Page 14 - 2017/2018 Salesanium Annual Report

Center study prep programs and enrichment courses. The inaugural EDGE academic program enrolled 120 students in 11 classes across seven academic departments. With classes as diverse as chemistry and morality, students are able to create more open times in their schedule for study or, more often, able to create flexibility to take courses they are otherwise unable to fit into their schedules.
Other academic changes included additions to the Arts & Innovation curriculum, including a new drama class and some technical theater offerings. A Student Technology Help Desk class was also offered as a semester-long class for students interested in gaining practical work experience, while acquiring the technical and communication skills necessary to solve problems. Such additions to the curriculum are not uncommon at Salesianum; however, as the curriculum review enters its later phases, and our academic departments collaborate to plan alignments across disciplines,
such changes are likely to be more frequent so we can deliver the
best academic experience to all of our students. A significant part of the effort to keep our curriculum strong and relevant is to work more
closely with other local schools — primarily those who send students to Salesianum — to ensure that from top to bottom, a student’s experience builds upon a single foundation
and does not include unnecessary redundancies. Indeed, departmental liaisons met with their counterparts at a handful of local schools
during the 2017–18 school year to begin these conversations and begin to build this vertical teaming architecture.
Teachers and administrators also focused much of the 2017–18 school year on examining the academic schedule and calendar. This work began in earnest in fall 2016, and three proposals spent much of last year under review, working through
a number of revisions and allowing numerous opportunities for input. The proposed changes include a semester-based calendar that would eliminate quarters and more closely resemble a collegiate calendar,
a revision of the academic bell schedule to allow more freedom for students to work with classmates and teachers during the day, and a separate spring break in mid-March, uncoupled from Easter, to better balance the calendar. A patient process, guided by several strong, collaborative committees, has helped
to demonstrate that Salesianum,
as an institution, is open to change and comfortable embracing the
risk inherent in trying something new. Implementation in the 2018–19 school year will no doubt require adjustments and creative approaches, but the groundwork for success has undoubtedly already been laid.
The end of the 2017-18 school
year also marked the departure of William Yarnell, Director of Guidance. Mr. Yarnell’s five-year tenure was marked by numerous successes.
His creative approach, particularly
as it relates to college placement, brought wholesale changes to the process at Salesianum and saw him hire a talented team of counselors. While Mr. Yarnell will be missed, his replacement, Deneen Brown — who, like Mr. Yarnell, hails from Villanova — brings vast experience with the collegiate admissions process and a similarly creative approach that will only strengthen the program in the years to come.
Under Ms. Brown’s leadership, college placement will continue to be a point of emphasis for Salesianum, and placing increasing numbers of students at the nation’s top colleges and universities will always be a priority.
12 SALESIANUM SCHOOL ANNUAL REPORT | 2017-18