{"id":226,"date":"2006-10-13T21:43:10","date_gmt":"2006-10-14T02:43:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/schooladvancement.com\/?page_id=226"},"modified":"2020-12-20T13:28:34","modified_gmt":"2020-12-20T17:28:34","slug":"were-on-a-mission-from-god","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/schooladvancement.com\/?page_id=226","title":{"rendered":"“We’re on a Mission From God”"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cWe\u2019re on a mission from God\u201d \u2013 Dan Aykroyd as Elwood Blues, from the movie, \u201cThe Blues Brothers.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Some people involved in development for our schools today think, as the song goes, \u201cIt\u2019s all about the Benjamins.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cThe Benjamins,\u201d of course, are $100 bills that feature the face of Benjamin Franklin, as referenced in the hip-hop song by P. Diddy (when he was known as Puff Daddy).\u00a0 Even though I have a folder with a sticker that proclaims, \u201cIt\u2019s all about the Grovers,\u201d (Grover Cleveland is on the $1000 bill), this creates the mindset that simply giving money to an organization is all that\u2019s necessary for it to be successful.\u00a0 Anyone in the non-profit sector (health care, arts organizations, charitable trusts, etc.) knows this is absolutely false.\u00a0 So why are our schools being encouraged to simply \u201cgo out and get more funds?\u201d\u00a0 After all, if there aren\u2019t kids in the school, all the funds in the world won\u2019t have any effect.<\/p>\n

Perhaps it’s because many of our school boards and advisory councils are populated with business people – community leaders in the sense that they are viewed as very successful corporate executives.\u00a0 And what is the measure of that success?\u00a0 If their company has had a healthy \u201cbottom line,\u201d or they personally know the executives of other such companies, then their business savvy is considered to be an asset, and bringing this expertise to the school board can make the school successful.\u00a0 They can certain be the driving force of a school\u2019s economic engine.<\/p>\n

While this aspect is certainly necessary, there are two missing components \u2013 a Sense of Mission<\/strong><\/em>, and Openness Toward Cooperation<\/strong><\/em>.\u00a0 In his book \u201cGood to Great,\u201d Jim Collins states that highly successful corporations he researched follow a pattern of organization he described as the \u201cHedgehog Concept.\u201d\u00a0 The leaders of these corporations were able to answer three questions about their companies, namely: \u201cWhat drives your economic engine?\u201d \u201cWhat are you passionate about?\u201d and \u201cWhat can you be the best in the world at?\u201d\u00a0 These visionary individuals realize there is more to success than simply \u201craising more money.\u201d<\/p>\n

Development consultant Frank Donaldson says that to have a successful development program, people must be engaged in a mission.\u00a0 This would explain why corporate revitalization in the 1980\u2019s encouraged for-profit businesses to publish \u201ca mission statement\u201d to be the benchmark for their corporate activities and drive employee actions.\u00a0 As Catholics, we are<\/em><\/strong> \u201cmission\u201d oriented.\u00a0 It is what Jim Collins\u2019 refers to as \u201ca passion;\u201d that \u201cfire in the belly\u201d that compels one to action.\u00a0 It\u2019s more than a \u201cfeeling;\u201d it\u2019s what educational psychologists refer as the conative learning domain\u2026the desire to do more, to learn more, for a greater purpose.\u00a0 For example, our Catholic schools have long held the tradition of academic excellence.\u00a0 But what is at the root of that assertion?\u00a0 Is it the fact that teachers are more dedicated to their students\u2019 success?\u00a0 Is it the smaller class sizes that allow for individualized instruction? Is it the safe environment our schools provide?\u00a0 Is it the atmosphere of respect for God that is taught and talked about in our classes that carry over into daily life? Or are our children more socio-economically advantaged to be able to afford tuition?\u00a0 Or are they better at taking tests?\u00a0 Perhaps it\u2019s all those things together that impact a child\u2019s cognitive development.<\/p>\n

It has also been said that Catholic schools have lower dropout rates, and a larger percentage of Catholic high school graduates go to college than public high school graduates.\u00a0 While the reasons for this phenomenon have been thought to be the same as those associated with academic excellence, there are researchers that believe there is another force at work.\u00a0 That force is the desire to learn more about a topic that was important to teacher that inspired a student, an event or experience that had a profound effect on the student, or an epiphany (what educational experts call an \u201caha\u201d moment) that results in a life-changing mindset shift.\u00a0 The change may not be logical, as could be expected from thought patterns associated with cognitive domain of learning, but is felt in the heart of the individual, giving them a sense of purpose and mission.<\/p>\n

As Catholic schools, our purpose (what we are passionate about) should be to form tomorrow\u2019s evangelists.\u00a0 Perhaps a school can align its work with a particular work of the Church, such as the promotion of peace, or work to break the cycle of poverty.\u00a0 Combining academic excellence with purpose creates a truly unique learning environment that is eminently marketable.\u00a0 But people must \u201cbuy in\u201d to the mission first.\u00a0 An appropriate catechesis must be developed to explain why the mission is important (in your brochure or parent meeting\/open house), an event to allow participants to become emotionally connected (a personal tour), and an experience where they can \u201clearn by doing\u201d (spend a day).\u00a0 These three domains of learning (cognitive, affective and kinesthetic) can lead to the desire to become a part of the community.\u00a0 While one responsibility of a Catholic school is dedication to academic excellence, the \u201cfinancial\u201d factor regarding its advancement efforts can be associated with good business practices, and its \u201cministry\u201d element is inherent in its mission.<\/p>\n

The third component of this necessarily Trinitarian model is Cooperation.\u00a0 Many of our business leaders involved in our school boards are or have been the president of their own company.\u00a0 Some of them have mastered the art of cooperation, realizing the importance of synergy, working together to bring a greater result than the sum of all parts.\u00a0 After all, they are considered \u201ccommunity leaders,\u201d and one of the hallmarks of community is caring for its members.\u00a0 In the \u201chedgehog\u201d model, this would be \u201cwhat we\u2019re the best in the world at.\u201d\u00a0 The Catholic Church believes in the Communion of Saints, which describes the uniting bond among ALL its members \u2013 past, present, and future.\u00a0 But every now and then, there is the \u201clone gun\u201d that is brought on board because they personally know how to get results, and get results fast.\u00a0 A quick return on investment is great for the short term, but yields no long-term prospects for continued growth.\u00a0 Bringing a person in such as this could cause irreparable damage to a board, causing those that know the importance of working together to be suddenly marginalized, then leave with the feeling that there is no respect for the work that\u2019s gone on before them.\u00a0 Parents, non-profit executives, parishioners and alumni must also be invited to participate to take advantage of their particular perspectives and talents.<\/p>\n

Cooperative issues are not relegated to individuals, as there are organizations that demand exclusivity when working with our schools.\u00a0 Schools and school boards must remember they <\/em><\/strong>are responsible for the successes and failures of their school, and consultative entities provide expertise that must be evaluated in light of a school\u2019s long-term success.\u00a0\u00a0 It\u2019s important to recall the five steps to making a decision as a Catholic community \u2013 Prayer, Discernment, Mutual Agreement, Mutual Responsibility and Openness Toward Reevaluation.\u00a0 Simply to accept a recommendation from any source (person or entity) without further testing it goes against all five of these tenets.<\/p>\n

Focusing on simply one aspect of the advancement spectrum can cause more problems that it solves.\u00a0 Prioritizing, however, is a necessity.\u00a0 Prioritizing infers the realization that there are multiple foci, and what happens in one area of development, retention, enrollment, asset management and marketing will affect another.\u00a0 Advancement efforts provide an excellent example of Systems Thinking, as the actions one of the five key areas of advancement will affect the others.\u00a0 St. Paul\u2019s words to the Romans are words necessary to understand the mission that we have been called to: \u201cAnd we know that God causes all things to work together for good <\/em><\/strong>to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.\u201d (Rom 8:28).<\/p>\n

\u00a9 Michael V. Ziemski, SchoolAdvancement, 2006<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cWe\u2019re on a mission from God\u201d \u2013 Dan Aykroyd as Elwood Blues, from the movie, \u201cThe Blues Brothers.\u201d Some people […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":56,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-226","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/P2ggCS-3E","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/schooladvancement.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/226","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/schooladvancement.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/schooladvancement.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/schooladvancement.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/schooladvancement.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=226"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/schooladvancement.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/226\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":263,"href":"https:\/\/schooladvancement.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/226\/revisions\/263"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/schooladvancement.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/56"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/schooladvancement.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=226"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}