School visits
During this month, our admissions director Julianne Berry and I have been visiting the principals of our support schools, elementary schools who send their students to SJND. We have over 30 elementary schools represented at our school, each of them unique in their culture and community. It’s important that SJND gets to know these schools, to give them feedback on their students and to make sure that we are meeting the needs of their students as well as prospective students and their parents. Additionally, it’s always good to hear what the “word on the street” is about one’s school and what better place to hear it from than your support schools.
Our support schools are diverse in their make up. The largest group is made up of Catholic elementary schools in the Diocese of Oakland. Nearly half of our 32 support schools are Catholic schools in the diocese. The other half is made up of private independent schools, schools that are affiliated with other Christian churches and local public schools located in Alameda and Oakland. When our visits are done, we will have visited about 20 schools over the period of 30 days.
It’s been heartening to get feedback from our support school principals about SJND. People are hearing our message of change, renewed focus on our academic program, the news of our brand new science building and enhanced science curriculum and the sense of energy and enthusiasm that exixts here. Additionally, people are also hearing that there is a new sense of teacher accountability and expectation of excellence among the school community. In short, I feel good that the good news of what has been happenings here at SJND is no longer a “hidden secret,” a phrase I have heard often when talking to others about SJND.
Finally, as someone who has worked in high schools for my entire professional life, I continue to admire the work that elementary school principals do on a daily basis. From the care they exhibit for the schools and their students to the hard work they do to manage sometimes scarce resources, my visits reinforce for me the dedication that all elementary school principals have towards their job and vocation.
Tags: Catholic, elementary school, high school admissions, school principals, SJND
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