Future Vision of

 Education of RCHS

EDU 505: The Future  of Education

Post University

Eriselda Sofroni

April, 2022
 RCHS
• The Archdiocese of Philadelphia Schools is a
system that takes care of some of America's first
Catholic schools. Catholic Schools are nonprofit
educational organizations. They create a safe
place for the students and teach in the example of
Jesus Christ.

• Roman Catholic High School (RCHS) is one of

the all boys schools in Philadelphia.

• The school has 953 students in grades 9- 12. The

ratio of teacher students is 21:1. According to
NICHE the RCHS is ranked 36 of 70 best catholic
high schools in Pennsylvania. The demographic
of this school has changed with 70% white, 17%
black, 5% Asian, 4% Hispanic, and 4% others
(Phylli, 2022, p. 1).
History of
RCHS
Past & Present of RCHS
•  Its building is located right in the center of Philadelphia. The school was founded
in 1890 by Thomas E. Cahill. During his life, he wanted to invest in education for
young boys. His wish was followed by his wife Sophie who opened the school on
September 6th, 1890, providing free education only for boys.

• The school was called Roman Catholic High School (RCHS) and symbolized the
educational aspirations of the church in the region (Handbook, 2019, p. 7).

• The school's first academic year started with 105 boys and only 26 of them
graduated in 1894. 

• Later on in 1996 Renaissance Hall house would expand with a cafeteria, more
labs, a library, a discipline room, and a television studio. With these renovations
and additions to the building, RCHS adds to its services for its students.

• During 2012 the school enhanced their computer technology and provided
students with Apple iPad, which would allow them to have a better engagement in
learning and the evolving class curriculum (Catholic, 2022, p.7).

• In 2015 a brand new art center was built that would allow students to use another
trending technology education STEM and STEAM. This is a part of the education
curriculum that incorporates art with math, science, and engineering.
 Both STEM and Internet 
are technologies
that have been  incorporated
in the Education Curriculum
of RCHS.

Internet is widely STEM is used to create a

used technology that better learning situations
students have access for the students by
combining
to. It is used in
art and science in a
their everyday practical setup (Fraga,
school life. n.d., p. 2).
 Futuring Techniques

Scenarios
The scenario is a technique applied for
studying in the future. In theory, scenarios
are different paths that send people to a
possible future, but in practice, they describe
in detail situations or variables (Roubelat,
2000, p. 4). Scanning
Scanning is a tool used by many
organizations to collect information and be
aware of the external environment.
“scanning provides all individuals with the
opportunity to contribute to the strategic
planning process which is of vital importance
for the survival of an organization”
(Pashiardis, 2018, p. 5).
The positive aspects of Scenarios & Scanning
• The scenarios do not predict a specific
future, they look over multiple preferred
futures that are compared with each other.
•  Scenarios create possibilities for its users to
rethink and reflect on possible occasions.
• “Improve the communication creating a
strategy” (Mietzner & Reger, 2005, p.235).
• The learning and decision making process is
improved while participants share between
them possibilities, aims, and strategies.
• Scanning provides all individuals with the
opportunity to contribute to the strategic
planning process which is of vital importance for
the survival of an organization.
• Also through scanning “faculty members can be
interviewed to identify emerging issues that they
believe may affect the institution in the future
and that are not now receiving the attention they
will eventually merit” (Pashiardis, 2018, p. 7). 
• As a result, scanning can be used to detect and
eliminate different issues that may occur in an
organization setting.
 • Interactivity in classroom is a method which
students participate in the conversation through
technology.
• Collaborative learning connects more students to
participate and work together. When students are
engaged in lessons and learning in groups, they
tend to be enthusiastic about sharing their
knowledge.

The educational • Social network connect and spread information

easily and fast.“Social media is here to stay and
Technology trends incorporating it into learning modules will build a
culture of collaboration and sharing, leading to an
improved learning experience” (Dani, 2019, p. 2).
 Public Policies Trends
•  “Good policy, good practice describes some of the
programs and practices that hold the most promise for
raising education productivity” (Brenneman et al, 2010, p.
4). Accelerated programs are policies that provide the
opportunity for the students to achieve high scores to get
college credits.
• The dual enrollment programs are supportive, motivate the
students and reduce the amount of courses a student has to
take in university setting after high school.
• Tuition is the investment that parent pay for their
children's education.
 Demographic Trends

 Demographics identify the size and the change in population,

the information on race, ethnicity, gender, income, and
education.
 The immigration growth has impacted the population in
America, making it more racially and ethnically diverse. By
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the races
found in America are: White (people with origin from
Europe, the middle east, North Africa), Black or African
American (people with origin from Africa), Asian (people
with origin from the far east, southeast Asia and India), and
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander (which are
people with origin form Guam, Samoa, Hawaii, Pacific
Island) (Shrestha and Heisler, 2011, p. 19).
• Gender is another demographic trend.
• The instructor and professor positions of different
universities continue to be male dominated,
especially in science.
• Sometimes the needed diversity of an educational
institution is not provided easily.
• Roman Catholic High School is one of the oldest
and most well-known only boys high schools.
Originally students were from the nearby
neighborhoods, and from their names they were
supposed to have been Irish, Italian or Asian.

“Female and minority teachers often feel tension and

anxiety in the classroom and find the classroom
environment difficult and hostile”
(Black, 2021, p. 204).
 Call to Action

•  Through the verdicts of the committee regarding

what is needed, funds and budgets must be set up.
Without the support of the community and other
organizations, the reconstruction and expanding of
the classrooms could be impossible. 
• Together with the building, the needed supplies such
as different types of technologies, books, and
electronic devices rely on the budget that seems to be
the center of the problems present for these steps. 
• Collaboration with teachers to create an interactive
atmosphere where students can interact with each
other is also important and part of the immediate
reformation of the new vision (Dani, 2019, p. 1). 
• To achieve this different types of training must be
organized, so the method can start to be applied
throughout the classes.
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