Waterloo Region, ON — In December 2015, the Board of Trustees of the Waterloo Catholic District School Board approved a new Multi-Year Strategic Plan (MYSP) for Waterloo Region’s Catholic Schools.

The Education Act requires school boards to develop multi-year plans that are three years or more in scope. The plans provide focus and direction to the board to achieve Ministry of Education goals and, equally as important, articulate the vision of the board. On June 18, 2018, Director of Education Loretta Notten presented a detailed “report card” on the accomplishments of the 2015 to 2018 MYSP, with a particular focus on the accomplishments of the past year, and outlined the next steps toward creating an updated three-year plan.

QUICKFacts

> The MYSP consists of three Strategic Priorities, nine Strategic Directions, and 32 Strategic Goals. The Strategic Priorities are:

• Nurturing Our Catholic Community
• Student Engagement, Innovation and Achievement, and
• Building Capacity to Lead, Learn and Live Authentically.

> The MYSP report card was informed by a 32-question stakeholder survey. The survey received 671 responses, and there was strong participation from all WCDSB stakeholder groups – providing highly valuable and reliable feedback.

> In addition, the survey also examined the board’s current Vision, Mission and Beliefs, as well as early priorities that have been identified by the senior team through the annual budget process. Stakeholders were asked about the relevance of each, as the board moves forward into its new plan. The survey results suggest strong endorsement for the current Vision (87% agree or strongly agree), Mission (89% agree or strongly agree) and our three Belief statements – all at approximately 87% agreement. Similarly – responses to the five areas identified in the budget process as priorities moving forward, were strongly positive (as indicated in the accompanying bar graphs).

> As the 2015-2018 MYSP reaches its conclusion, eight of nine Strategic Directions and 31 of 32 Strategic Goals are progressing at an optimal level, having been rated as “Green” or “Effectively Meeting Standard”. One of the nine Strategic Directions has some combination of “Green” / “Effectively Meeting Standard” and “Orange” / “Approaching Criteria” – with only one of 32 goals rated as “Orange”. None of the Strategic Goals were assessed as “Red” – “Not Meeting Criteria”.  Ratings were informed not only by stakeholder feedback, which was generally positive and reflected growth year-over-year, but also by staff-submitted reports based on completed actions and key performance indicators (KPIs).

> Areas which were particularly strong – operating at 90% or better — were tied most closely to the Strategic Priority of Nurturing Our Catholic Community.  Stakeholder experience of the board’s Pastoral Plan, the sense of inclusivity and welcome, and the strong work in the area of socio-emotional literacy programming have all contributed to this high rating.

> Notable year-over-year gains were reported in the board’s graduation rate, the board’s student retention rate from elementary to secondary school, improved staff use of the board’s data platform, enhancements to Learning Commons spaces and improved student and staff results in relation to the board’s Numeracy Action Plan.

> Key next steps include the development of a comprehensive Equity Action Plan and an updated Pastoral Plan, all intended to assist with the overall goal of continued gains in the board’s graduation rate.

Quotes

“We are extremely proud of the gains reflected in this Strategic Plan Report Card Update.  We have worked very hard to ensure we have solid metrics against which we are holding ourselves accountable.  We are noting that in virtually all cases, we are not only able to point to significant markers of success, but that our stakeholders are also able to affirm that they are observing the same level of success. We have remarkable staff and students at Waterloo Catholic, and it is on the strength of their good work that we can have such a positive report card to share”.

~~ Loretta Notten, Director of Education

Related Links

WCDSB Multi-Year Strategic Plan (MYSP)

2015-2018 Multi-Year Strategic Plan (MYSP) Report Card

Achieving Excellence: A Renewed Vision for Education in Ontario

2018-19 WCDSB School Year Budget

Board Improvement Plan for Student Learning

The Waterloo Catholic District School Board, representing more than 96,000 Catholic school supporters, operates 49 schools and five adult education facilities, serving more than 40,000 elementary, secondary and continuing education students in Waterloo Region – continuing a 182-year tradition of quality, inclusive, faith-based education. Follow us on Twitter: @WCDSBNewswire – #WCDSBAwesome.

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Waterloo Region, ON – This year, schools across Waterloo Region are certifiably green!  Thirty-six schools in the Waterloo Catholic District School Board certified with the Ontario EcoSchools program, joining a growing movement of 1,900 schools across the province.

Ontario EcoSchools works with 58 school boards to nurture student leadership and foster environmental learning and action in school communities. Certification is based on a provincial standard of excellence and reaches 1,000,000 students across Ontario.

Quick Facts

• For the 2017-18 school year, three schools achieved Bronze level, 18 Silver level, 13 Gold level, and 2 Platinum (St. Anne CES – Kitchener, and Saint John Paul II CES). It is the Board’s stated goal to have all 44 elementary schools and 5 secondary schools certified by the end of the 2018-19 school year. See complete list of WCDSB certifications further below.
• The Board’s Sustainable Education, Stewardship and Sustainability Committee has established four key strategic priorities to guide its efforts over the next three-year period: Learning & Teaching; Staff & Student Engagement in Action; Operations & Communications; and, Community Connections & Partnerships. For more information, please visit the WCDSB EcoZone.
• Ontario EcoSchools is an award-winning environmental education and certification program for grades K-12 that nurtures environmental leaders, reduces the ecological impact of schools, and builds environmentally responsible school communities. All publicly funded schools can access the EcoSchools program free of charge.
• Visit EcoSchools for more information and for a full list of certified schools across the province.

WCDSB is proud to be part of this growing network, and supports ongoing environmental practices. In 2009, St. Nicholas CES in Waterloo became the first WCDSB school to certify, and has continued to certify as an Eco-School for the past nine years.

Heidi Rudy, teacher and Eco-Team lead at St. Nicholas, reflects on what started their journey: “It all began when I was approached by two students who were concerned with everything they were seeing in the media about the problems with the environment. We decided to start an eco club:  K²OPS was the winning name and stands for Kids Keeping Our Planet Safe.”

Rudy was the teacher who led and began the club, and with her guidance, the students have run campaigns such as litter less lunches, Earth Hour activities, walk-to-school days, reusable water bottle campaigns, anti-idling campaigns, and lights-out initiatives. The school also planted gardens and shade trees as part of EcoSchools certification, and started up a vermicomposter.

Rudy notes that the Ontario EcoSchools program was instrumental in guiding their K²OPS ideas each year as well as providing incentive: “The importance of the program is immeasurable. The main reason I ever took it on was for the students.  I have learned so much through them. To see their passion about caring for our Earth is all of the impact that I need to see to keep the team going.”

Reflecting on the last nine years, Rudy notes the difference the program has made at her school and beyond: “I would say that everything we have done is a success story – bringing the awareness to everyone and their families is success in and of itself!”

Quotes

“We are so proud of the efforts our students staff have put into living greener lives at their schools and at home. The Ontario Catholic School Graduate Expectations call on all students to — among other things — be “collaborative contributors” and “responsible citizens” and their success in the EcoSchools program shows just how much they take their responsibilities to the environment seriously. Of course, without the dedicated leadership of our outstanding school staffs and the great work of our Facility Services department, being “green” would be a much bigger challenge”.

~ Loretta Notten, Director of Education

“Being a teacher at a certified Ontario EcoSchools has been a very rewarding experience for me. It has allowed me to connect with students whom I might otherwise not interact with in a meaningful and significant way. It is rewarding to work with students on things that will have a very significant impact on their lives and their future, apart from the day to day curriculum lessons and class work. Seeing students taking responsibility for bettering their own futures at such a young age inspires me to want to continuing doing as much as I can to help them achieve their goals.”

~ Angela Pagett, Teacher, St. Anne (Kitchener) CES

“We never had composting bins at home, and now we all have them at our homes. We have had students at our school who had never recycled before and used to throw everything in the garbage at home. Now everyone is recycling and composting.”

~ Emma, Anna, Giuse, Grace, Madison, Matthew, Grade 7 students, St. John Paul II CES.

“Ontario EcoSchools certification provides a framework for environmental learning and action, and school communities bring it to life. The program allows schools and school boards to benchmark their progress and celebrate achievements year-over-year. We are so proud of the 1,900 schools and 58 school boards that participated in the program in 2017-18. This is a record number over our 13-year history.”

~ Lindsay Bunce, Executive Director, Ontario EcoSchools

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