The population of the Catholic elementary schools has been on the downward trend for over half a century. Various Catholic (arch)dioceses have responded by creating strategic plans for their elementary and secondary institutions of education. Shifts in demographics and population migration have been noted in both secular and non-secular data. These (arch)dioceses vary in their demographic trends, as well as the design of their strategic plans for Catholic schools. There has also been much written about strategic planning from both secular and non-secular experts. This research seeks to examine if patterns exist in the strategic planning efforts of (arch)dioceses with similar demographic conditions when aligned to each other and the strategic planning components from both secular and non-secular organizations. This research has utilized data from the United States Census and well as the Catholic Almanac in order to determine shifts in demographics between the years 2000 and 2010. These data determined the sampling of (arch)diocesan strategic plans for Catholic schools chosen to be examined. Two (arch)dioceses were chosen based upon demographic changes that indicated strengths and two (arch)dioceses were chosen based upon demographic changes that indicated opportunities. The sample chosen was the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, the Diocese of Sacramento, the Archdiocese of Detroit and the Diocese of Lansing, respectively. One secular document and one non-secular document was chosen among the publications from experts in the field. The two documents chosen were the "Brandlogic 2012 Sustainability Leadership Report" and the "National Standards and Benchmarks for Effective Catholic Elementary and Secondary Schools," respectively. A content analysis of all six reports was completed in order to determine patterns, parallels and commonalities. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]