I'm sending you this email because you're either a part of St. Therese Parish or the Chinatown community, or because you're related to the school as an alumnus, benefactor, or friend of the parish. You may have recently heard about an upcoming shift in the administration of St. Therese School. As a result, the parish is now seeking volunteers to take part in shaping the future of our school. Following is an abridged version of Principal Cavallone's message regarding the change to a Board of Specified Jurisdiction:

On March 4, 2009, Superintendent of Schools, Sister Mary Paul McCaughey, made an announcement during a special Parish Council Meeting in the St. Therese Church basement that, beginning on July 1, 2009, St. Therese Chinese Catholic School will be adopting a Board of Specified Jurisdiction (BSJ) as part of an initiative set forth by the Office of Catholic Schools. This consultative board will be comprised of 11 – 21 members of the community or parish as a means to empower the laity (non-religious) to take a more active role in running the school’s operations.
 
The Board essentially has five major roles:

• Mission/Ministry Effectiveness
• Member Development
• Policy Development and Planning (including academics)
• Fiscal Management (Financial Resources, Physical Resources)
• Institutional Advancement (Communication, development, marketing, enrollment/recruitment & retention 

With this set-up, the Principal becomes accountable to the BSJ. Every quarter, the principal gives a report to the BSJ and to the pastor on the state of the school. St. Therese School will continue to have a separate budget and separate funds from those of the church, and it will be monitored by Archdiocese representatives.
 
Membership to the BSJ is made through appointment by the Superintendent of Schools. St. Therese will be among 30 other Catholic Schools within the Archdiocese to adopt this model of governance, beginning in 2009-2010.

Parents of students at the school may hold a maximum of 25% of seats on the BSJ, so we need help from others in the community. Professionals and/or those who are familiar with the parish are strongly encouraged to apply. Please seriously consider joining this very important team!

If interested, please submit your resume to Fr. Michael Davitti (michaeldavitti@yahoo.com); he will then forward this to Sr. Mary Paul, who will make the final decision on appointments.
Please feel free to pass this invitation along to others. Thanks for your continued support!

Wendy