Gains, growth seen in revitalized Catholic education | News, Sports, Jobs

The focus for school leadership now turns to achieving a solution regarding necessary facilities updates and expansion to accommodate the next century of students, an unthinkable prospect considering obstacles the school faced more than a decade ago.

In February 2010, financial and enrollment difficulties facing the Minot Catholic Schools system and deferred maintenance on St. Leo’s School led to the consolidation of St. Leo’s and Little Flower Schools. Further forecasting showed a system on the verge of closing, with trends pointing to zero students by 2027. This heartbreaking reality forced school leadership to make difficult choices in the hopes of sustaining any chance of continuing Catholic education for families in the community.

Thanks to the inspired work of families, staff, and supporters, the school’s strategic initiatives reinvigorated the rich tradition of Catholic education in Minot that began in 1926, leading to growing enrollment trends. The strategies outlined in the 2018 “Living Our Mission Strategic Plan” set significant goals and changes to accomplish many objectives.

After seven years, the ambitions of “Living Our Mission” have borne many fruits and blessings, such as:

Bishop Ryan senior Ruby Lormejuste provides peer mentorship to preschooler Genevieve Bryson in February.

— a PreK-12 integrated program for learning and living the virtues.

— the capability to offer more AP, dual-credit, and CTE courses.

— the initiation of student internship opportunities with local business partners.

— an increase in average ACT composite scores to over 21,and increased student mathematics and language arts proficiency system-wide.

— a whole-school Educational Plan that corresponds with mission, identity, and student needs, and the update of all curricular materials in the process.

Smiling third graders at Bishop Ryan in this March photo are: back, Daniel Prough, Nash Samson, Noah Grant, Rosie Mueller, Luxton Dickinson, Emma Kramer; front, Maci Sorum, Samuel Braun, Sutton Deeter, Emersyn Kelly and Franklin Bittle.

— the improved ability to attract and retain teachers through increased teacher and administrator pay, improving the salary base by 21% and the top tier of the salary schedule by 39%, all while raising the 401k match to 5% and taking on more of a share of health insurance premiums.

— fortifying funding for the BRCS Foundation’s Faculty Endowment to sustain the enhanced salary schedule.

— the restructuring of a unified administration built on a President-Principal model incorporating a Dean structure.

— the implementation of a student retention plan that has increased K-12 student retention to 90% annually for the last four years.

— a dynamic preschool program that encourages Kindergarten classes at or approaching fifty students, the long-term goal for graduating class size.

— augmenting available scholarship dollars by successfully endowing additional scholarships.

— the investment in necessary deferred maintenance and improvements around the school campus, including updated security measures.

Buoyed by steady enrollment increases since 2011, “Living Our Mission” also led to the purchase of four new modular classrooms and the creation of five other distinct learning spaces within the current building to accommodate additional class sections. As “Living Our Mission” is retired in success, its accomplishments are spurring the conversation of what the next chapter brings, including the need to update and expand school to continue serving students and families in ways that provide excellence in academic, spiritual, and extracurricular programming.

Academically, the new Education Plan is demonstrating gains in student proficiency. The latest Renaissance 360 assessment scores show grade-level proficiency rates of 74% in Mathematics and 67% in English Language Arts, 30 points above the state and local averages. Harnessing that momentum, new opportunities are motivating students to participate in after-school activities based in math, science, and communications. LEGO robotics started with 10 students seven years ago and now counts 50 students on multiple teams competing at two age levels. Science Olympiad teams have grown and continue to perform well in regional and state competitions. Literary Lions allows students to finetune their writing skills with mentorship from local authors and the experience of authoring and binding a book. These programs, paired with athletics programs, offer students the occasion to apply lessons of intellectual, spiritual, and human formation provided as part of the curriculum each day.

Recognizing the increasing complexities of the social and technological environments in which students are growing up, Bishop Ryan has also committed to working with parents to prioritize authentic human interactions and less-distracted learning environments by limiting students’ recreational use of screens and cell phones during the school day. Student culture is built around the foundational virtues of studiousness, courage, self-control, courtesy, prudence, and above all, charity. More than just education based on the transactional earning of credits, Bishop Ryan students are encouraged to flourish fully as people ready to serve God, their families, and their communities, taking an active part in the betterment of the future.