The Notre Dame Sponsorship Transition

New Ownership Overview

With the arrival of the New Year, Notre Dame High School enters the next chapter in its vibrant future. Effective January 1, 2007, Notre Dame College Prep (NDCP), the Illinois not-for-profit Corporation set up for this purpose, assumed ownership. NDCP’s Leadership Team is comprised of Notre Dame parents, alumni and alumni parents with more than 260 years of combined service to the school. This group of lay persons makes up the Governance Board and the Executive Board. They were designated by Francis Cardinal George as an Association of Christian Faithful (ACF). Officers will include a Catholic priest who will serve as chaplain and the ACF will appoint a larger board to consult on various aspects of school operations. Holy Cross religious currently serving at the school will remain in place until the end of the 2006-2007 school year. The school’s Executive Board will begin a search for a new president immediately.

New Leadership Team

Patrick Callero ’70 – Technology Committee Chair
Eugene Faut ’59 – Alumni Relations Committee Chair
Bob Flood ’66 – Buildings & Grounds Committee Chair
Joseph Gurdak – Executive Board Chair
Anthony Mandolini – Nominating Committee Co-Chair
Chuck McNulty – Ex-Officio, Financial Committee Chair
Peter Newell ’67 – Student Affairs Committee Chair
Christopher Nowotarski ‘76 – Nominating Committee Co-Chair
Patricia Tennant – Academic & Faculty Affairs Committee Chair
Paula Waters – Executive Board Vice-Chair, External Relations Committee Chair

Transition Timeline

June 30

The Congregation of Holy Cross, Indiana Province decides to withdraw its sponsorship of Notre Dame High School after more than 50 years. His Eminence, Francis Cardinal George, O.M.I., Archbishop of Chicago, personally assures NDHS that he is committed to Catholic education as well as to our Notre Dame students and their families. The Archdiocese is resolute in its intention to direct a seamless transition of administration.

July 6

More than 1,000 attend an informational gathering at Notre Dame High School . Representatives from the Archdiocese, clergy from many neighboring parishes, board members, families and alumni gather to share their concerns but also witness the commitment and resolve of so many to have the vital mission of Notre Dame High School carry on for generations of students to come.

July 11

A meeting is held with the Archdiocese of Chicago where a plan is adopted for the Board of Notre Dame High School to lead the school in a seamless ownership transition with the support and blessing of the Archdiocese.

July 19

Members of the Notre Dame Advisory Board meet with officials of the Archdiocese of Chicago to continue the process of transitioning the school to new leadership. The new governance structure, a two-tiered Board, is refined and plans for incorporation are made.

August 15

The Priests of Holy Cross receive an initial proposal from the Notre Dame Advisory Board regarding the transfer of ownership of the school to a new not-for profit entity.

Late August

Officials from the Notre Dame Advisory Board meet with leadership of the Archdiocese of Chicago and the Indiana Province of the Congregation of Holy Cross to review and revise the initial proposal. The meetings were fruitful and positive. The Advisory Board creates a new not-for-profit entity registered in the State of Illinois as Notre Dame College Prep (legal title).

November

The Provincial Superior of the Congregation of Holy Cross Priests, Indiana Province and the officers of the new Notre Dame not-for-profit corporation sign an official Letter of Intent for transfer of ownership of the school.

November 21

Francis Cardinal George, Archbishop of Chicago, approves the Notre Dame Educational Association as an Association of Christian Faithful sponsoring Notre Dame College Prep, thereby creating the civil and canon law structures necessary to establish Notre Dame High School as an independent Catholic school.

December 18

Notre Dame College Prep and the Congregation of Holy Cross Priests, Indiana Province announces they have signed a definitive agreement for the transfer of the ownership of Notre Dame High School in Niles , IL . Effective January 1, 2007 , Notre Dame College Prep will assume operation of the 51-year-old school.

January 1

Notre Dame High School ’s Executive Board takes over ownership of school. The search for a new president begins.

2006-2007 School Year Update
It has been business better than usual for current students as many NDHS success stories have already been written this year:

Recognition

• Paul Sidlowski ’07 was named a Commended Student in the 2007 National Merit Scholarship Program

• For the second year in a row, the Debate Team is leading the Catholic League. The Dons are currently in position to repeat as champions.

• The Chicago Blackhawks awarded the Notre Dame varsity and junior varsity hockey teams their 2006 “RESPECT” award for the outstanding sportsmanship

• The varsity football team made the playoffs for the first time since 2003

Notre Dame Spirit

• Walkathon 2006, our annual student activities fundraiser, was wildly successful as the Dons raised a record amount of more than $56,000 for extracurricular activities and new exterior windows

Facilities and Grounds

• Recent upgrades have dotted the Notre Dame landscape, including a revamped award-winning website, 31 new computers with flat screens in the library, a refurbished new home for the Br. Andre Center, a re-surfaced parking lot, two wings of re-tiled floors and replacement of exterior windows in four classrooms.

New Initiatives

• The Personal Growth Plan (PGP) is being adopted throughout the school. It is a customized four-year plan for each student outlining specific goals for all dimensions of his life – academic, spiritual, athletic, service and experiential programs, with ongoing measurement and feedback. This plan will be developed in consultation with the student and his family and will be the roadmap against which we will measure decisions about his coursework, college counseling and other areas of progress.

• Notre Dame’s new Center for College and Life Preparation (CCLP) is dedicated to furthering Notre Dame High School’s mission of preparing young men not only to be successful college students but also good husbands, fathers, civic leaders, friends and much more. The CCLP’s current research project focuses on the merits of single-sex education in the U.S. and how Notre Dame can recognize and use the unique attributes of its single-sex mission.