Finding the right fit in Catholic education: Thoughts from a Utah Catholic Schools advancement director

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Katie Bakker

As we celebrate Catholic Schools Week in 2022, we consider what it means for families to be a part of one or more of our Utah Catholic Schools, part of an entire system. In talking with students and families, asking them to describe their experience, we hear the words “community” and “family.” However, when families invest, commit and stay, supporting and tied to us long after their students move on, it’s likely because they have found belonging. Joining a community versus belonging there, we believe, is the difference between attending and investing for a lifetime.

Because not every family finds that sense of belonging, we attempt to solve this riddle to change that for our school and system. Is the issue fit? With so many excellent Catholic schools within our diocese, might we do a better job of helping families find their place, perhaps not at our school, but within our system? Perhaps, we need to better identify to each other and families each school’s unique personality and flavors, while still promoting commonalities of high-level academics, faith and caring communities.

At Saint Olaf, we begin our interviews with prospective families by sharing our commitment to finding the right fit, even if ultimately it isn’t with us. Belonging is such a powerful human experience that, when combined with excellent academics centered in faith communities, students flourish and families stay in our system all the way through.

Helping families find their right fit supports the system we all believe in. As those families share amazing experiences, more students enroll. We aren’t only recruiting for the 2022-23 school year, or for Saint Olaf Catholic School, but for PreK-12th grade in the Utah Catholic Schools system. Families should understand that student success is highest when families stay with our schools through graduation.

Fantastic data systemwide shows that when they stay, students do amazing things, academically and beyond. This is not solely the result of the work of the last Catholic school attended, but every Catholic school attended. This needs to be broadcast as well. If we effectively communicate these data points, families seem to continue support for years.

How do we do better at helping each other and families? Is it a worthy goal to work toward having mainly losses of families who need to switch to a sister Catholic school? After all, that school picks up where we left off, retaining students in our system. That chain of belonging and flourishing then continues, link by link. Our prayer is for that kind of unified system, where we celebrate successful retention of most families through right fit and belonging.

Not yet aware of what a Catholic education can do for your students? Please reach out to any Utah Catholic school and let us show you what a Catholic education can do while you discover a community where you belong.

Katie Bakker is director of Communications & Advancement at Saint Olaf Catholic School.