Masterpiece Campaign Frequently Asked Questions

Donors are asked to consider a gift to the Masterpiece Campaign above and beyond their annual giving. The Annual Fund and our spring fundraiser (L'Esprit/Quiz Night) are of the highest priority because they support ongoing annual operations including teacher compensation, scholarships for students in need, tuition remission for children of faculty, extracurricular programs and the up-keep of the school’s historic campus. The school relies on every family, every year to help the school “zap the gap” in the operating budget and remain fiscally sound; therefore, gifts to the Annual Fund and L’Esprit must be sustained, year over year. Donors are encouraged to make their annual gifts first.

The Masterpiece Campaign is an opportunity to invest in the school’s future, in the kind of strategic program that allows the school to make a bold leap to a new level. Virtually all independent and Catholic schools must undertake a capital campaign every seven to ten years to fund new facilities, endowment and significant new programs such as the Initiative for Excellence in Teaching and Learning. These special gifts allow Sacred Heart to aim high and remain at the forefront of excellence.

The Initiative is an innovative and data-driven process that will impact every student’s classroom experience utilizing:

• enhanced curricula
• formative student assessment
• teaching assistants in both Primary and Lower School classrooms
• master-teacher coaches who encourage, support and develop faculty

The Initiative gathers evidence of how each student learns and provides teachers with real time feedback and resources tailored to address the strengths and challenges of the individual children in their classrooms. This highly-personalized approach benefits all levels of learners—those working ahead of the curriculum as well as those who may sometimes struggle with a specific concept or subject. The result is strong teachers committed to continually expanding their skills in ways that are the most advantageous for the specific children they teach and students who understand themselves as learners and who receive the help they need in ways that maximize their individual potential.

Few elementary schools in the country have engaged in this kind of innovation, placing Sacred Heart at the leading edge of personalized learning while still remaining true to the original vision of St. Madeleine Sophie Barat, who believed in the power of education to transform individuals and the power of individuals to transform society.

The Masterpiece Campaign will enhance the 21st century learning infrastructure of the school by creating four new learning spaces, renovating older classrooms to meet the demands of modern educational technology, creating a Primary School Discovery/Science Center, allow for playground expansion and developing a technology infrastructure to support personalized learning.

Financial aid is an expression of Sacred Heart Schools’ mission. Making an excellent education available to students from all walks of life, regardless of their financial means, dates back to St. Madeleine Sophie’s original vision for her schools and continues as a priority today, articulated in the Goals and Criteria. By increasing endowment funding, SHS ensures a permanent stream of dedicated revenue for one of the school’s core values and, as a result, reduces pressure on the annual operating budget. Named scholarships are available. Donors can permanently honor loved ones while changing children’s lives forever.

Pledges may be completed over a span of five years.

Undesignated gifts allow school leadership the flexibility to apply resources to the Campaign’s highest needs, as the Campaign progresses; however, gifts and pledges may be designated for a specific Campaign priority and/or to endow a scholarship fund. In fact, there are a significant number of commemorative (naming) opportunities available.

Yes. Bequests and planned gifts are wonderful ways to build Sacred Heart Schools’ future endowment while, in many cases, providing benefits to the donor. In addition to being recognized in the Masterpiece Campaign, donors are enrolled in the Society of 1876, honoring those individuals who have provided for Sacred Heart through their estate.

Any leader of the Masterpiece Campaign can help, and you can also always reach Anne Marie Tirpak, Executive Director of Institutional Advancement at (773) 681-8401 or at annemarie.tirpak@shschicago.org. Please don’t hesitate to contact them.