Case Study

On The Road to Renewal

Client: Immaculate Heart High School, Oro Valley, AZ

Introduction

On the Thursday before Christmas, Karl Watson, a local businessman and the father of an alumna, presented Immaculate Heart High School with a check from him and his wife Kathy for one million dollars, the single largest donation in the school's history and the lead gift to its recently-launched capital campaign. This donation, a wonderful Christmas gift to say the least, has had both a significant financial and emotional impact on Immaculate Heart. A symbol of hope, it reflected "a tremendous faith in our faculty and students and in the future of our school and its mission," remarked Thomas P. Long, the President of Immaculate Heart High School.

This show of faith is a wonderful affirmation for a school that 18 months earlier had taken its own leap of faith, embarking on a bold renewal process in the face of overwhelming challenges to its ability to fulfill its mission.

Daunting Circumstances, Overwhelming Challenges

Immaculate Heart Schools and the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mercy have established a proud educational legacy in Tucson. Immaculate Heart High School, established as part of a combined elementary and secondary school in 1930, moved to a new site in the 1960's because of increasing enrollment.

But in the spring of 2005, the Sisters realized they would need to make significant changes for the high school to continue to fulfill its mission. Enrollment was at a critically low level (less than 1/3 of capacity), and the facilities, virtually untouched since the 1960's, had become completely outdated. Due to its small size and limited resources, the school suffered from a lack of the elective courses, extracurricular programs, and student services that are crucial to surviving in a competitive market. Immaculate Heart has always had a strong core curriculum that prepares students exceedingly well for college, but the absence of an effective admissions/recruitment program, combined with the other limitations, gave the school little hope of attracting an increased number of students in the short-term. Furthermore, the school lacked sufficient resources to make the necessary improvements that would ensure long-term success. Without a compelling vision for the future, the Sisters discussed the possibility of closing the school.

Difficult Choices, Bold Decisions, and an Exciting Vision

Faced with some difficult choices, the Sisters made some bold decisions. Working with Advancement Partners under the direction of partner Jeff Strine, they undertook a comprehensive evaluation and planning process. They decided to make some drastic changes. The end result was a vision for the transformation of Immaculate Heart High School that included updated facilities, state-of-the-art technology, and increased course and extracurricular offerings, all of which would help attract more students. While this vision was ambitious and could not be fully realized in the immediate future, the plan included concrete, achievable steps on how to get there.

With the help of Advancement Partners, the school would adopt a new leadership and governance structure, launch an ambitious and comprehensive advancement program, dramatically increase its marketing and recruitment efforts, and kick off a capital campaign. Over the past eighteen months, the Sisters, along with the many friends committed to the future of the school, have undertaken these initiatives, and Immaculate Heart is well on its way to meeting its objectives.

New Leadership and Governance Structure

The establishment of a Board of Managers, combined with the appointment of a new president, produced immediate results. The new Board and President are committed to working with the Sisters to achieve the school's vision for the future. School president Thomas P. Long, who had served as the president of two Catholic schools prior to arriving at Immaculate Heart, has provided valuable perspective and experienced leadership as the school moves forward down its new path.

"Creating a professional management model for the school has been critical," states Tom Long, "and the Board is indispensable to that. They provide valuable business acumen, with each Board member offering a different skill set. In addition, they bring a high level of credibility to the Board and the school. They are well-known as leaders within the community."

The new governance structure has enabled the Sisters and the school to collaborate more fully with others committed to the mission of Immaculate Heart. The process of a building a Board committee structure that is focused on various strategic priorities has further increased participation in the mission. Marketing, Recruitment, and Admissions

"Increasing enrollment is our number one strategic priority," states Tom Long, "and relies on getting the word out to a wider audience on the transformation happening at Immaculate Heart High School - letting them know that this school is a viable, attractive alternative for high school students looking for excellence on all levels".

To this end, an admissions director was hired in October 2006. Despite a limited budget, the school has already launched several creative and innovative initiatives to increase enrollment, with notable results. While current enrollment is under 100 students, the school's targeted enrollment is 250 students in five years. With a goal of enrolling 40 students in the incoming freshman class, the school was halfway there at the end of February with 20 students committed to attend. At the same time last year, one student had committed to a freshman class that would number just 10. The marked increase, combined with the ongoing efforts to rejuvenate and renovate school buildings and programs, has provided additional optimism for the future growth of the school.

Advancement

The planned improvements to Immaculate Heart are an expensive proposition, and an active advancement program is integral to the future. In the spring of 2005, Immaculate Heart had no development program of which to speak. The Sisters soon contracted with Advancement Partners to provide management services. Donna Shappy, one of the partners, served as the interim director of institutional advancement for six months.

"Eighteen months ago, there was no office, no equipment, and no staff," states Tom Long. "There was nothing. The development office as it currently exists is a product of Advancement Partners." As the interim director, Donna put in place the infrastructure, resources, and staff that will help ensure an effective advancement program well into the future. A permanent director, Cathy Middleton, was hired and trained. Advancement efforts have continued to move forward under her direction. The most significant of these efforts is the school's capital campaign.

The Capital Campaign

After significant planning and preparation, the Sisters and Immaculate Heart High School kicked off the capital campaign in October 2006. A Heart That Knows No Bounds: The Transformation of Immaculate Heart High School will help fund the ongoing initiatives and many improvements called for at the school while sharing the vision for the future with the school's friends and the greater community. Gifts to the campaign will help fund extensive building renovations, technology and science lab upgrades, library enhancements, additional programs and associated staff.

It was this campaign and vision that prompted the generous donation from Karl and Kathy Watson. After hearing about the planned improvements during a campaign meeting with Tom Long and former principal Sr. Luisa Sanchez, SIHM, Karl and Kathy Watson decided to make their leadership gift. Moving Forward While the school has come a long way in 18 months; as evidenced by the $1 million donation and the marked improvements to the leadership structure, advancement program, and recruitment efforts; these are just the initial steps in building a school with the programs and resources in place to thrive well into the future. The Sisters themselves have committed to investing significant dollars into this renewal process to help make the necessary improvements that will guarantee the future of their mission at Immaculate Heart High School.  "We were ready to close the school," states Sister Luisa Sanchez, SIHM, Provincial Treasurer and the former principal of Immaculate Heart. "But we realized how much Immaculate Heart High School was needed when we heard positive feedback from the friends, parents, students and alumni who participated in the planning process. At that point, we decided to take the steps to make everything possible, and so many people have joined us to help us achieve these dreams."