OUR MASTER PLAN: Creating a Roadmap for Our Future

As we approach our school’s 100th anniversary in 2025, Reitz Memorial is turning our gaze toward the future. One of the exciting developments currently in the works is a Master Plan, helping us create a roadmap for our future dreams and aspirations.

“It’s always good for an institution like Memorial to have a Master Plan to have a vision of where we want to be,” says President Christian Mocek.

The Master Plan is an all-encompassing project that provides an outline of our existing framework, as well as potential for future development for the next several years — and beyond. The plan looks at our school in its current state — everything from ceilings and doorknobs to classroom environments and technology.

“It’s really about facilities and an assessment of where we are now,” Mr. Mocek says.

But it also provides the ability to look at Memorial’s potential for the future. This could mean simple fixes — when certain physical updates will need to be made, for example. Or, considering larger dreams for what we want our school to become.

“A Master Plan provides an opportunity to think strategically and to align our school’s vision, goals, and objectives with the building,” Mr. Mocek says.

The Master Plan provides Memorial with the opportunity to continue our mission of educating students to their highest potential in a Christ-like community. This means upgrading our classrooms to more collaborative environments and looking at innovative ways to support our students’ mental health — effectively having each of our facilities reflect our school values. This project affects our students’ academic lives as it will entail the physical spaces they frequent daily.

On a practical level, the plan will provide Memorial with the ability to allocate funds in the most effective means possible and create a framework for meeting the future needs of the school.

To bring this plan to fruition, Memorial is working with architecture firm VPS Architecture. The final product is anticipated for mid-December. It will likely take the form of a combination of graphics and written documentation, widely available to our community. Before we reach this end goal, however, there is extensive work being done to ensure our stakeholders and community members lend their voices to the process.

Consultations are already underway as the new school year kicks off. This includes focus groups, public meetings, and surveys involving our students, faculty, families, parishioners, alumni, donors, and beyond.

“That’s really where a lot of our guidance is going to come from,” says George Link, vice president at VPS. “It’s the most important thing, is making sure we engage all those end-user groups. You can’t do something like this in a proverbial bubble and expect good results. You must engage the people it affects, and has impacts on, to make sure everyone is on the same page and on board with it.”

Before the plan is finalized, we will also have a public meeting presenting the tentative plan when we welcome feedback from the community, likely around Thanksgiving of this year.

George has worked in K12 design for 32 years and says VPS is excited to be working with Memorial in this endeavor. He says a Master Plan gives educational institutions a solid planning tool for both academic achievement and physical facility development. The plan will help Memorial not only in the short term but also for years to come.

“Just like with anything, you want to have a roadmap to tell you where you’re going, to be efficient with resources and make decisions today that support your future,” George says. “It is a good planning tool for the school to use, in terms of academics and physical facilities. Otherwise, you could end up thinking about different priorities. Without a Master Plan, you wouldn’t have that kind of insight.”

As a parent of two kids who went to Catholic school himself, George understands the need to get the most out of an educational experience and ensure our resources are spent in the best possible way to benefit our community. This includes building upon existing partnerships in our school and parish, as well as minimizing capital expenditures to invest in educational programs. That way, knowing when something needs replacing will not be a surprise, but the school will be ready and have budgeted for those kinds of expenses.

George says that VPS is excited to embark on this journey with Memorial.

Likewise, Mr. Mocek looks forward to the partnership, and what this plan will mean for Memorial’s short and long-term vision.

“I’m really looking forward to having a document that points the way,” Mr. Mocek says. “It’ll allow everybody to see where we’re going as a school, it’ll give them conceptual drawings of what we can look like. It’ll be a document that excites people. It’s encouraging and it can show people our potential.”