• Blessed Clelia

    "May the Precious Blood of Jesus fill all your hearts and draw you to Himself."

Strategic Plan

"Sharing the Love of the Heart of Christ"

Overview

Launching its seventh decade as a premier Catholic school for young women in St. Louis and completing the most comprehensive building addition in the school’s history, Cor Jesu Academy is now forging a new era in Catholic college-preparatory education for young women. Anchored by its strong foundation of faith and high-level academics, this new era is defined by Cor Jesu’s Catholicity and is propelled by a comprehensive strategic vision that will guide us for the next five years. 
 
To determine a “picture of success” for what Cor Jesu will be in 2022, Cor Jesu partnered with Collaborative Strategies, Inc., conducting surveys, focus groups and interviews with stakeholders to evaluate the school’s current operations and environment. From those findings, the Strategic Planning Team consisting of Advisory Council members, administration, faculty, staff and stakeholders developed the focus and foundation for the new plan.

Objectives

The following objectives create the focus and foundation for the five-year strategic plan. The key differentiators are aspects of a Cor Jesu education that will distinguish us from other high schools within the next five years:
 

Students:

  • Academically focused, goal-oriented, intellectually curious, passionate
  • Represent a wide variety of socio-economic, racial, and cultural backgrounds
  • Embrace Catholic values and education
 

Key differentiators

 
  • Catholicity: We are one of the few remaining girl’s high schools in St. Louis owned by a religious order. There is a uniquely overt Catholic presence at school.
  • An innovative teaching style that emphasizes active learning and unparalleled access to global learning. 
  • Academic achievement: We have the highest ACT scores of Catholic girl’s schools in Misssouri and are among the best in National Merit Finalist per capita for Catholic girl’s schools in Missouri.
  • A robust college and career curriculum that connects students with universities of their choice and fields of interests via programs like our Corporate Partners Initiative.
  • We meet 100% of students’ financial need
  • State-of-the-art facilities and campus
 

Target Enrollment:

  580 – 600
 

Revenue Model


  • Significant increase in the existing $6M endowment to enhance the school’s ability to offer scholarships to families of need.
  • Tuition and endowment support the enrollment, curriculum and operational goals of the school along with increased financial aid.
 

Evaluation

Each Strategic Priority has a detailed project plan outlining the required tasks, timelines and responsible parties.  Cor Jesu’s leadership and Advisory Council will review progress against the action plans on a quarterly basis.  Updates and changes to the plan are to be expected – the important point is that the plan is actually used as a road map by Cor Jesu for the next five years. 

Strategic Priorities

To achieve the 2022 vision and goals, Cor Jesu is adopting a short list of priorities.  “Priorities” implies focus – so there can only be a handful.  The planning team identified five critical priorities for the school. 


Enrollment  |  Curriculum  |  College Counseling  |  Philanthropy  |  Learning Environment


 

Enrollment

Continue to attract the highest quality applicants from a wide range of diverse backgrounds and maintain our current enrollment of 600 through new efforts in marketing and branding.

Curriculum

Introduce innovations to the curriculum and pedagogy to better prepare students for future careers emphasizing active learning and global learning.

College Counseling

Provide a comprehensive college counseling curriculum to best meet the needs and interest of each student, assisting parents and students with the college planning process.

Philanthropy

Launch a major philanthropic initiative to fund significantly more scholarships and increase our accessibility for all families. 

Learning Environment

Cultivate a more balanced experience for students that promotes stress management and acknowledges the many demands on their time after the school day.