Strategic Plan - Cardinal Gibbons High School

Forward in Faith

Cardinal Gibbons High School seeks to lead Catholic education back to prevalence as a culture-defining experience in the US that inspires lifelong learning, faith, service, and leadership in its students and alumni.

We cultivate a thriving community of learners that embody the values, impact, and relevance of Catholic education for the modern world.

We are called to embrace the mission of Jesus Christ through formational experiences for our students, both in and out of the classroom.

We invite our student body to experience and follow Jesus Christ, both now and in the future. Our faith informs our commitment to inquiry, our service to others, and inspires moral leadership of self and others within our church and community.

Our Strategy: Formation through faith, service, and leadership

Our Challenge

Cardinal Gibbons High School, founded in 1909, is a vibrant and bustling community that has experienced significant change since 2019. Along with the rest of the world, we grappled with the challenges presented by COVID-19, which impacted every organization in different ways. Additionally, Cardinal Gibbons has had three different leaders in the last four years. While we are pleased to say the school remains on solid footing, we also recognize it is the ideal time to set a new direction and strategy for the post-pandemic world.

Our Call

Our opportunity is both profound and urgent: to be a school that is faith-centered, future-facing, and relevant in the 21st century.

Catholic education in the US finds itself in a critical moment. At its height in 1961, 5.1 million students were enrolled in Catholic K-12 schools. Today, there are 2 million students in Catholic K-12 schools. Additionally, in 1961, the population of the US was 184 million. Today it is 334 million [source: National Catholic Educational Association].

Cardinal Gibbons must make its program faith-centered, future-facing, and relevant to serve as a beacon for what Catholic high school education can look like so we can help to lead Catholic education back to its former level of prevalence as a culture-defining experience in the US.

We can accomplish this through strengthening our Catholic identity, updating our academic program, crafting a clearly defined academic philosophy that supports Catholic education with innovative and cutting-edge teaching and learning practices, and creating a more accessible school environment through philanthropy and increased financial aid.

Our Process

Cardinal Gibbons began a collaborative process in 2021 that included focus groups with the Board of Directors, parents, students, and educators, as well as market research on demographics and current adolescent educational best practices. Subsequently, the vision has been validated with educators, members of the Board of Directors, alumni, students, parents, and the Diocese of Raleigh.

More than 350 community members provided input and worked to validate the vision that will guide our efforts over the next five years.

It was critical to every group that in fulfilling this vision, Cardinal Gibbons both upholds its commitment to a strong and caring community, and strengthens its commitment to being a school where faith and knowledge are intertwined.

Our Goals

A young woman in a red dress stands at a pulpit in the foreground, while a crucifix is prominently displayed in the background of a grand church.

Focus on faith

Witness our Catholic identity in every part of our school

Create Christ-centered school experiences infused and inspired by Catholic social teaching.
Strengthen our teaching methods to emphasize relational dialogue, inquiry, and perspective-taking while remaining grounded in our values.
Augment the daily schedule to prioritize Masses, prayer services, chapel talks, retreats, outreach, and the promotion of vocations and the sacraments.

A young man in a hoodie looks at a laptop on his desk while a woman leans in to observe, with a blurred classroom environment in the background.

Nurture God-given talents in everyone

Shape and inspire our students to be leaders and trailblazers in their communities and beyond

Empower our educators to design and deliver transformative curriculum through dynamic teaching methods.
Inspire students to take charge of their academic future through immersive learning experiences.
Develop a consistent Cardinal Gibbons teaching methodology, using contemporary research, that prioritizes a student-centered learning environment that reflects our Catholic values and beliefs.

A woman in a white "GIBBONS CHEERLEADING" shirt smiles while talking to three young women in chairs, with blurred figures and a stage visible in the background.

Foster enriching community

Cultivate a thriving and healthy Catholic community of learners

Coordinate our exceptional co- and extracurricular opportunities into the broader educational programs.
Focus on fostering a culture of health and wellness and self-knowledge for each student and within our broader community.
Construct more on-campus spaces for belonging.

Two young people in hard hats work on a construction site in the foreground, with houses and trees visible in the background.

Extend our impact

Demonstrate the relevance and value of a 21st-century Catholic education

Demonstrate our impact to the community by developing a culture of philanthropy.
Directly engage with parents and alumni to forge an unbreakable partnership through direct engagement with our mission and impact.
Bolster community partnerships by expanding our many networks within the Triangle to foster a broader influence.