Strategic Plan 2019–2024
an exceptional Jewish and general studies education.
VISION Innovative Jewish thinkers begin their journey here. Our students explore the world through the lens of Jewish values and develop a love of learning, a personal relationship with the State of Israel and its people, and a commitment to the betterment of the world through tikkun olam.
Our values LOVE OF LEARNING Torah Lishmah
תורה לשמה
COMMUNITY KEHILLAH
קהילה
RESPECT KAVOD
כבוד
LOVE OF ISRAEL AHAVAT YISRAEL
אהבת ישראל
REPAIR OF THE WORLD
TIKKUN OLAM
תיקון עולם
JEWISH LIFE AND LEARNING MITZVOT AND HALACHAH
מצוות והלכה
We inspire a love of learning and encourage intellectual curiosity across all disciplines. Students learn to think creatively and independently in a community infused with Jewish tradition and values. We establish a strong partnership between students, teachers, parents, and the community beyond the classroom and campus. Our vibrant learning community focuses on the intellectual, social, and spiritual needs of each child. We encourage a shared responsibility for treating others and ourselves with respect and dignity. Our students and faculty practice empathy, menschlichkeit, and integrity when interacting with others. We empower our students to develop an ongoing personal connection to Israel by studying its history, its culture, and the Hebrew language. Students learn the importance of Israel both in the classroom and within the land itself.
Our students learn the importance of communal responsibility and service both locally and globally through acts of tikkun olam (repair of the world) and gemilut hasadim (expressions of loving kindness). We inspire our students to find joy and meaning in Torah, Tefillah, rituals, and practices, including the teaching and celebration of lifecycle events, holidays, and traditions within our school community.
Dear Friends,
May 2019 / Iyar 5779
We are excited to present the newly adopted five-year Strategic Plan for Golda Och Academy. Thank you to the many constituents of the Golda Och Academy community who have participated in our strategic planning process. We received feedback from over 500 members of our community (including students, parents, alumni, faculty, staff, as well as wider community members). Informed by your feedback through these surveys and focus groups, the Strategic Planning Task Force of the Board of Trustees worked to identify and articulate key focus areas for Golda Och Academy. As you will see, the Strategic Plan is built upon nine core, high-priority areas. For each of these areas, we provide specific initiatives and a blueprint for implementation to ensure Golda Och Academy’s next era of success. The Board of Trustees takes seriously its responsibility to advance our school’s mission and plan for our community’s future. Accordingly, we have created a Strategic Plan that combines a forward-thinking approach with realistic and attainable goals. Our Strategic Plan is intended to ensure that our school’s exceptional academic curriculum remains cutting edge and relevant to graduates in the 21st century, while maintaining our core Jewish values and traditions. We believe this unique combination of academic excellence and Jewish learning is what sets Golda Och Academy apart from other institutions. We are grateful for your continued support of Golda Och Academy and look forward to engaging our entire community with the implementation of our Strategic Plan. Sincerely,
Rebecca Berman Chair, Golda Och Academy Board of Trustees
This five year Strategic Plan serves as a guide and a blueprint for furthering Golda Och Academy’s mission and vision. The following is a summary of the initiatives adopted for the coming years to strengthen our school and community.
Table of Contents Key areas of focus: 1. Educational Innovation 6 2. Faculty and Staff Excellence 8 3. Student Recruitment, Admissions and Retention 10 4. Jewish Life and Learning 12 5. Student Services and Support 14 6. Family Experience 16 7. Community Engagement 18 8. Reimagining Physical Space 20 9. Governance, Institutional Strength and Sustainability 22
E
AREA OF FOCUS 1
EDUCATIONAL INNOVATION We will grow and enhance student-centered and inquiry-oriented innovative teaching, learning and curricula across all grades Pre-K through 12.
6
To further build educational innovation, our faculty will: •
Engage in collaborative study of inquiry-based learning and teaching through campus-wide, departmental and cross-campus professional development programs.
•
Implement and share their vision of inquiry learning and teaching with students, each other, and the larger school community.
•
Examine the use of time, space and resources throughout the school in an effort to encourage and facilitate collaboration.
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Implement new forms of student assessment in order to gain deeper understanding of student achievement in an inquiry-oriented environment.
AREA OF FOCUS 2
FACULTY AND STAFF EXCELLENCE We will recruit and retain the most talented professionals to maintain our competitive edge and to build value for our students and their families. We are committed to attracting and retaining outstanding faculty, reflective of our mission, culture, and values.
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To enhance faculty and staff excellence, we will: •
Continue to identify, recruit and retain the most talented educators for our school.
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Maximize current sources of funding and identify new areas of funding for professional development, compensation, advancement and recognition opportunities.
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Continue best practices in the area of faculty and administration supervision and evaluation and ensure funding for new initiatives.
AREA OF FOCUS 3
STUDENT RECRUITMENT, ADMISSIONS AND RETENTION We will focus on student recruitment, enrollment and retention through a strategic, data-driven, compelling and multi-pronged admissions and marketing program both internally and toward the catchment areas of prospective families.
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To further our student recruitment, admissions and retention efforts, we will: •
Further develop our Admissions Office in accordance with best practices of NAIS and provide funding needed for staff and resources.
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Improve current retention practices by developing a schedule of events and touchpoints to strategically engage current families.
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Further develop our Marketing Office, including funding a redesign and update for our website.
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Explore innovative markets and opportunities, including possible expansion of our early childhood offerings.
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Address transportation challenges to increase access to our campuses to maximize recruitment.
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Develop targeted outreach to alumni and those with pre-school age children in order to grow, nurture and connect them back to our school and community.
AREA OF FOCUS 4
JEWISH LIFE AND LEARNING We will create meaningful and intentional experiences filled with the joy of being Jewish centered around ritual, celebration and tefillah. We will build on our excellent Israel programming and support dynamic Hebrew language development.
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We aspire to have all of our students connect deeply to Judaism, Israel and the Jewish people. To further enhance Jewish Life and Learning across both campuses, we will: •
Invest in rich and meaningful Jewish experiential educational opportunities.
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Invigorate the tefillah program to engage each student and inspire meaning and joy.
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Support dynamic Hebrew language development in each student.
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Inspire a life-long a deep love of Israel through our excellent Israel programs.
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Enagage parents as partners in the process of raising and educating Jewish youth.
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Strengthen synagogue partnerships to support our school’s mission.
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Explore the role of the performing and visual arts as a means to enrich Jewish life and practice.
AREA OF FOCUS 5
STUDENT SERVICES AND SUPPORT Our students will flourish and grow in a supportive climate with appropriate resources in place to address their individual needs.
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To strengthen our student services and support, we will: •
Provide for an integrated approach to student services that supports whole-child development in order to maximize individual student achievement and well-being.
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Assess current service capacity of our guidance and learning specialist team.
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Assess the needs of our prospective students and determine how best to serve a broader range of learners within existing and potentially expanded resources.
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Assess the current capacity of faculty to meet the needs of current students and provide additional training as part of the B’yadenu program.
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Plan and execute a multi-year strategy to roll-out an Upper School advisory program.
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Create synergistic parent and student educational opportunities that lead to meaningful learning.
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Promote enhanced school-family communication.
AREA OF FOCUS 6
FAMILY EXPERIENCE We will ensure that our families have a positive and meaningful experience Pre-K through 12th.
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To further our family experience, we will: •
Study and improve our family customer service by expanding communication, increasing our response time and soliciting feedback from stakeholders through the use of surveys.
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Create programs and marketing material that reinforce our incredible programs and highlight expert personnel.
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Maximize outreach and engagement of parents through the organization and recruitment of community members for volunteer work, the Parents’ Association, GOLead, Board of Trustees, the Parent Ambassador Program, and GOPAC.
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Expand parent educational programs, by assessing parent needs for programming and education and plan a schedule of these.
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Develop community building activities to enhance and strengthen our community.
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Target intergenerational involvement and engagement through the Grandparents Society.
AREA OF FOCUS 7 COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT We will develop a strategy to intensify and strengthen broader community enagagement and relationships to ensure that diverse constituencies feel part of the Golda Och Academy family.
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To encourage and broaden community engagement, we will: •
Continue to grow our synagogue task force by generating multiple contacts, collaborations and touchpoints between Golda Och Academy and area synagogues.
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Promote opportunities for students and families to be involved in the Greater MetroWest Jewish community and the community at large.
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Sponsor community events and finding additional modalities to showcase our school as well as creating opportunities to bring people into our school.
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Promote Golda Och Academy educators and administrators as thought leaders throughout the community.
AREA OF FOCUS 8 REIMAGINING PHYSICAL SPACE We will create a plan to creatively redesign and reimagine our existing space, consider long-term expansion and address all necessary maintenance needs of our current infrastructure.
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To enhance our facilities and physical plant, we will: •
Envision the Eric F. Ross Upper School of the future, including capital, program and personnel considerations.
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Explore a Wilf Lower School campus expansion to allow for parking, fields, and the opportunity for future campus growth.
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Create a multi-year plan for the achievement of maintenance goals.
AREA OF FOCUS 9 GOVERNANCE, INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTH AND SUSTAINABILITY We will identify, nurture and train the best individuals for our Board of Trustees who are focused on the strategic direction and long-term sustainability of Golda Och Academy.
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To provide governance, institutional strength and sustainability, we will: •
Provide training and ongoing mentoring for Board of Trustee members in the areas of board orientation, development, education and committee service.
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Ensure our Board reflects our community by establishing a new trustee pipeline and plan for identification, recruitment and engagement, growth, and mentoring.
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Create a long-term financial resource development plan, the school’s long-term capital and endowment, and strategic-planning needs by identifying, stewarding and soliciting donors.
•
Develop and promote Board of Trustee members as key ambassadors who will provide positive word of mouth advocacy in the community.
WILF LOWER SCHOOL CAMPUS 122 Gregory Avenue, West Orange, NJ 07052 973-602-3700 ERIC F. ROSS UPPER SCHOOL CAMPUS 1418 Pleasant Valley Way, West Orange, NJ 07052 973-602-3600 www.goldaochacademy.org
www.goldaochacademy.org
Eric F. Ross Upper School Campus
Wilf Lower School Campus
1418 Pleasant Valley Way West Orange, NJ 07052 Phone: 973-602-3600
122 Gregory Avenue West Orange, NJ 07052 Phone: 973-602-3700