Read the Summer 2013 Issue! - Father Ryan High School

Father Ryan Excels—Past, Present and Future
-Both the Board of Trustees and the Alumni Board hit the
100% participation number again.
-And the number of donors increased by 8% as alumni
continued their strong record of giving with over
11% participation.
New Record! Parents Chair Sandy Guidry pulls off the final sticker.
Annual Fund Sets New Record
for Dollars, Participation
With a strong push in the final month and with broadened
participation across all giving groups, Father Ryan’s Annual
Fund established a new record this year, raising $556,489. The
total topped last year’s record of $522,847, a 6.4% increase in
total dollars.
The participation totals reflected strong support from
throughout the community.
-Every member of the faculty and staff—100%—made a gift
this year, the fourth straight year of this level of leadership.
-Parents obliterated last year’s record of 50% participation,
exceeding 60% overall. The freshman class led the way
with 66% participation, followed by the senior class at 58%.
Senior parents Gary and Sandy Guidry served as Parent
AF Chairs.
The national average for alumni giving among diocesan
high schools is 17%, and the Class Rep program continues
to produce marked improvement toward that goal. We have
30 classes with class reps and in many of those classes,
participation is far out-pacing the overall alumni average. The
Class of 1967, headed by Paul Rohling and Tommy Ducklo,
topped this list for the second consecutive year, hitting a
remarkable 49.48% participation level, a new record by a wide
margin. The Class of 1985 hit 30.7%, a new record for them
and the Classes of 1975 and 1970 followed with 23% and 22%
participation, respectively.
Jim McIntyre announced the results and expressed his gratitude
for this generosity, “I am humbled each year by the results of
our Annual Fund. I have called this our ‘living endowment,’
as it produces for us the equivalent return on a $10 million
endowment total; that support funds tuition assistance,
classroom enhancement and overall campus activities that
enrich our entire community. I am grateful to Anna Beth
Godfrey, our Annual Fund director, all of the volunteers
and every donor whose commitment to this school and its
mission is reflected in every Annual Fund dollar raised. Thank
you to everyone.”
SAIS Affirms Father Ryan’s Strengths
In 2005, Father Ryan received accreditation from the Southern Association of Independent Schools (SAIS), and in doing so made
some history. That accreditation made Father Ryan the first school in the state of Tennessee to hold accreditation from both SAIS
and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). These two respected accrediting organizations are focused on
helping their schools improve their programs, enhance overall education and effect leadership and innovation in the classroom.
This past spring Father Ryan received its report from SAIS, which was high in its praise of the school for its environment, message
and mission. As President McIntyre, said, “it is an affirmation of our goals, to be the national standard in Catholic education.”
Here are some excerpts:
The goals and metrics of the [strategic] plan serve to align the school’s path with accepted best practices and 21 st century learning
goals, while still maintaining the unique character and vision of the school community…
The vision statement of Father Ryan High School lays the foundation for a culture of excellence that permeates the environment
of the school, evidenced most clearly in the students themselves…Students and their parents are upbeat and positive about their
school, particularly appreciative of two values of the school: the cultivation of faith development and the commitment of the
school to ‘You will be known. You will be loved…’
Father Ryan students continue to carry the torch for the School’s stated mission that has served them well for almost ninety years:
these students experience the Gospel on a daily basis and are challenged to reach their full potential intellectually, socially, and
spiritually…A sense of community is pervasive at Father Ryan, and the level of collaboration among stakeholders is not only
impressive, but also surely responsible for the School’s overwhelmingly positive reputation in the Nashville community.
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