Dear Families of the Academy of Our Lady of Mount Carmel,

This week has been a trying week for the Academy family. The School Advisory Board (SAB) would like to thank all of you that participated in the prayer service on Monday. The turnout was greatly appreciated. It showed what makes the Academy the wonderful institution it is – the families that support it with such passion. The SAB has listened to your concerns and comments (both positive and negative) and would like to communicate the following first actions in our plan to move our Academy forward.

The following night after the prayer service the SAB held its monthly meeting. It goes without question that the information that was conveyed by you was the only topic of discussion. It was clear that the value of the education that the Academy provides is in question by some of the community. We are writing this letter to tell you it is not in question. We are here to assure you that we are committed to the current and future students and their families as well as the faculty and administration of the Academy to provide a best-in-class Catholic education.

The immediate priority, which was a major topic of concern, is to fill the 6th grade teacher position. The search has already started. We will fill this position in the most expeditious manner we can and communicate as appropriate throughout the process.

The School Advisory Board would like to announce that we are going to move forward with recertifying the school to Blue Ribbon status. While this is an elective step, we strongly believe that the community needs to work towards such a critical goal and achieve it as one unified community. The Blue-Ribbon status that was achieved in 2012 bolstered our presence in the Catholic education community but recertifying will solidify that position for years to come. Additionally, it will serve as our Academy compass during preparations for recertification to ensure we are making the right decisions for our students. This is not an overnight endeavor, but will be a community achievement that we are confident will be met with tremendous success. We are hoping that all families work with each other in support of the faculty and administration to the best of their abilities and with great generosity in obtaining this strategic goal.

As a result of the prayer service and the direction we would like to take, the SAB will be hiring an outside consultant to do a 360-degree assessment of the Academy. The resulting gap analysis will be used to help develop specific additional actions for the Academy to ensure we are functioning at a best-in-class level and position the Academy to again earn Blue Ribbon status. This assessment must be a true group effort in order for it to be of the highest quality and benefit to the Academy. The scope will require interviews with Father Dan, Miss Koval and the teachers that educate our children. In addition, we would like to ask that we form a committee of parents that currently have a positive view of the school and the same for the parents that have a negative view of the school. We want to engage all sides of the community in order to achieve the best possible outcome based on the best possible information.

We hope that this action plan letter starts the healing process for those that are presently dissatisfied and also provides added confidence to those who feel positive about the Academy. Please know that your thoughts and feelings have been heard and are respected. This is not a time for the OLMC community to be divisive. It is just the opposite. It is the exact time to put personal differences aside and work as one cohesive family to ensure our children have the Academy of Our Lady of Mount Carmel experience that they deserve.

Warmest Regards,
Father Dan O’Neill (Pastor)
Miss Kelly Koval (Principal)
Kenneth W Kaufmann Jr., Jean Kashmer, Linda Hubschman and Vinny Antonucci (The School Advisory
Board)
Jacqueline Kaufmann and Laura Cilano (Parents Guild Presidents)