Faith-based and mission focused is the Bishop Canevin High School motto and new president Brian Fernandes takes that phrase very seriously.
Fernandes was appointed to the East Carnegie Catholic high school by the Pittsburgh Catholic Diocese this summer.
“I’m very proud and honored to be appointed to this position,” he said. “I take it very seriously and will work and give everything I have to ensure the future of the school is bright.”
As president of the school, now in its 66th year, his day-to-day responsibilities include enrollment, financial interests, facilities and overseeing staff.
He’s bringing enrichment and expanded offerings to the table, making use of his strategic planning, business, enrollment and retention skills from 12 years at Carnegie Mellon University.
Fernandes has a history of working with schools struggling with enrollment issues, among them Bethany College in West Virginia and Thomas Jefferson High School, where he helped put together plans to turn those schools around.
“It’s really nothing that I do other than consistent energy, getting out into those schools and letting them know who you are and what you are and what you have to offer, and most of the time people are pretty responsive,” he said.
Through his eight years on the West Jefferson Hills school board, seven as president, Fernandes gained extensive experience working with students at every level.
He has already drawn up a one-year, three-year and five-year strategic plan for Bishop Canevin, structuring the school around becoming what he likes to call “the best Catholic high school in the City of Pittsburgh.”
The strategic plan features seven pillars, the first tackling enrollment. Fernandes’ goal is for Bishop Canevin, with a current enrollment of 180, to have its largest enrollment in years.
One way he plans to do that is by demonstrating the difference in what a Catholic education offers.
“We’re pushing really hard,” he said. “We’re out there in all of the middle schools trying to recruit new students while retaining all of our current students.
“We are really a faith-based organization that believes in a very structured school setting, school uniforms, and discipline and respect in the hallways.”
Fundraising is becoming a new priority, focusing on Catholic and mission-driven donors specifically.
“We’re re-engaging and in some cases engaging people who haven’t been spoken to in a long time or not at all,” he said. “I have a commitment to our alumni to let them know that they matter and that we’re going to do everything we can in our power to get them to engage again, or to engage for the first time.”
Physical upgrades to the facilities are also planned — little things such as paint, curtains, tables and chairs, and light fixtures, all the way up to a new gymnasium floor.
Catholic identity is a big part of the strategic plan.
“I tell everybody that we will put the C in Catholic moving forward,” he said. “It’s very important that we get back to our roots of who we are and celebrate that.”
He hopes to accomplish that with a strong, devoted and caring team.
In an effort to ensure the school is on sound financial ground moving forward, a balanced budget is also in Fernandes’ sights.
Overall, Fernandes said he feels fortunate to be in the position he’s in, and he’s looking to make the most of it.
“This was the absolute blessing, to be able to come and work for my maker and to still be able to work with children and make a difference in their lives,” he said. “That’s all I think I was put on Earth for.”
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