Dear St. Vincent de Paul Families,
As I complete my first semester at St. Vincent de Paul High School, I have had the pleasure of meeting each of your children, either in the classroom, the hallway, an art class or at an athletic event. I am impressed by the level of respect they have shown me and the openness of the students to discuss a multitude of subjects. In keeping with the long standing St. Vincent de Paul tradition, the Class of 2018 has interviewed for many of the top rated colleges and universities, including Duke, M.I.T, and Penn. As I write, our students have been accepted to a number of U.C’s, University of Notre Dame and Northeastern to name a few. The tradition of being admitted to the top 100 universities meets or exceeds that of Marin Catholic, Sonoma Academy and Cardinal Newman.
This school year we have celebrated numerous accomplishments at St. Vincent de Paul:
- The Science Department received a PEF grant to purchase over 20 new Chromebooks for class instruction.
- The incoming class of 2022 will be required to have 280 units to graduate compared to the current 240 units. Students will be required to have three years of a language other than English, and a full year of both Economics and Government. With the increase in graduation units, SVdP will require the highest number of units to graduate compared to Marin Catholic (260), Cardinal Newman (270) and Sonoma Academy (260).
- St. Vincent de Paul is celebrating 100 years of educating young men and women. As the oldest Catholic school on the 101 corridor, our students have graduated and gone on to be leaders in law, education, agriculture, business, public policy, healthcare, and engineering to name a few.
- Our Women’s Soccer team celebrated an undefeated season with an NCS Championship.
- Our Women’s Volleyball Team celebrated a conference championship.
- The Board of Regents has begun the development of a 12, 36 and 60 month strategic business plan with implementation to commence this summer.
- 84% of students were represented at the standing room only, Night of the Arts exhibiting the many musical, dramatic and artistic talents of our students.
- Our nationally ranked Debate team continues its reputation of excellence on the regional and national stage.
Alumni and parents can be proud of the accomplishments a school our size is able to accomplish. We are committed to your child and to providing an education which will last a lifetime. We are grateful that you entrust us as educators to challenge the intellect of your child, as well as form the faith and develop their individual gifts and talents.
During the past five months, I have made a concerted effort to meet with and listen to parents, benefactors, alumni, students and community members. These conversations have been both constructive and positive and there was a consensus among these individuals that change is necessary. I ask for your continued confidence in the leadership of the school and in the Regents to ensure your student receives an education which will not only prepare them for a university, but also for a career and life itself. With the support of Pastor Donahue and the Regents, we have identified areas of growth such as alumni engagement, athletics, discipline and religious instruction. We will not just discuss these areas, we will take action to remedy.
We are committed to providing an affordable Catholic education to all families; therefore the Regents voted to reduce the annual tuition increase from 7.9% to 3%, an increase of $450 for the 2018-19 school year. Registration and fees will remain the same. This increase remains competitive with the Catholic schools in the Bay Area, many of which exceed $20,000 in annual tuition and have similar results in college admissions. Even with this 3% tuition increase,
there remains a gap of $2,215 between the annual tuition and the actual cost of educating each student.
We will once again rely on fundraising and private support from parents, alumni and friends of the SVdP community to close this gap.
The largest annual fundraiser for SVdP is the Annual Fund campaign. Again this year, we are asking every family to make a
Parent Promise to the Annual Fund
. Every family is asked to make a promise or pledge to help bridge the gap between tuition and the actual costs. This pledge, unlike tuition costs, is completely tax deductible. We are expecting 100% participation from our current families. In return for your pledge, you will not be asked to make another gift to the SVHS Annual Fund during the 2018-19 school year.
Parents will be receiving an email by the end of the week directing them to our
Online Re-Registration Form
. You will have the opportunity to update contact information, sign the 2018-19 Tuition Contract and make a Parent Promise to the SVdP Annual Fund. Re-registration appointments will take place in March and April where parents, students and counselors will meet to discuss progress and class selection.
On behalf of the entire Faculty and Staff of St. Vincent de Paul High School, I want to thank each of you and especially your child for being a valued member of the St. Vincent de Paul High School community.
Sincerely,
