes send a certain % to a central office to use for “city” education system. Have a

unified school board representing all parishes. Tithing based in each parish Raise tuition some. Share teachers, resources. Maybe further consolidation. Pool money

among Topeka parishes. Can’t go full tuition, enrollment would drop severely Plea for tithing must come from parish priest. Stewardship fairs Sports need to combine become one to help enrollment go up As tuition goes up, enrollment is going to decrease. Benefits parish but not our schools More education on tithing- faith based

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Look into Wichita stewardship model would it work for Topeka? And if so how long would it take to get there? Pooling all parish money into one pot.

Sharing stewardship resources amongst parishes Make kids apply for free and reduced lunches if they can qualify Volunteer hours worked gives credit on tuition. Special collection for school. Standardize

tuition for all schools. Pool a certain % from all parishes to fund education and divide equally among grade schools. Get sponsors form either outside the parish or have a parishioner sponsor a kid. Come together and have a community fundraiser for catholic education.

I think the true stewardship was never really practiced as a whole in Topeka. All parishes did not practice stewardship.

Go back to stewardship model all the tuition up does is cause fewer families to decide on catholic ed. It also suggests to families to lower tithing to offset the higher tuition. As tuition goes up, we will lose students so we are back to losing schools.

Have outside entity that has experience in capital campaign for educating financial students- organized effort.

Align tuition to what Hayden started. Need consistency among all five K-8 schools. Consolidate 1-3 middle schools so don’t lose so many in the grades and we/parish carry less of a burden. Model the middle schools to Hayden model.

Mandatory tithing- Wichita? More parent volunteering to help our fundraisers be more successful Follow up physically with non-respondents at pastoral level We feel like we still need to maintain stewardship/tuition that we are currently using maybe

changing tuition to 50%? Topeka should have one elementary school K-5 and one Jr. High 6-8 Topeka unified Catholic school district run by a board representative of the region and all

parishes have organized stewardship. Consistency among all schools with tithing, amount of tuition for multiple families. Educate all people: parishioners, parents about tithing and the commitment to educating our

children. Mandated participation with consequences for fundraising. CEF scholarships- 3 parishes contribute $ to fund tuition. Debt free. Parents pay small tuition

if they can. You lose parent interest in grade 5 as they can’t fund Hayden tuition so begin sending their kids to public school in middle school. If parents can pay only part of the tuition that would be OK. This should be the approach except when tuition paying student is bumped. i.e. can’t be accommodated because texts are occupied by parish paying students. Stewardship model is not working. Three of five parishes operate in deficit. Modernize fund development rising. Need to have faith commitment of families. Can we support five Catholic schools in Topeka? Further consolidation may be needed. Some parish populations are decreasing however the school population is increasing not fortifiable.

Feels like secrets are being kept. May be time for one Topeka Catholic school systemENROLLMENT: Regional junior high. Market better to RE families. Hayden start marketing to 4th and 5th

grades- keep them in grade schools- get them to Hayden. Find ways to bring RE and parish kids and parents together. Catholicism worth the investment? Families speaking with their behaviors. Parents not

making the sacrifices of generations past. Raising fees will exacerbate this!

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Combine middle schools- losing kids to pubic middle schools due to sports, tech, specially classes, etc.

Start at baptism, provide info- schools, and hold social events hosted by school families for younger children, buddy parents with school families. RE parents be required to do service hours- connect them with parish family.

Market schools to young families. Start communicating to them at baptism. All priests need to encourage catholic education. More collaboration between Hayden and

elementary teachers. Public relations for all schools. Barriers: cost, transportation, academic opportunities (Hayden), evangelization- parents are the first teachers, why are they not choosing to send their kids?

Barriers: cost, transportation, honors programs at Hayden, evangelization- increase enrollment by: public relations- tell our story, priests, principals, families, and teachers.

The Reid Group should host a forum with each parish’s CCD classes and parents. Ask why they don’t send their children to Catholic school? What barriers stop them from sending their kids to Catholic school?

Branding schools- selling as a group, promote education excellence, advertise, marketing, invite potential students to activities.

Some schools close, some parishes become dying parishes ling term. Educate our community about the value of Catholic education. Help our parents become

ambassadors for the enrollment. Barrier: compete with 437, transportation (bussing, carpool). To get enrollment up: market to

parish families, overcome misperceptions like money and quality, communicate scores and success, public relations, media relations and coverage.

If four out of five schools are CEF schools, how could these populations pay tuition? After school activities since we have no busing Promotion of a Catholic education at each parish verses “religious education” more

effectively utilize our pre-k as a feeder to catholic schools. Collaboration of unity among all schools, among adult/children RE CTM needs a marketing committee Iowa Bask info/stats Parents form the school need to be counting and soliciting the younger families. This must be

through and organized catching all of the families in the parish. Expand roll of chaplain to outreach to grade schools and RE’s Barriers: cost, marketing (lack of) lack of reaching out, misinformation. Benefits: perceived

value of $1 spent speak about catholic education from pulpit more, marketing, and compare private vs public and educate parishioners.

Increasing by: more public service- sell ourselves, market to home schoolers- share resources, market to newly baptized.

Activities offered 6, 7, 8th grade. More collaboration for electives among schools. Good preschool options.

Market Hayden to religious education Barriers: money, more opportunities in the public schools, kids integrating into the public

school system earlier now in middle school and younger. Ways to increase: faith formation, community, service orientated, education- well prepared, catholic Junior High

Help CCD families understand that by not attending catholic school, they are really choosing to home school their children in our catholic faith.

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Have a school or church café. Have a certain number of families invite a certain number of families for a social and to discuss current issues. Get parents/families invested. Priests need to get to know families specifically. Start earlier to get kids interested in coming to Hayden. Give them free tickets to games, plays, activities. Onesies given to baptismal kids saying future Lion, Bobcat, etc. send out B-day cards to kids each year starting at baptismal records.

Give discount to early child educ. Kids that go to kindergarten at your school- baptismal welcome, Easter egg hunts, art activities offered.

Recruit students at activities. City wide catholic community event Review sports activities in general for middle school kids Start talking with and reaching out to parents at baptism and keep contacting them about

catholic education Early education centers p, pre-k – great feeder for schools. Share more information in 5th

grade about Hayden to encourage students to continue catholic school. Need consistency to be one. Have high school special education people coordinate and train

grade schools. Get on same for high school. Create middle school Need to work as a region to develop a cohesive marketing plan promoting catholic education.

Need to increase the value of catholic education and sell it More advertising Consolidation of the three smaller schools Overcome misperception of Hayden, advertise SAT/ACT scores, funding- get other people’s

money to help fund tuition. Get RE kids to schools do a better job marketing our schools and what catholic education offers them.

Get all parishioners, parents, etc. all vested, be proactive. Evangelization for our schools. Broadcasting all of the good that all schools/students are doing.

We need to reach outside our parish community and draw “non” Catholics too! Move from preschool to elementary Show case school to parish more, regional marketing initiative?, target students in religious

ed. Promote the benefits of a catholic education- get your kid to heaven. Tuition is a huge

barrier. If we go to tuition we will have nothing but damage control to deal with. All schools be on same page Mandated amount of activities with priests involvement School safety and display our graduation rate One youth ministry group for middle school Improved gifted/special programs all on same page Parents/students need to be personally invited to attend catholic schools. Cultural barriers-

need to educate new Americans. Improve communication- have an umbrella group that supports all Topeka parishes. Barriers:

increase the availability of mass every week for Hayden students. To increase enrollment we need to do a better job evangelizing in each parish. Transportation issues- the public schools around the parishes are very good. Equitable support from each parish. We need to market the value of being Catholics to the people in the pews so that they can increase their support.

Preschool part of school- good feeder to the school. Have high school kids come to talk to 4th, 5th and 6th grades even pre-school. Getting baptismal records and recruit. Recruit heavy

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people want to feel wanted. Course offering- increase. Language teacher or all schools- traveling teachers.

What % of kids who leave to go to public HS have parents who went to Hayden? Middle school coordinator to combine to one Need ambassadors reaching out to parishioners with children administrators teachers,

parents, students- make a call, knock on a door, have a conversation with an individual who has chosen to leave a catholic school.

Sports combine/ kids compete against each other school not each other. Hayden: classes not accepted at college form Hayden. Need AP classes offered at Hayden.

Have to increase the value of catholic education at Hayden. Adopt a family for ids needing help with tuition Universal screener for all schools on same page Combining grade school sports Special education programs have coordinator so all schools on same page No more grade school intermixing Collaborate city wide- don’t compete Saints football is a start- do sports like that Work more closely with pre-schools Barriers: 1. Program and opportunity- no fine arts, no athletics 2. Uncertainty- will schools

be available for all years of k-12 3. Costs St. Matthews- classroom limitation. Busing- promotes education to state those to obtain

services like busing school nurse. This has been done in many states- why not KS? We have a pro-catholic government and a faith based legislature. Why do parents pull their kids our after kindergarten, 5th grade, 8th grade? Is it cost on quality of product? Begin info nights in all grades. Get variety teams and JV teams to visit the grade schools. Recruit from RE. have parent ambassadors reach out to speak to potential RE kids. Need for consulting firm to talk to parents who send one kid but not others to a Catholic school? Why? Do we have a Topeka Catholic Institute? Need to make it! Student ambassadors process where Hayden kids visit ordinary schools to teach. Academics and showcase sports.

COMMUNICATION: Archdiocese does not support Topeka! Use resources we have to be one True miss universal screens All report to (grade schools) president Unified Catholic school district Regional Jr. High at Hayden for shred resources and feeder Marketing- “beating the drum” – Sum Day – ad of Congratulations- Budget for capital

Journal for announcements, etc. – Realtor pamphlets, academic achievements- Drew Sweitzer, Boy Scouts, catholic education, public service announcement, collaborative from region, quarterly announcements

We need better communication between the parishes and school- bulletins are old school, joint website that is updated weekly or at the least monthly

What is Catholic inactive? Promote or advertise the benefits long term to Catholic education- more kids up to college Overall collaboration among schools by volunteers to work as a team in the city

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Parish wide fundraiser, require every family to tithe a certain percent, the values of 80% of our families are: education, safe environment, not catholicity

Communication among parishes, marketing to parish community, promote catholic values, improve early education centers

Suggestions: Evaluate administration Become one body- coordinate activities and finances together All parishes encouraging Catholic school instead of building big RE programs- whether you

have a school or not (Mother Teresa) Teachers find a way to collaborate with other school teachers. For parish leaders and parents

to work together for the common good of students. Vouchers please! Form a Movement! Between schools more: music cooperation, sports cooperation, science cooperation, scouts

cooperation How can we survive if cost enrollment goes up? Faith formation days moved to Wed. 2PM for all schools to decrease days off of school Ask alums to donate to scholarships Have one school board for all grade schools to communicate the needs of the other grade

schools Promote pre-school as it is the freedom/pipeline to grades 1-8, 9-12. Make Hayden the choice

for grammar school parents. Create savings account for parents to save to send kids to Hayden, begin when kids are ages 5-6. Ambassador program where high school kids go to teach and bond with elementary school kids to build bonds/ties and interact in Hayden. Do a Deep- Dive and really undermined issues at Hayden and why folks don’t want to send kids to Hayden. Lobby for busing program. Marketing campaign. Invest in Hayden in infrastructure to attract future students. The building looks tired, and focus get turned away. Lack of curb appeal in Hayden vs. other High school offerings. We must be better in telling our story. We have a ‘secret’ and we need to publicize. Financials, Hayden’s overall is too high. Right size admin staff and invest in better teachers and guidance staff. Invest in A. F. professors. Alternate high school offering in town are more competitive in academic offerings and athletic offerings. Their infrastructure is better. Hayden inverts in their three arches it will continue to lose enrollment. “Build and they will come” don’t maintain it, and flocks will leave (not come! )

Collaborate more in Topeka. Same % contributed across parishes. Promote/recruit from baptism. Tithing works but how we get it to work in Topeka?

No parish should have 400 kids in a CCD program! Why isn’t that parish promoting catholic education?

Provide transportation for students Tap into mother Teresa community- many parishioners going to Seaman Improve special ed to be one Please realize that demographics are different in Topeka than in KC Be a “community of parishes” and work together Increase the arts in the schools Let people in parish know the real numbers and issues, no sugar coating. Become one body with activities and finances

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Pray! Become one body…coordinate activities and finances together Combine sports, combine be one Brochure to public with benefits of our schools Charitable giving (life insurance plan) Share our story better with our community (more than just CSW) Regional marketing director Consolidate city wide middle school Focus on middle school kids to they don’t leave in 6th grade Improve special ed to be one Retreat /meeting for parents of religious ed students to promote catholic education, educate

parishioners that CEF is available, promote CEF Education should be affordable for all Catholics. Suggest creating/consolidating into one

catholic middle school and keep elementary schools tuition should be the same for all catholic schools and should be collaboratively determined.

Combine sports into one, play together not against each other Estate planning for elderly parishioners to create an educations enrollment to help with

Hayden or Individual parishes Archdiocese put out “special envelopes” purely for Catholics education similar to support for

Native American/African American funds etc… Newsletter between schools about activities and goals Topeka wide newsletter. More

consolidation of schools investigated as a possibility Eliminate parish biases between each other. Change management for parish and schools.

Middle school possibility, 5-8 or two middle schools. Buddy system between schools, classes.

Marketing, communicating to the world why they should attend catholic schools Unify the schools; work together, marketing as a whole, what is the function of Topeka

catholic schools institute? Many do not know it exists. Tell our story- why send to catholic school? Market the story. Increase stewardship. We need

to tell families what this does for our community. Weekly Mass at Hayden. Once a month is not enough. We differentiate ourselves by faith. Public relations. Promote ourselves to parents, priests, teachers, principals. Marketing. Create a city group that discusses and promotes Catholic involvement in community and

schools/churches. They would also share and discuss all areas/issues of their school. Community – meeting to build stronger relationships between families, example: a freshman

parent social or any grade level, all Catholic schools, 2nd grade football game or any other grade.

So many great things are happening. Tell the story Help from Hayden for families to attend Getting our strengths known in the community. Marketing why we are better. Consolidation? Unified school district We need marketing of our catholic schools- perhaps a position specifically for this purpose.

To have a catholic super intendant for Topeka only. We need to end the competition among the catholic elementary school and get 100% of grade schoolers to go to Hayden.

Catholic education needs to be the number one priority for the archdiocese

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Same spirit shirt for all the Catholic elementary schools- get in free to Hayden games. Hire marketing person whose job is to promote Topeka Catholic schools.

Promote Catholic ed to all. Create better collaboration and unified price matrix city wide. Provide better financial scholarships for all not just low income.

Market at all levels of parishioners consistently: young families, middle aged families, elderly families.

Have a special collection in each parish- once a quarter- to benefit all the Catholic schools in Topeka. Making sure everyone knows what this collection will stay in Topeka.

Same tuition/fee at all the catholic schools. Promotion of the Catholic education experience to promote choice of Catholic school

program vs. religious education. Is Topeka truly part of the KCK diocese? - doesn’t feel like it. Marketing, sharing, weekly mass at Hayden Promote academic and character achievements. Increase regional base pay for teachers and

extend the school day by 20 minutes. It’s more $ but worth it. More interaction between grade schools- kids, parishes Share Hayden ACT scores, grad rates, scholarship recipient info with the general public We need a youth group(s) that thrive. Consolidate? Model after Holy Trinity in KC? Effort to increase enrollment by being a servant to the community people will want to be a

part of us Catholic spirit week- t-shirts and sweatshirts with all of the catholic school logos to show we

are one family in the same shirt. Postcards that are sent to families that don’t send their children to catholic schools.

Chaplain takes over the catholic institute. Build better relationships among all the schools. Rotate events around all the schools, not always hosted at the same place.

What is the catholic institute? What does it do? Better practices to unity everyone for less competition.

Consolidate grade schools- Holy Family, St. Matthews, Mater Dei Hayden- increase fundraising, archdiocese pick up MD debt. Elementary- transparency.

Priests need to be the biggest advocates!

FROM TABLE TOP NEWSPRINT – WHAT ARE WE MOST PROUD OF? Monthly mass/retreat with one grade from all schools. Sacrament prep Family Open Teachers and staff Clubs, groups, etc. Service projects that include all schools Our common faith Coaching Volunteering and parents involvement Catholic identity Mater Dei: quality- faith related, atmosphere, family, academics are awesome, children are

taught to care

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Hayden: high expectations, religious ed, educationally challenging, morals, respect of the students at sporting events, dedicated, faith tradition, parental involvement, student achievements, prepared for college

Diversity Faith formation Service Financially stable Great staff Stewardship Strong sense of community Leadership Academic excellence Letting each child shine Multi-cultural Productive after school programs- bible club Our kids Choir school Unity Welcoming school Prayer 3 times a day Electives PE Music Mass twice a week Bible buddies 7 out of 10 are in top 10 placement Pre school Diverse Increasing enrollment at St. Matthews Mater Dei- relationship with parents and teachers, teaching how to be Catholic, service- in

and out of building and school day, respect, integrating faith through the entire day, opportunities to develop skills and strengths, proud of academic success, involvement in community, technology

Christ the King: teachers and staff, faith based, great facilities, service projects, religious education, mass 2 times a week, warm, loving, family life

Most Pure Heart of Mary: in school day care, teachers, quality, community, teachers are more committed, faith based, children more reverent, parent involvement

Holy Family: love how involved Fr. Tim is with the kids, respectful children, better teacher/parent relationship, classroom size smaller

Feel safe Teacher collaboration Being the tier 3 teacher Alumni volunteering Discipline History/tradition of success Role model

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Early childhood education Students test scores Religious sisters teaching in schools Christ centered Mentoring PTO support Commitment Good priest support Environment Mission focused Debt free CEF school Curriculum All grade level interaction Fall festival Small town feel

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