Progress Report
on
Strategic Plan

Rooted in the Mission - Foundation for the Future
February 2016

The De La Salle High School Strategic Plan consists of five main goals. To keep our community informed, I offer this new report for the 2015-16 school year. It contains information on selected accomplishments of the past school year that highlight our ongoing progress toward achievement of the goals of the Strategic Plan.

Mark DeMarco, President

Goal 1

Mission Effectiveness:
De La Salle High School will ensure that Catholic identity and core Lasallian principles permeate all facets of the institution.

Current Progress:

• Articulation of Catholic Lasallian Principles in publications and numerous letters to our parent community.
• Successful completion of the Adults with Minors Policies by the Diocese of Oakland Safe Environment Committee.
• Reviewed in detail the implementation of the Catholic Lasallian Assessment Process recommendations.
• Implemented the Religious Studies Program Audit.
• Established, opened, and funded De La Salle Academy.
• Created the Mission Effectiveness Committee to review and assess the progress of this goal and its objectives.

Goal 2

Financial Assistance:
De La Salle High School will develop a plan to ensure that a Catholic Lasallian education serves students with varied academic needs and diverse social, cultural, and economic backgrounds.

Current Progress:

• Continue to provide financial aid to students whose family income falls at or below the federal threshold for free and reduced lunches. Maintain or exceed 5 percent enrollment of these students while maintaining or exceeding our current financial aid funding for middle-class families.
  • Refer to updated summary of the 2015-16 financial aid grants, which include 47 students receiving aid under the Bishop John S. Cummins Program for students of families with income at or below the federal poverty thresholds.
  • 130 students are currently enrolled in the Spartan Success Program for 2015-16.
• Assess the Financial Aid Guidelines and Procedures annually.
  • Refer to updated Financial Aid Guidelines and Procedures, which was updated in January 2016.
• Create a plan to increase the financial aid endowment to provide ongoing funding of financial aid.
  • Increased the Financial Aid Endowment to $94,000 during the year ended June 30, 2015.
• Established, opened, and funded De La Salle Academy.

Goal 3

Alumni Association:
The Alumni Association will develop and implement programs to engage alumni and alumni families in the life of the School.

Current Progress:

• Alumni giving to the Annual Fund grew to 8.02%, up from 7.83% the previous year.
• Overall participation from alumni, including giving to the Annual Fund, event attendance and sponsorship, increased to 14.56%, up from 13.91% the previous year, which is an overall increase of 5.4%.

Goal 4

Institutional Advancement:
De La Salle High School will design and implement a comprehensive advancement program to secure resources (human and financial) to support the strategic plan, capital giving, communication, and to fulfill the mission of the School.

Current Progress:

• The 50th Anniversary Capital Campaign continues to be a fundraising priority. While Phase II construction is complete, fundraising for the STREAM Center is 80.24% completed with $16,450,216 raised. The School needs $4,049,783 in secured and booked commitments to complete Phase II. The School has raised $36.8M toward the Comprehensive Campaign Goal of $50M as of December 31, 2015.
• Advancement fundraising initiatives raised $1.9M in gifts and pledges in FY14-15.
• Parent participation in the Annual Fund reached a new record of 63.37% in FY14-15.
• Alumni giving and event participation in support of the school increased to 14.56% in FY14-15.
• The total number of first time alumni donors decreased, from 98 in FY 13-14 to 86 in FY 2014-2015, representing a 12% decrease.
• The total number of $1k+ alumni donors increased, growing from 41 in FY 2013-2014 to 51 in FY 2014-2015, representing a 2.43% increase.
• Completed annual Write-Off Analysis Report. Write-offs comprise 5.67% of Annual Fund giving for FY 14-15. With strategic pledge follow up and regular analysis of uncollectable pledges, our write offs continue to be below the standard national average of an 8-10% anticipated pledge-write off statistic.

Goal 5

Finance:
De La Salle High School, as responsible stewards, will develop and implement key financial cornerstones to enhance the financial viability of the institution.

Current Progress:

• Annual audits of the School’s financial statements by an independent certified public accountant.
• Maintain compliance with the Financial Cornerstones approved by the Finance Committee.
  • Budget for depreciation, with the depreciation reserve to be used for capital expenditures (phased in over the next several years), and allocate the excess of depreciation over capital expenditures to a reserve for future capital improvements and facilities maintenance.
  • Continue to reinvest in the maintenance and replacement of the School’s physical plant and leverage the School’s current infrastructure.
  • Benchmark faculty and staff salaries with other Bay Area private schools in order to maintain competitive, just, and fair compensation to our employees.
  • Continue to budget on the basis that non-philanthropic revenue is approximately 90% to 95% of budgeted operating expenses.
  • Continue to fully fund all School reserves (long-term operating and capital reserves), and to borrow from the reserves as needed and appropriate for approved purposes.
  • Continue to seek non-tuition based sources for funding financial aid (a financial cornerstone added in 2011-12).
  • Continue to carefully manage risk and to appropriately insure the School’s assets.
  • Refer to Financial Cornerstones as addressed by the 2015-16 Budget Decisions, which meet the above objectives.
• Maintain compliance with the Investment Policy and Endowment Spending Policy approved by the Finance Committee.
  • The Finance Committee annually reviews and assesses the School’s Investment Policy and Endowment Spending Policy which include conservative and prudent objectives.
• Continue to prepare multi-year operational and capital budgets.
• Independently fund and account for the fiscal operations of De La Salle Academy.

In closing, let me express my enduring gratitude to all the trustees, parents, alumni, benefactors, Donors, and friends who were originally instrumental in developing this Strategic Plan, and to the dedicated faculty, committed staff, and devoted administrators who are carrying it out.

Our joint, ongoing efforts continue to provide a place where Catholic, Lasallian education can help boys develop into young man of faith, integrity, and scholarship. Working together, we will continue to be faithful to our Mission.

In the Spirit of Saint John Baptist de La Salle,

Mark DeMarco
President
De La Salle High School