2 - Academic Excellence

St. Mary's Strategic Plan



Pillar 2 - Academic Excellence

St. Mary’s School will offer an effective curriculum program (both academic and extracurricular) in line with the Archdiocese of Washington’s (ADW) requirements that addresses the students’ needs for personal growth, fulfillment, and preparedness for life.


Strategy Short Term Goal Mid Term Goal Long Term Goal

1. Curriculum

St. Mary’s will offer its students a curriculum for academic excellence that prepares them for success at the very best high schools in the region. Students and parents at all grade levels must be fully engaged in the students’ learning. Beyond possessing knowledge of content areas, St. Mary’s faculty will demonstrate ever-evolving instructional methods and the use of tools to create effective learning.

- Ensure that the K-8 curriculum in each core subject is consistently communicated to the students and their parents.

 

- Help students to become independent self-starters and capable of accessing and retrieving information that complements the classroom curriculum.

- Introduce IXL for other core subjects, such as language arts, social studies, and science.

 

- Enhance the development of critical thinking skills in all academic areas.

 

2. Math and Reading

St. Mary’s will meet and exceed the ADW’s targets in reading and math. These two areas will be marked by the students’ hands-on ownership of their learning skills and include collaborative exercises in the school.

- Communicate that the school uses a personalized approach for math and reading that maximizes the growth of each student.

- Reading and math teachers will participate in courses/workshops in continuing education for best practices, and introduce the latest technological tools to assist in their teaching.

- Using the ADW guidelines, reduce the number of students in the bottom two quartiles in math and reading, while increasing the number of students in the highest/above average quartiles, based on Scantron results.

3. Other Academic Programs

St. Mary’s will increase its focus on STEM and other specialty programs. St. Mary’s graduates shall increasingly qualify and receive special grants/scholarships offered by the catholic high schools in STEM, arts, and music. 

- Communicate the goals of the Spanish program to students and their parents.

- Explore and implement new teaching and assessment tools that utilize technology to teach and practice Spanish.

 

- Continue enhancing the current STEM program by developing a specific sustainable and growth plan for all STEM components.  Explore new tools, technological aids, grants, etc. specific in this area.

 

- Organize additional fun events, like Family Math Night, that complement our academic programs.

 

- Create and communicate a technology improvement plan to maintain adequate IT resources in the school for learning.

- Offer a new language in the curriculum.

 

- Investigate after-school programs for students who want to expand in STEM or other areas.

 

- Investigate additional field trips that align with course curriculum.

4. Extracurricular Programs

St. Mary’s will complement its academic programs with a diverse array of extracurricular activities to capture students’ interests, aptitudes, and talents. These programs will be run jointly by the school faculty and parents in a structured and sustainable way.

- Catalog and communicate the extracurricular programs offered by the school, and identify gaps and redundant activities.

 

- Inform parents about the choice of programs available throughout the year at the beginning of the scholastic year.

- Ensure that all major interests are represented (sports, arts/drama/dancing, STEM, leadership) so that each student has adequate choices for an extra-curricular activity.

 

- For all existing programs, ensure that there is a clear succession plan so that the continuation of a program is not dependent on a single person.

 

- Develop a formal coordination mechanism to oversee all extracurricular activities, including the use of school facilities, rules and responsibilities for parent volunteers, and the use of school activities.

 

- Ensure that all extracurricular activities are promoted using the school website, social media, promotional material, etc.

- Develop a resource plan for extracurricular activities so that programs requiring storage will have space within the school premises.