We seek to revitalize our mission and the values that animate it, and to strengthen Venerini as a community illumined by the light of Faith, which inspires and guides every dimension of our learning, life, and activity. 

To these ends, we will pursue the following Goals and Strategies: 

 

GOAL 1: To support the achievement of our institutional vision and long-range strategic plan, develop new statements of Venerini Academy’s Mission, Core Values, and Vision.

1.1 MISSION STATEMENT 

Venerini Academy is an independent, Catholic school educating students from preschool through grade eight. Following the mission of our foundress, St. Rosa Venerini, we “educate to liberate,” teaching the whole child in a caring, challenging environment where every student is known and loved.

Welcoming families from all cultural, ethnic, and religious backgrounds, we respect and nurture each child’s unique, God-given gifts and talents. In a culture of academic and moral excellence, we help students grow in knowledge, faith, and character, inspired to become lifelong learners and Christian leaders in the world.

1.2 CORE VALUES

These values serve as the pillars of Venerini’s mission and educational purpose, to free students to become fully integrated human beings:

• FAITH is a personal journey of our belief in God. We embrace the Gospel message of Jesus Christ and share our faith with others. 

A Venerini education enhances the strength and knowledge of faith through a living communion with Christ, embodied in our rich spiritual, liturgical, sacramental and community experiences.

• EXCELLENCE is determined based on the gifts and abilities that God has given each individual child, as they strive to fulfill their greatest potential. 

A Venerini education provides a professional community of religious sisters and talented educators dedicated to helping all students develop their personal gifts and achieve excellence in an academically challenging and caring atmosphere.

• RESPECT is honoring the dignity of life and all of God’s creation. We model the love of Jesus by the way we speak and act toward God and others. 

A Venerini education is based on respect for one’s own talents, strengths, and gifts. We acknowledge and appreciate the unique differences in others in an environment where everyone feels welcomed and respected.

• SERVICE is fulfilling the moral responsibility of meeting the needs of others. In giving service, we imitate Jesus who came to serve, not to be served. 

A Venerini education offers opportunities for students to serve their family, school, and local and global communities. As they grow in empathy, skills, and experience, students become engaged leaders who rely on a moral compass formed in Gospel values.

1.3 VISION STATEMENT

As a school of joyful, holistic learning and formation, we seek to liberate the hearts and minds of students and enable them to live the true freedom to which God calls each of us. 

 

GOAL 2: Animate and strengthen our curriculum, teaching, and learning culture to reflect our promise of integral education, where faith, culture, and life are integrated throughout the academic program.

2.1  Revitalize our Religious Education curriculum through a new, comprehensive K-8 text series. 

2.2  Affirm the study of religion as an integral part of Venerini’s academic program, a core course similar to other subjects with respect to the requirements of instructional time, the selection of curricular materials, and standards of teaching and catechetical training and certification (see 2.3).

2.3  Ensure that administration, faculty, and staff know, support, and model the teachings of the Church, and that they obtain ongoing religious formation.

• Offer to all personnel the opportunity to take the IFG (Information for Growth) online self-assessment tool from the National Catholic Education Association to evaluate personal levels of religious knowledge and spirituality. These results can be used to develop a systematic plan for the ongoing faith formation of faculty and staff that includes regular prayer and retreats. 

• Teachers, administrators and staff are invited to enroll in the provisional course for catechists, offered by the Diocese of Worcester, to grow their faith as well as enhance the knowledge of their faith in the courses.

• All new personnel should be assigned a peer mentor and information regarding the school’s mission, St. Rosa Venerini and her charism, and overall practices of the school’s Catholic identity.

 

GOAL 3: Actively nurture and enrich the spiritual lives of students, families, staff, Board, and other members of the Venerini community.

3.1  Hire or appoint a Director of Spiritual Formation, to implement a rich and integrated curriculum and program of faith formation for students, administration, teachers and parents, that fosters both individual and communal experiences of faith and deepens the knowledge and love of God.

3.2  Provide for the regular and frequent integration of Catholic devotions and rituals (all-school and/or grade/divisional-level Masses, Adoration, Marian devotions, Stations of the Cross, Saint Feast Days, liturgical seasons, the Rosary, prayer services, etc.) into the life of the school. Ensure that school Masses are planned and celebrated in accord with the directives of the General Instruction of the Roman Missal, and other documents governing the liturgy issued by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

3.3  Strengthen Venerini as a community of prayer through frequent (prefer weekly) prayer and reflection services (including First Friday) in the Venerini Chapel), the visible spiritual center of our campus. Help our students to develop a rich interior prayer life through a close, personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

3.4  Develop a program of Student Spiritual Retreats, by grade and/or divisional level (especially important for Middle School).

3.5  Develop a Venerini Academy Prayer that unites our communities in our shared values, mission, and goals, inspired by the charism of our patroness, St. Rosa Venerini. Use this during our daily school-wide morning prayer, and consider ways to physically unite our school community during this time that begins our school day.

3.6  Deepen our knowledge of and devotion to St. Rosa Venerini and her charism and mission through the Venerini Sisters today. Integrate St. Rosa’s life and story of faith, love, courage, and service into our curriculum and campus culture, celebrating her as an inspiring model for contemporary discipleship for all.

3.7  Formalize an active and visible role for Committee on Mission Effectiveness through Venerini’s Board of Trustees.

 

GOAL 4: Called to be imitators of Christ, living examples of the Faith and Truth we profess to believe, we will develop experiences that cultivate virtue and moral character, and form students for lives of bold Christian discipleship and servant leadership in the world.

4.1  Expand opportunities for additional faith-in-action programs for students (developmentally appropriate), teachers, and parents, including service opportunities connected to the Venerini Sisters and those that give witness to Venerini’s mission. 

4.2  Create a Student Service Club (suggestion: “Caring Crusaders”) to give students across all grade levels diverse, age-appropriate ways to learn about and help with one another (as leaders, mentors, pupils, etc.) in Venerini’s commitment to Christian service.

4.3  Develop a campus-wide Virtues Program, to cultivate knowledge, celebration, and practice of the virtues, including how they were lived by our saints, most notably Saint Rosa Venerini.

4.4  Engage our students, within a vibrant, joyful Venerini faith community, in the moral teachings of our Church. Especially in Middle School, equip them to live in true freedom as disciples of Jesus, ready to contribute to and improve our secularized world.

Venerini Academy educates the whole child in faith, knowledge, and character, to help them to grow in freedom as Christian disciples, inspired learners, and moral servant leaders. We celebrate this profound period of childhood to adolescence, and commit Venerini to the highest ideals for student learning and formation. 

To these ends, we will pursue the following Goals and Strategies:

 

GOAL 1: Develop our distinctive Venerini model of holistic learning, integral formation, and student experience.

The following strategies support the development of a distinctive core learning experience for Venerini students, as well as expanding program offerings consistent with the School’s mission and vision.

1.1  Strengthen a vigorous, student-centered curriculum and learning practices that emphasize critical thinking and creativity, independent learning and reflection, and problem-based discovery, to inspire student motivation, confidence, and love of learning. 

• Identify the learning styles and needs of all students so that each student is recognized as the unique person they are and encouraged to realize their individual potential.
• Develop and use a wide variety of teaching and assessment strategies for all students that are in line with current best practices. 
• Integrate school-wide use of educational technology for instruction and to enhance student understanding of material in real life applications.
• Develop a robust and regular program of faculty and staff professional development to support our commitment to student-centered learning, academic excellence, and innovation.
• Re-imagine our campus to create innovative and adaptable learning spaces that facilitate and inspire creativity, collaboration, and critical thinking.

1.2  Foster a culture of high standards and continuous improvement, using performance-based and longitudinal assessments to improve core instruction, and other processes to monitor learning and teaching outcomes.

• Design and implement a comprehensive system of digital and other portfolios to track student learning and encourage students to become reflective, goal-oriented, and empowered learners.

1.3  Define essential learning goals and student outcomes of a Venerini education.

• Define the “Profile of a Venerini Graduate,” including learning and formational outcomes across multiple dimensions of academic, religious, social, moral, leadership, creative and physical development. Identifying what it means to be a Venerini graduate will inform our framework for educating the whole child, through the integration of knowledge, faith, culture, and life.

 

GOAL 2: Enhance professional capacity and competence by fostering a culture of collaboration, mentorship, and professional development among administration, faculty, and staff.

The following strategies address ways to enhance professional learning and growth, while building an internal culture of shared purpose, innovation, and continuous improvement.

2.1  Design and implement a formal program of faculty and staff development consisting of several tiers:

• A general, introductory level of peer mentorship and professional support, by which faculty and professional staff will share knowledge, provide peer training, and coach other faculty in professional subject areas.
• Higher-level training opportunities, through regularly scheduled in-school programs and institutionally funded participation in and completion of external workshops, conferences, seminars, and (non-degree) certification programs. 
• An ongoing program of faculty in-service—for example, in the form of retreats each term or annually—around critical themes such as the Venerini model of education, implementing digital portfolios, student learning for leadership, cross-disciplinary curriculum and course planning, and knowledge of best practices. 

2.2  Organize cross-disciplinary teams in order to implement Venerini’s core learning experience and provide ongoing orientation and in-service.

• Venerini will organize and introduce a model of cross-curricular faculty teams to review the current curricula, identify common content and standards, and plan for the integration of learning content and priorities.

2.3  Strengthen communications and partnership among faculty, staff, and parents

• Design and implement schedule of common professional planning time to deepen collaboration in meeting common learning goals and managing student progress across grades.
• Adopt a regular schedule of faculty and administration meetings, both for full staff and in smaller, topic specific groups.
• Develop an onboarding and mentoring program to support new staff, implementation of new programs, cultivation of best practices, etc. 
• Develop higher and more consistent standards of communication with parents across all grades, especially regarding individual student progress, institutional and curriculum developments, and other relevant information to deepen parent participation in their child’s learning and formation. 

 

OAL 3: Design, complete, and implement comprehensive review and alignment of academic curriculum (within timeline as recommended by NEASC), and develop new programs consistent with Venerini’s mission, vision, and essential learning goals

The following strategies address needs and opportunities to strengthen and develop Venerini’s curriculum (formal, co- and extra-curricular).

3.1  Define and strengthen the role of our current Curriculum Coordinator. Vital, ongoing work is needed working with faculty in areas of curriculum review, planning, and alignment; integration of research-based trends and educational methods; managing current and emerging educational technologies; and, non-evaluative mentorship and instructional coaching. In this more strategic and involved capacity, the Coordinator can serve as an effective liaison between faculty and administration, strengthening communications to help achieve Venerini’s essential teaching and learning goals across the full curriculum. 

3.2  Research, develop, and implement a comprehensive, balanced, research-based, PK-8 Literacy Program. Within this engaged, student-centered learning framework, Venerini students will be challenged to develop critical thinking, reading, and communication skills across all content areas, building essential literacy skills needed for success in high school, college, and career. This Program will include support for all levels of students and professional learning support and coaching for teachers. 

3.3  Strive to secure the necessary funding for and implementation of our 5-year STREAM strategic plan in partnership with WPI. This plan explicates a comprehensive roadmap for the integration of STREAM education across our curriculum. As an inquiry-based, interdisciplinary approach to learning that couples rigorous academic instruction with real-world application designed to deepen engagement and understanding, this STREAM initiative is a powerful manifestation of our vision to be a school of discovery, creativity, and active, student-centered learning.

3.5  Expand opportunities to develop student strengths, interests, and creativity through expanded learning enrichment beyond the classroom and a more advanced program of academic support services (e.g., after-school homework, tutoring, etc.). Where possible work with Alliance students from St. John’s and Notre Dame to help in these endeavors. 

3.6  Further develop Venerini as a leading Catholic school that fosters appreciation of and creative excellence in the arts, through the development of a multi-year strategic plan for improvement and expansion. This plan will explore strategies to leverage our current programs and faculty to strengthen and expand curricular and extra-curricular programs in the visual and performing arts, deepen and expand partnerships with artistic organizations and professionals (e.g. Worcester Art Museum, Music Worcester, Hanover Center for the Performing Arts, area high schools and colleges, etc.), and explore necessary improvements of our arts learning spaces and facilities. 

3.7  Create an Online Learning Task Force comprised of teachers, staff, parents, and Board, to evaluate Venerini’s online teaching and learning skills and performance, current and needed resources, and other factors, to determine strategies to leverage this expertise to complement and strengthen overall student learning. The Technology Integration Specialist will lead this Task Force. 

Venerini’s institutional culture reflects its deeply held and consistently lived values, beliefs, and behaviors, and fosters a milieu in which students, teachers, and staff can flourish. Together, we strive to create a joyful culture of friendship and community, as we grow in knowledge, faith, and character. 

To further develop a vibrant, collaborative, and Christ-centered culture that reproduces the intimate atmosphere of family life, our Committee recommends the following Goals & Strategies. These are focused on our three key stakeholder groups: Faculty & Staff, Students, and Parents, and include initiatives to strengthen our spirit and culture on campus and within our community. 

 

I. FOR FACULTY & STAFF

GOAL 1: Improve onboarding and support for new faculty and staff.

The following strategies are aimed at creating a more substantive onboarding program to integrate and support new faculty and staff into Venerini’s mission, traditions, and culture. 

1.1  Develop a Faculty Mentorship Program. New faculty and staff will be assigned a mentor from current faculty, with whom they will meet regularly to help the new teachers feel acclimated to Venerini and to address key issues such as curriculum, rules and procedures, and classroom management. 

1.2  Develop a new Onboarding Welcome Package. Venerini will provide new staff with information about the school’s mission, history, life and charism of St. Rosa Venerini, school procedures and policies, and other helpful operational and personnel materials. 

 

GOAL 2: Cultivate a vibrant faculty growth culture, marked by a spirit of shared purpose and collegiality, high standards and practices of exceptional teaching and collaboration, and a commitment to model Christian discipleship in living out Venerini’s mission and values.

2.1  Hold an annual faculty and staff retreat prior to the start of the new school year. Use it as a time for discussion, goal setting, reflection and collaboration. Discuss what it means to be an exceptional teacher at Venerini and to be participants in building a mission-centered, professional, growth culture.

2.2  Conduct Annual Faculty/Staff Survey. Venerini will provide staff with an annual online survey, to determine professional needs, attitudes, and recommendations, explore possible policy or procedure changes, and evaluate the state of the school’s professional and school culture.

 

 

II. FOR PARENTS

GOAL 3: Strengthen Venerini as a model school of engaged parent partnership and communion.

3.1  Develop a new Family Mentor Program. New families will be matched with current families who volunteer to be part of the program. Mentors will help welcome and connect new families to the Venerini community, and support their acclimation socially and with respect to general school procedures and practices.

3.2  Create a new Parent Onboarding Packet. New families will receive information about Venerini’s mission, values, history, charism and influence of St. Rosa Venerini, and appropriate documents regarding school policies, procedures, schedules, and contacts. 

3.3  Implement standards and structure for more consistent communication and engagement between home and school, to provide support for and responsiveness to the needs of parents in the integral formation and teaching of their children. 

3.4  Following the model of St. Rosa, initiate a Parent Education Series to help educate the first educators through the sharing and discussion of topics and insights relevant to parents and the education and raising of their children. 

3.5  Develop new Family Events and Activities. To cultivate closer connections among parents and students, we will hold family events (social, service, spiritual, etc.) within divisional and same grade levels (EC, LS, MS, grades). These should be held in addition to school-wide family days and activities.

3.6  Conduct an Online Exit Survey for families who withdraw from the school, to help guide Venerini in understanding and addressing key issues related to parent and student satisfaction and retention. 

 

III. FOR STUDENTS

GOAL 4: Expand extra- and co-curricular and enrichment opportunities to promote holistic student experiences that develop social-emotional skills and leadership abilities.

 

GOAL 5: Improve and develop experiences and traditions to foster student cohesiveness and community across all grades.

5.1  Start a new Student Buddy Program – Current students will serve as buddies to new student classmates, accompanying them through their new school activities (lunch, homework assignments, introducing friends, etc.). 

5.2  Start a Student Mentorship Program. Middle School students will serve as student mentors in the Lower School, meeting regularly to encourage, help, share conversation and prayer, play games, and more. 

5.3  Start a Buddy Classroom Program. Middle School classes will be assigned a Lower School class to work with throughout the year on various academic projects.

5.4  Start an 8th Grade “Clap-Out.” On the last day of school for 8th graders, the entire school will line the hallways and clap for the graduating students, as a way of congratulating and sending them off to high school. It will also serve to cultivate a deeper appreciation among younger students for what it means to complete a Venerini education. 

5.5  Hold the 8th Grade Awards Ceremony during the school day. This will allow the entire student body, along with families, to celebrate the accomplishments of our graduating class. 

5.6  Hold regular class and/or divisional (LS, MS) assemblies, to bring together classmates for prayer, reflection, announcements, recognitions, etc. 

5.7  Building on the faculty-student basketball game tradition, develop other class contests and competitions, school-wide activities, and other traditions that build campus community and spirit and cultivate teamwork and leadership. 

 

IV. FOR CAMPUS & COMMUNITY

GOAL 6: Reinvigorate the school’s entrance lobby to convey a more vibrant, contemporary, and welcoming feel, and to affirm Venerini’s distinctive mission, values, and vision.

 

GOAL 7: Forge new learning and service partnerships with other schools and community organizations to expand opportunities for engaged, collaborative learning and Christian service to others.

7.1  Develop a more formal student service club/program that spans all grade levels, has inter-grade collaboration and mentoring, brings together parents and friends, cultivates servant leadership and Christian service, and build school traditions. Could include a Full School Venerini Volunteer Day. 

Sustaining institutional excellence demands a vigilant commitment to securing Venerini’s long-term financial stability. We will strengthen our financial health through smart business planning that optimizes net revenues and requires strategic resource allocation, the foundation for long-term vitality and success. 

To this end, we will pursue the following Goals & Strategies:

GOAL 1: Develop a long-term financial planning model that will help us examine ways to reduce controllable annual operating costs, plan for revenue growth, enable new investments, manage optimal enrollments, support our commitment to financial aid and affordability, and secure financial sustainability.

1.1  Ensure financial stability and growth

• Establish and meet concrete annual and long-term financial goals. 

• Create a comprehensive financial plan that considers school priorities and demonstrates the relationship between the strategic plan and financial stability.
• Explore current and new revenue sources to achieve operational, technology, and facilities goals.

1.2  Enhance short- and long-range financial planning

• Develop a long-range financial planning model to support the financing of strategic priorities while accounting for potential impact of enrollment, debt, and other factors on financial growth and stability.
• Incorporate contingency requirements into annual operational and capital planning. Budget appropriately to address contingencies.

 

GOAL 2: Pursue strategies to ensure optimal student enrollment. Effectively communicate the value of a Venerini Academy education to prospective students, parents and the community.

2.1  Stabilize and grow enrollment

• Set five-year enrollment goals linked to specific institutional financial goals.
• Utilize the entire school community to communicate a consistent message about the value of a Venerini education. 
• ​​​Streamline databases so and support the accurate integration and analysis of critical information to support efforts to strengthen enrollment, advancement, and communications with key constituent groups. Tie data needs from enrollment to other areas. (Academic, Student Records, Billing and Financial aid).
• Review Venerini’s financial aid program and establish updated standards for its consistent, fair, and efficient application.
• Develop and refine student retention practices, considering competitive and industry best practices and trends. 

2.2  Improve marketing practices, presentation & communication

• Identify more effective ways to communicate the value proposition of the school. 
• Continue to improve all communication materials including: printed materials and publications; digital materials and presence; and website and video content, messaging, presentation and timeliness.
• Effectively leverage both traditional and new creative modes of delivery, including newspapers, social media, and inbound, and other media. 
• Encourage and support opportunities to highlight the work of Venerini students, alumni, and faculty. 

 

GOAL 3: Increase fundraising by fostering a culture of philanthropy, increasing alumni engagement, building a strong and comprehensive database, and developing an effective and efficient Advancement function.

3.1  Increase strategic fundraising

• Identify and cultivate leadership, major gift, and planned giving prospects for key initiatives, including the Venerini Fund, Sponsor-a-Student, and capital improvement programs.
• Increase giving by corporations and foundations. 
• Develop a comprehensive Case for Support to educate donors and potential donors on our institutional vision, priorities, and needs.
• Increase participation by alumni and parents. Continue to personalize contacts and enlist fellow alumni and parents to foster relationships. 
• Assess effectiveness of existing fundraising events and focus on a limited number of special events.

3.2  Provide support for advancement

• Improve integrity of constituent information within the advancement database.
• Make effective use of our Principal and Board of Trustees to improve fundraising, cultivation, solicitation and stewardship.

3.3  Improve communication and cultivation activities

• Build the database and functionality of the giving platform within FACTS and work to increase alumni engagement.
• Improve donor relations and stewardship through focused strategies. 
• Strengthen use of social media to promote outreach and continued contact with all constituents.

 

GOAL 4: Assess facility needs and develop a campus plan, to identify priority improvements, including enhanced technology solutions to meet current and future learning and operational needs.

4.1  Assess overall capital needs of the school

• Establish a Board-level Facilities Committee in order to assess the condition and needs of campus facilities on an ongoing basis, including considerations for future enrollment and programs, accessibility, and campus safety. 
• Prepare a Campus Facilities Assessment that includes recommendations and projected requirements for priority and long-term improvements. 
• Review the draft Facilities Assessment with the Board and plan for long-term capital budget requirements. 

4.2  Create an Enhanced Technology Plan to support current and future needs.

• Review and update the school’s existing technology plan and determine current and anticipated needs.
• Evaluate the need for additional resources to manage infrastructure and collaboration with faculty. 
• Develop a schedule and funding support for equipment replacement.
• Enlist partners within the community to help in the development of and support for the technology plan.