2005 Outstanding Board Award

Kennedy-Kenrick Catholic High School Board of Advisors
Norristown, Pennsylvania

This 21-member, 12-year-old consultative board serves one of the 21 high schools in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Facing the trend of increasing financial challenges, declining enrollment, and escalating tuition, it realized that ultimate success depends on increasing enrollment. It had the vision and courage to develop a Recruitment-Development Plan that depicted a school that is unique within the community. This multi-faceted plan is still in process, but it has produced a tremendous shift in the school’s reputation and perception in four years, as evidenced by an increase from 495 to 650 students.

The board’s ambitious and far-reaching plan has the following components: community awareness, tuition assistance, capital projects proposals, academic initiatives, Mexican student outreach, guidance department initiative, and capital campaign. Starting with making the stakeholders highly visible in the community, the board has progressed to a point where it has undertaken a capital campaign for $1,750,000 and already raised 64% of its goal. This board has saved a school that was under study for possible closure.

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