Good Afternoon. My name is Karen Murphy and I am Principal at Resurrection-St. Paul School in Ellicott City. I am also the current president of ESPA, the Elementary School Principals Association. This Association is comprised of all the Elementary Catholic Schools in the Archdiocese of Baltimore. Our professional organization supports the spiritual and professional development of our Principals.
I am finishing my 7th year as a principal. I was a principal for 3 years in the Archdiocese of Washington and am completing my 4th year here in the Archdiocese of Baltimore.
Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to speak with you this afternoon. I would like to address the 5 topics that principals would find most significant to develop an effective Master Plan for Catholic Schools.
First, we need this Committee to help define and articulate the Mission for Catholic Schools as we move forward. It is with this vision that principals can begin to disseminate the message to all our constituents (Parishes, School Board, Pastors, Parents, Students, Faculty and Staff). Having a vivid picture of the school’s future is essential to inspiring and motivating all participants to achieve the goals of excellence in education.
Second, we need you to seriously take into consideration the School Viability studies that are currently underway right now and those that will take place in the fall. This has been an eye opening and exhilarating experience for most of our principals, school boards, pastors and the Catholic Schools Office. You can enter most Catholic Schools in Archdiocese and be amazed at how effective we are in educating children with the limited resources available to us. The Viability study specifically identifies the resources that are needed to make our schools sustainable. While limited finances are certainly a large factor in several of our schools, on behalf of my fellow principals, I ask that you look beyond that and appreciate the goals that we are achieving and in many cases exceeding.
Third, we are in desperate need of a school system- not just a system of schools. Although we do love our autonomy and the unique special charism each school has, we realize that we can no longer function in isolation. Quite frankly, we need more centralization for our schools. We all know that by pulling our resources together – that we can be more effective in all of our areas of viability. We can only imagine the purchasing power, the professional development opportunities, the sharing of valuable resources that could happen if we become more centralized. I do have a word of concern. While we all have the same benchmarks and standards laid out in the curriculum set forth by the Archdiocese, how we (principals) go about achieving those standards has to have some flexibility. Each of us needs to be able to look at the population of students in each of our buildings and make determinations as to what materials need to be in place to ensure that each child reaches their maximum potential.
Fourth, we need to have more global participation and ownership of our Catholic Schools. Please consider ways to increase the financial support of our schools. We cannot continue to bear the escalating per pupil costs of education on the backs of our parents who are already taxpayers. We ask that you strongly consider budgeting and legislative measures that would support additional funding to non-pubic schools, Catholic or otherwise. We also ask that you consider requiring all Catholic parishes in the Archdiocese to provide financial support whether they have a Catholic School or not. The initiation of a Capital Campaign for Catholic Education is also strongly encouraged. This money could be used to update and enhance our current educational facilities, which are aging rapidly.
Finally, we need a pro-active public relations campaign to promote the successes of Catholic Schools. The campaign should also communicate that most Catholic schools are solvent and are in a position to continue successfully preparing students for years to come. We need to get the positive word out to the public about the quality and vitality of what is going on in our Catholic schools right now. We need to make sure we allay the fears of many parents and the perception that Catholic Schools are becoming extinct. As principals -- we want the message to be clear-- we are solvent, progressive and most of all committed to providing an excellent education for every student who enters our buildings. We do all this while making sure that each student develops a spiritual foundation that in conjunction with the academic achievements will prepare them to be leaders for their generation.
