Denver Academy Strategic Plan 2023-2026

THE WAY YOU LEARN BEST

DENVER ACADEMY’S MISSION

Denver Academy inspires and empowers diverse learners through student-centered, differentiated, and transformative education.

DENVER ACADEMY’S CORE VALUES

Individual Differences

Respect & Responsibility

Community & Nurturing Relationships

The Transformative Power of Education

STRATEGIC PLAN COMMITTEE OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES 2022-2023

Kent Berke, Barrie Bodden, Dr. Aliyah Hasan, Tim Healy, Vanecia Kerr, Kim Pankratz, Reed Stilwell, Kristy Taddonio Mullins, Amy Thomson, Mark Twarogowski

STRATEGIC PLAN COMMITTEE OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES 2023-2024

Kent Berke, Barrie Bodden, Dr. Ed Callahan, Tim Healy, Vanecia Kerr, Reed Stilwell, Amy Thomson, Mark Twarogowski

2022–2023 Denver Academy Board of Trustees

Kristy Taddonio Mullins '94| Board Chair

Kent Berke | Chair-Elect

Bryan Hassler | Vice-Chair

Polly Breit

Carrie Levy

Dr. Ed Callahan

Jim Friedberg

Dylan Geller '92

Adam Goldsmith

Dr. Aliya Hasan

Tim Healy

Vanecia Kerr

Deb Knobelman, Ph.D

Jim Langley, Psy.D

Mary Lester

Dr. Karen McNeil-Miller

2023–2024 Denver Academy Board of Trustees

Kent Berke, Board Chair & Chair of New Facilities Committee

Polly Breit, Chair of Governance Committee

Dr. Ed Callahan, Chair of Strategic Planning Committee

Bryan Hassler, Vice-Chair & Chair of Head Support & Evaluation Committee

Sheryl Stefaniak, Chair of Development Committee

Jim Friedberg, Chair of Finance Committee

Scott Arthur

Tim Healy '06

Earl Hoellen

Bryce Johnson '00

Vanecia Kerr

Jim Langley

Denver Academy Emeritus Board of Trustees

Dr. Ed Callahan

Jim Dierker

Dr. Nancy Gary

Phil Johnson

Steve Mooney

* Tim O’Connor

Kristy Taddonio Mullins

* Deceased

Denver Academy Ex-Officio Trustees

Mark Twarogowski, Head of School

Barrie Bodden, Faculty Representative

Willa Fawer, DAPA President

Amy Stettner, Alumni Association President

Dear Denver Academy Community,

Denver Academy’s last strategic plan, Vision 2022, was adopted by the Board of Trustees in 2015 and completed at the end of the 2021-22 school year. In the fall of 2022, the Strategic Planning Committee began work on the next plan, outlined in the pages that follow.

This is the first strategic plan that Denver Academy (DA) has developed since COVID-19 completely disrupted our normal operations. As the world emerges from the pandemic, many schools and non-profits are intentionally creating shorter and more focused plans. DA agrees with this trend, and therefore our plan will cover the next three years, up to June 30, 2026.

Following our pandemic response, we emphasize a return to normality, a reconnection of the community, and a recommitment to recovery. And, as DA is now almost done with a very significant growth and expansion phase, both in the number of students and in our building projects, we will focus on sustaining, enhancing, and preparing for the future.

In developing our plan, we engaged with trustees, parents, faculty, and the senior administrative team, and incorporated their concerns and recommendations. We trust that you share our conviction that this is our best path forward, and hope that you are as enthused as we are to implement the goals articulated here.

Mark Twarogowski Head of School

Kent

Berke

Board of Trustees Chair

Dr. Ed Callahan

Strategic Planning Committee Chair

STRATEGIC PLAN 2023-2026 OVERARCHING THEMES

1. Full recovery from COVID-19 and an integration of key lessons.

4. A recommitment to safety: health, physical safety, social reassurance, and emotional support.

2. A “back to the future” re-embrace of our community and sense of belonging.

5. Determining the best financial path to remain strong and manage diverse needs.

3. Continued campus planning tied with greater engagement with our neighborhood.

7. A focus on planning and recruiting the next generation of leaders.

6. A new effort to identify enterprisewide risks and incorporate best practices to manage them.

1 | Full Recovery

The key finding from the pandemic is that in the face of an unprecedented crisis, we are a resourceful and resilient community. No school in the area performed better than DA and few performed as well. As some schools experienced significant drops in enrollment, DA has increased in size significantly. What practices we developed in response to this crisis can we integrate into our ongoing practices? Among these are innovative IT capabilities and enhanced mental health support.

Goals

• Continue to provide and refine mental health support for students and employees. Focus on prevention efforts, support during crises, and attention to healing and growth following trauma.

• Continue to investigate the application of technologies for education and business purposes. Focus on feasibility of virtual/hybrid classes/meetings, the future of Artificial Intelligence (AI), assistive technologies, and digital curriculum.

• In light of increasing demand for class coverage, identify and implement strategies to provide reliable and competent substitutes for teachers who are absent.

• As we maintain historically high enrollment, ensure that new students and families continue to be mission appropriate, and that teachers receive relevant and meaningful training and support to best deliver our programs.

• Prepare for the Association of Colorado Independent Schools (ACIS) re-accreditation process. Denver Academy will be due for ACIS re-accreditation in 2025-26, which will be preceded by a year of selfstudy. We will ensure that appropriate staff and processes are in place to successfully complete our self-study, host the ACIS visiting team, and secure 10-year certification.

2 | Back to the Future

The pandemic physically shattered our community for a while and created in many of us a sense of loneliness, isolation, and feeling adrift. We realized how much we all missed being in each other’s company. What does a future look like in which we can go back and reconstruct the best aspects of our pre-pandemic life together? How do we create a unified community made up of families and individuals from highly diverse backgrounds, while honoring these differences and endeavoring to make all feel welcomed, appreciated, and engaged?

GOALS

Re-establish a strong student community by reinstating pre-pandemic traditions and activities as well as investigating new options.

In close partnership with the Denver Academy Parent Association, re-establish a strong parent community. Bring back events and programs that were strong pre-pandemic, and create new opportunities for parent connection and engagement.

Re-establish a strong faculty/staff community. Focus on whole-school and inter-divisional activities designed to bring back the school culture and climate that existed pre-pandemic.

Continue and enhance Diversity, Equity, Inclusivity, and Belonging efforts in curriculum, programs, people, training, and school culture.

3 | Our Campus and Neighborhood

Over the past few years, the campus has undergone an unprecedented level of construction and renovation. While there will be no major new building projects over the next three years, there are lots of “loose ends” that will be addressed. In addition, two broader themes will be worked on. As Denver grows and becomes denser, it has become clear that we cannot ignore the development taking place in our neighborhood. Perhaps the greatest threat that we face in this area is housing for our faculty and staff.

GOALS

• Identify campus renovation priorities, including the repurposing of the old theater space, a potential major infrastructure and renovation of the administration building, and other facilities in need of updating.

• Investigate creative solutions for affordable housing options for employees, or we may be unable to attract the people who bring the magic to DA.

• Proactively engage with the city, neighborhood associations, and developers to make sure our campus continues to be surrounded by a built environment that is appropriate for our mission.

4 | Our Recommitment to Safety

This is not just about physical safety. We have already improved our physical safety and will continue to do so. New fencing and smart locks are being installed, and permanent security staffing options will be evaluated. Beyond this, we will bring renewed attention to social and emotional security, both for the community at large and for smaller groups and individuals under the guidance of our professional counselors.

GOALS

Continue to provide an armed security presence on the DA campus. Research and identify the best structure, format, and personnel required to do so effectively and safely.

Continue efforts to secure the campus, including completion of perimeter fencing and gates, keycard locking systems for exterior doors, security cameras, lighting, etc. Make efforts to engage security technology that provides convenience as well as safety for employees and students .

Continue efforts to protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of our data, information, and systems.

Identify and implement a holistic, school-wide approach to improving school climate for students, parents, and employees. Include promoting a set of agreed-upon community norms and expectations for students, parents, and employees. Focus on bias and bullying prevention and maintaining a culture of respect and responsibility for self, others, and the environment.

Develop and refine policies and practices designed to safeguard students from physical/psychological abuse and sexual misconduct by school employees, students, independent contractors, volunteers, and visitors.

5 | Financial Strength

By financial strength, we mean strength for our whole community. Our families face increasing tuition and our faculty and staff face increasing inflation and costs of living in the metro Denver area. DA fundraising must at the same time support facilities and grounds as well as financial aid. Budgeting has always remained highly sensitive to these priorities, and that won’t change going forward. As we end our Building on Excellence campaign and take a pause, the next three years will see us begin to identify and define the next campaign, the specifics of which will be determined after the 2025-26 school year.

GOALS

Maintain efforts to keep tuition increases at competitive levels as compared to ACIS peer schools.

Maintain efforts to continue increasing faculty and staff compensation to successfully recruit and retain the best employees.

Identify and implement fundraising opportunities, including campaigns, annual giving, major gifts, and grants.

Align the school’s financial policies and practices to best utilize and manage the school’s existing financial resources.

Pay special attention to efforts to increase the school’s endowment.

Risk Management

Institutions like ours face enormous new risks that we hardly contemplated a generation ago. To date, we have been addressing these risks as they arise, and have been very successful in doing so. But these new risks are here to stay and deserve a more comprehensive, strategic, and enterprise-wide approach to identifying, anticipating, and managing them.

GOALS

Begin by researching best practices and selecting those that will work best for us.

Put a process and a team(s) in place to develop new standards, policies, and practices regarding enterprise risk management.

7 | Leadership for the Next Generation

Business continuity and succession planning are important for any organization. DA faces a unique and, for us, unprecedented situation. Currently, two-thirds of the senior administration team is approaching retirement age and could potentially retire around the same time. Unless well managed, this could cause difficult transitions. These retirements will have a dramatic effect on the leadership and, potentially, the culture of the school. We must start now and dedicate the next few years to planning and smoothly executing leadership changes.

Goals

• Research and identify strategies that could allow for a more staggered sequence of retirement for senior leadership.

• Begin conversations with senior leadership to identify desires, timelines, plans, and preferences regarding various retirement strategies.

• Begin to identify, recruit, and onboard the next generation of leaders in a way that thoughtfully minimizes disruptive discontinuity and sets the course for continued decades of success.