Goals
1: Foster a faith-based education with a diversified curriculum that promotes academic excellence and supports students for life beyond high school.
2: Ensure that the most qualified staff are attracted, developed and retained.

Objectives
1. Explore ways to provide and promote practical, trade-based educational opportunities through internal resources, programming and partnerships with other organizations.
2. Focus on incorporating life skills throughout curricular and extracurricular offerings.
3. Educate students and parents about Advanced Placement (AP) and dual credit opportunities, and evaluate all post-secondary credit options.
4. Enhance professional development opportunities for faculty and staff in subject area knowledge, general teaching development and coaching.
5. Investigate competitive compensation to help ensure attraction and retention of faculty and staff.

Progress Through Year Two of the Strategic Plan
We have modified the school schedule to accommodate more trade based learning at the Cape Career & Technology Center, and increase community partnership opportunities in the classroom.

Through surveys and curricular review, we’ve identified ways in which we can increase needed life skills for our students. Because of that process, we are embarking on year one of a four-year life skills curriculum highlighting personal finance, interpersonal communication, job skills and more.

Notre Dame is now one of two schools in the area that offers the Redhawk Roadmap, through Southeast Missouri State University, that allows our students to complete the CORE 42 program within our walls. This state of Missouri program facilitates a seamless transfer of the 42 identified academic credits that is guaranteed among all public colleges and universities in Missouri.

To increase leadership skills in our underclassmen, and tasked members of the sophomore class level to lead the school’s inaugural year as a Chick-fil-A Leader Academy school.

Our Resource classroom changed locations in the building, and is now equipped with appropriate needs spaced learning. We also added another Resource section with the addition of a reading specialist.

Goal
Create a culture of investing time, talent and treasure, while educating the Notre Dame family about the resources needed to support and maximize the educational needs and faith journey of students.

Objectives
1. Clearly identify and communicate the purpose and value of the NDHS Education Fund Foundation.
2. Evaluate the capacity, prioritize the need, and assess the effectiveness of volunteers on an ongoing basis.
3. Engage recent graduates with opportunities to stay connected.
4. Design and execute a comprehensive development plan that includes planned giving, led by an appropriately staffed advancement team.
5. Establish a communication plan that enhances the accessibility of information both internally and externally.

Progress Through Year Two of the Strategic Plan
The NDHS Education Fund Foundation is actively working to clearly identify and communicate the Foundation’s purpose and value.

Over the past two years, we updated our logos and made a concerted and ongoing effort to have consistent branding and messaging.

In order to more appropriately address the needs of the school, we have reorganized our leadership structure by transitioning to the president principal model. This process required an extensive review of staff duties and culminated with formalized job descriptions for all staff.

Goal
Actively engage the whole Notre Dame community to foster an authentic life of faith, centered on Christ in the Eucharist.

Objectives
1. Encourage students to participate in and grow their faith by relating the Catholic teachings to current social issues.
2. Train the lay faculty and staff to effectively engage with students in an authentic manner regarding the understanding of Church teachings, with the desire to add professed religious to the staff.
3. Explore ways to partner with parents to enhance the faith lives of their families.
4. Develop an approach to integrate the retreat experience into the daily lives of students.

Progress Through Year Two of the Strategic Plan
All faculty and staff are certified through Franciscan University’s Catechetical Institute.

Faculty and staff are required to have a spiritual component to their professional development plans each year.

We are in the second year of offering our Midweek Motivation program. Midweek Motivation provides a weekly Wednesday Mass or faith experience for our employees, students and families.

We have added two dedicated Eucharistic Adoration nights throughout the year for students, families and parish communities.

Goal
Be the school of choice for families wanting a transformational Catholic education experience that prepares students for both college and life.

Objectives
1. Design a comprehensive enrollment management plan that is led by a director of admissions.
2. Proactively promote the Notre Dame mission and brand, with meaningful communications and personal engagement, to Pre-K through eighth grade families and schools throughout the region.
3. Increase marketing and accessibility of available tuition assistance options.

Progress Through Year Two of the Strategic Plan
In May of 2023, we hired the school’s first director of enrollment. This position is responsible for student recruitment and retention to contribute to the overall growth and success of Notre Dame.

We are actively promoting our mission and brand with pre-k through eighth grade families and parish schools. Our enrollment director visits parish schools throughout the year, we provide a monthly Bulldog Bulletin publication geared toward elementary students, and we connect with parish school principals regularly. In addition to our usual grade school summer camp offerings, we have added several events at Notre Dame for the grade school age group.

In conjunction with the Diocese, we are promoting the MOScholars scholarship program, which is a state sponsored program that provides scholarships to families for private school.

We are in the process of developing a comprehensive enrollment plan.

We have increased engagement with incoming students and families through on campus events and regular communication regarding the enrollment process.

Goal
Properly maintain and develop a safe, attractive and welcoming campus to support the learning environment and Catholic mission for generations to come.

Objectives
1. Improve Notre Dame Drive by evaluating options for a secondary entrance and collaborating with authorities on the Route K intersection.
2. Develop a five-year master facilities plan with funding needs integrated into the school budget.
3. Perform an annual technology audit to assess current and future needs.
4. Conduct routine safety assessments to identify vulnerable areas, and communicate findings and resolutions to parents and the community.

Progress Through Year Two of the Strategic Plan
The extension of Notre Dame Drive to Country Road 203 will be completed this fall. This extension will provide a secondary entrance to the school.

School administration is working with MODot on Route K improvements to increase road safety for our students and those visiting our campus. As part of this fiscal year 2026 project, updates include adding a round-about at the entrance of Notre Dame Drive and adding a third lane on Route K.

Notre Dame now has a dedicated director of facilities responsible for facility management, school transportation, and assists with campus security efforts.

The school continually conducts safety audits, including a threat assessment from the Cape Girardeau Police Department. We are actively working to secure safety grants to improve overall campus security.

Goal
Establish and implement a transparent and sustainable long-term strategy to ensure the viability of the school’s financial model.

Objectives
1. Develop a rolling ten-year financial plan to encompass the current and future budgetary ambitions.
2. Assess the viability of the Bingo program and explore alternative means of fundraising.
3. Evaluate the sustainability of the current tuition model while investigating alternative means of funding.
4. Develop an effective communication plan to raise awareness of all aspects of the school’s financial needs.

Progress Through Year Two of the Strategic Plan
After a thorough assessment of the bingo program, we determined it wasn’t a long term viable fundraising program due to volunteer fatigue. We are working with the Clark Street Project, owners of Bingo World, to maximize the profitability of the building on Clark Street to benefit Notre Dame.

We have reformatted our tuition model to clearly communicate the cost of educating a student and available scholarships for families.

We continue to partner with local pastors, who graciously increased the parish stipend for our participating Catholic families.

Notre Dame has updated its messaging to better raise awareness of our funding and operating needs.

In the spring of 2024, the school hired an accountant to help expand the scope of our financial management.

The advancement office is preparing to enter a capital campaign to improve campus and academic offerings to benefit future students and the success of the school for years to come.

Goal
Create a structure in which the administration, school board and Diocese collaborate in the decision-making process for long range planning and policymaking.

Objectives
1. Regularly review the school board bylaws, at least every five years.
2. Develop an annual plan for reviewing long-range goals.
3. Create an open dialogue with area clergy to actively involve them in the school board process.
4. Clearly define the school board member roles and responsibilities, and provide communications to the school community regarding board roles and major agenda items.
5. Develop a formal school board recruitment process that provides opportunities for all parishioners to be involved.

Progress Through Year Two of the Strategic Plan
The school board bylaws are in the process of being revised in order for members to be more aware of their roles and responsibilities within the board and the community. Because of bylaw changes, the Board is consulted on major school changes.

We are working to create an open dialogue with area clergy to actively involve them in the school board process, including creating a formalized recruitment process for new board members.

We investigated organizational models that allowed for an effective distribution of job duties, which led the school to the president principal model. This model allows for staff to concentrate on long term planning and policy making.

Goal
Infuse a faith-based formation that encourages holistic growth in every student.

Objectives
1. Create a pro-active and faith-based wellness program with specific tools to support mental health.
2. Communicate counselor roles and qualifications to the Notre Dame community.
3. Collaboratively review the student handbook to create better awareness and understanding, strengthen consistent enforcement and develop accountability.
4. Establish clear criteria for creating and sustaining club organizations to increase student participation, promote excellence and decrease moderator fatigue.
5. Explore the addition of an agriculture program.

Progress Through Year Two of the Strategic Plan
We have actively worked to highlight the roles and responsibilities of the counselors to the Notre Dame community.

Faculty and staff completed an expansive review of the handbook this summer to stay current with educational trends.

We worked with club advisors to formalize the descriptions, qualifications and goals of our non-athletic extracurricular activities.

We are actively working with community partners to explore ways to introduce an agricultural program at Notre Dame.