YEAR ONE & TWO REVIEW
West Catholic High School Strategic Plan
Tomorrow Belongs to You
2023-2024 | 2024-2025
I. Become Eucharistic Disciples of Christ
Year One
A. Provide formation to staff that is rooted in the mission of the Catholic Church
Reignited an annual staff retreat
- Year one was held at Aquinas College
Year Two
A. Provide formation to staff that is rooted in the mission of the Catholic Church
Updated the staff handbook in Spring 2025 to align our workplace enviroment to our mission
Continued the annual staff retreat
- Year two was held at St. Jude Parish
- Focus was rooted in growing an understanding of the Jubilee Year
II. Open Wide the Doors to Christ
Year One
B. Journey beyond campus for evangelization, service and study
Promote and expand global opportunities for our students
- 26 domestic WC students studied abroad in March-April 2024, earning cultural credit on their official transcripts, with one group in Madrid, Spain, and the other in Perugia, Italy; these trips will continue in future years
Year Two
B. Journey beyond campus for evangelization, service and study
Continued our partnership with our sister city of Perugia, Italy
- 13 students came from Italy in Fall 2024 and their host family students from West Catholic journeyed to Italy in Spring 2025
C. Build pathways of affordability for all families who desire West Catholic education
Four additional Legacy Fund scholarships were created in 24-25.
- In addition to our available financial aid, these 49 Legacy funds provided nearly $100,000 in available scholarship dollars to student applicants.
D. Lead the Catholic community with family-oriented programming of formation, service, retreats and pilgrimages
The parents guild provided a community read and hosted a book study of The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt in Fall 2024.
- Participants included WC parents, Diocese of Grand Rapids parish members, and our neighboring community members.
- The study was replicated in neighboring schools using our model of parent engagement
III. Educate the Person, One Student at a Time
Year One
D. Discover innovative and forward-thinking programming to prepare students for tomorrow
Collaborated with educational industry leaders to learn of the best and brightest opportunities for students with sight on the facilities and facility upgrades needed for any such innovations
- A group of six cross-departmental leaders visited area schools with a vision for increasing security, robotics programming, industrial arts, commons areas and performing arts; this continues to shape our strategic vision for the campus
Year Two
A. Deliver individualized education to promote each student to his or her maximum potential
Counseling department launched a website to identify all possible post-secondary opporunities that provides a roadmap for their families to navigate the four years at WC in preparation for each goal after graduation
D. Discover innovative and forward-thinking programming to prepare students for tomorrow
Updated the grading and assessment methods with the teaching staff, an effort that was reflected on updated gradebook language to account for feeback and learning cycles.
Pre-engineering courses built and presented their final projects.
- Their final projects showed their understanding of business, finance, design thinking, and the trades in their finished products of the Falcon bus and go-cart.
IV. Act Rightly, Serve Generously
Year One
A. Promote institutional advancement through coordinated planning and execution across operational functions
Formed President’s Leadership Team and Principal’s Leadership Team, establishing weekly meetings to enhance collaboration and accountability
B. Be transparent and accountable to all stakeholders
Launched Project: Find the Falcons to update alumni databases
- Project: Find the Falcons began during Homecoming 2023 with an updated website form to track alumni demographics; it continued with our first alumni networking event during Catholic Schools Week, where 100 attendees added their information
- The launch of West Catholic’s business directory also connects the school to its alumni base better than ever before
Used communication strategies of email, text and social media to engage with the WC community
- In addition to our Weekly Chatter (weekly newsletter), we established a monthly Falcon Flyer for incoming families and a monthly alumni newsletter, which accompanies the printed Westword (alumni magazine)
- Social media engagement continues to climb
Produced an annual report beginning in October 2023
- View our 2023 Annual Report HERE
C. Ensure organizational sustainability by being good stewards of our resources
Organized departmental budgets for responsible management of each section of the budget
- Each department has now established a responsible three-year budget
Monitored departmental spending and income with transparency to the school’s Finance Committee and Board
- The addition of diocesan employee Mary Szotko in the main office and the Finance Committee has allowed for financial transparency on the staff
Year Two
A. Promote institutional advancement through coordinated planning and execution across operational functions
Ensured that our work is focused on the mission and aimed at tomorrow with a completed multi-year plans for Communication and Marketing, Institutional Advancement, and Technology.
B. Be transparent and accountable to all stakeholders
D. Align spending with the school mission to prepare West Catholic for tomorrow
The financial committee uses the mission statement of the school in the recommendation of the approval of the school’s proposed three year budget.
- The board, in turn, uses the mission statement in its approval of the budget.
- The managers of each segment of the budget use the mission statement in its consideration of potential income sources and spending decisions.