As I enjoyed a coffee this morning with a number of staffulty who gathered together — we often have a coffee cart come early to school following a big event — our conversations quickly gravitated to the energy and enthusiasm of Back to School Night. It is a special evening for us as we see parents moving around campus, excited and energized as they experience the teaching and learning that fuels the magic of SA. I know many of you were able to experience the thoughtful pedagogy, critical thinking, and spirited engagement that is so central to our courses and learning environment. And, as I mentioned at the start of the evening, I hope you had fun at school last night as well!

I also spent some time last night outlining the core philosophies of our strategic plan. This week marks a significant milestone for us as a school as we announced our Strategic Plan: 2023-2030. This plan resulted from a broadly inclusive and deeply intentional process that reaffirmed our core values and our sense of who we are as an institution as we also charted our ambitious path forward. Final strategic plans are by necessity somewhat broad as no one knows exactly what the evolution of our school and our society will look like over the next five to ten years. But successful strategic plans provide a “North Star,” a guiding compass, that ensures we know who we are and where we are headed. As we take our next steps forward in implementing the strategic plan, I wanted to provide a more specific overview of our implementation work for this school year and which groups will help to guide specific elements of our plan. 

We have organized a number of working groups and committees to help us focus on year-one strategic plan priorities. These groups, their specific charges, as well as their general composition, are listed here:

Board Strategic Plan Implementation Committee Composed of board members and myself, this group provides Board oversight and guidance to the overall implementation of our strategic plan.

Schedule Review Committee One of our top priorities is a thorough review and reevaluation of our daily, weekly, and annual school schedule to ensure support for our programmatic priorities. This Committee is composed of staffulty and students and, in coordination with a scheduling consultant, this team will support the schedule analysis project and help us facilitate the decision-making process as we determine our future schedule. 

Mission, Vision, and Core Values Strategic Committee This committee consists of Board members, staffulty, and students, and they will help to reimagine our school’s mission, vision, and core values to ensure their alignment and presence in the daily life of our school. 

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Advisory Committee Rooted in restorative practice and in alignment with our strategic priorities, this committee will generate guidance and strategies for the SA community to approach long-term change. This committee is staffulty and they work closely with our student DEI advisory group and our Board DEI committee.

Summer Program Relaunch Committee We are committed to relaunching our summer program in Summer of 2024 and expanding on that program in each year of our strategic plan implementation. This committee will engage in strategic conversations and action items to ensure a successful restart of our summer program.

Community and Performing Arts Center Committee This group will envision programming and strategic partnerships both within our community as well as with people and organizations beyond our campus as we plan for this amazing facility to be a central gathering place on our campus.

Additionally, we have launched four key operational groups that oversee various aspects of our school life and program. Each of these teams include a dynamic group of faculty and staff members, and they are tasked with specific elements of strategic plan implementation. These include: Teaching and Learning (led by our Assistant Head of School); Student Experience (led by our Director of Student Experience and Belonging); Strategic Initiatives and Advancement (led by our Director of External Relations and Director of Strategy and Communications), and Operations (led by our COO).

There is a strong sense of purpose and direction as we embark on this work together. And an important part of being successful in these endeavors is an authentic and meaningful partnership with our entire community. There will be meaningful opportunities to engage with us and we welcome your input and feedback as we take our first steps forward in this process. We also hope you will join us for our parent engagement evenings, and the focus of our first event on October 18 is “Going Beyond College Prep.” I will also send quarterly updates on our strategic plan implementation, as well as the exciting developments that are part of normal school life and rhythm.

It was so nice to see so many of you last night and I look forward to spending more time together throughout the school year. And, if you have thoughts to share or a deeper interest in our strategic plan, I am always up for a cup of coffee!