Members of the CLASP review committee at their meeting in the Provincialate office in Covington, LA.
A committee appointed to review the District of San Francisco New Orleans’ Catholic Lasallian Assessment Process (CLASP) met November 8-10 at the Provincialate office in Covington, LA. The meeting was coordinated by the District’s Office of Education.
Launched in 2001, CLASP is a school assessment process focused on “building the strengths within the school, affirming and encouraging efforts to live out the Lasallian Catholic character in all aspects of the school’s life.” Schools use Lasallian core principles, characteristics, and criteria to guide their members in reflecting on the school’s Mission strengths, needs, and issues. They then work with visiting teams of District Brothers and Partners that assist with processing the schools’ findings and planning their future action.
The review committee members are Office of Education Directors Charles Legendre and Gery Short; Janell Kloosterman, Principal, Mullen High School; Cathy Molinelli, Assistant Principal, St. Mary’s College High School; Tony Behan, Campus Minister, De La Salle High School (New Orleans); Bob Carrejo, District Director of Communications; Greg Kopra, District Director of Formation for Mission; and Br. Chris Patiño, FSC, District Director of the Office of Vocation Ministry. The meeting was facilitated by John Roberto, President, LifelongFaith Associates.
The meeting began with an examination of the components and development of the two previous rounds of CLASP: 2001-2006 for the schools of the San Francisco District; and 2007-2015, with the schools of the New Orleans-Santa Fe District joining the visits in 2010 and the round concluding as part of the San Francisco New Orleans District.
The committee’s examination was primarily concerned with the effectiveness and impacts of the previous rounds. Discussion focused on the design of the CLASP instrument and visit, as well as on its overall usefulness in helping schools to ensure their Lasallian Catholic identity.
The remainder of the meeting was given to the task of determining goals and components for the next round of CLASP, which is scheduled to start with the 2016-2017 academic year. It was agreed that the guiding vision for the next round of CLASP should be that of a process that will assist schools in identifying how they are moving themselves into new areas of growth and innovation in response to both the current and the emerging needs of those who they serve.
Next steps for the committee include updating the CLASP instrument’s assessment characteristics and criteria, as well as developing additional resources for schools to use as part of CLASP in reflecting on Lasallian Catholic identity and educational practice. Work will continue through early 2016.
