EPISCOPAL SCHOOL OF NASHVILLE STRATEGIC PLAN 2022-2025 DETAILED VERSION
1310 Ordway Place, Nashville, TN 32706
EPISCOPAL SCHOOL'S VISION To shape students who are intellectually, spiritually, and responsibly engaged with the place, community, and world they call home.
MISSION STATEMENT The Episcopal School of Nashville, a diverse, urban, independent school, is dedicated to nurturing the joy of learning and the spirit of discovery in each of its students.
SCHOOL VALUES Citizenship Community Compassion
Creativity Diversity Integrity
Love of Learning Spirituality
At the very heart of the Episcopal School of Nashville’s mission is its commitment to academic excellence and the belief that all children and their families are special in the eyes of God. We believe in inclusiveness and respect of differences in the Episcopal spirit. We believe in communal worship and use the Episcopal form in music, prayers, and worship. By combining high expectations with engaging and inspiring learning experiences, Episcopal School prepares its students for the future. Our goal is to nurture and support students as they grow in their spiritual journeys and into literate, discerning, confident, and independent thinkers.
Episcopal School’s engaging programs, coupled with our inclusive, faith-based culture, enrich each student's mind, body, and spirit, resulting in exceptional academic trajectories and happy individuals. ESN’s inquiry-based approach to teaching and learning integrates curricula across subject areas and enables students to collaborate with their peers on projects to identify and create solutions to real world problems. We aspire to provide a world class education, offered in a setting where every individual is supported and equipped to intellectually, spiritually, and responsibly engage with the place, community, and world they call home. Our strategic plan, which will guide everything we do for the next three years, is built upon two essential pillars: Living our Mission and Securing the Future.
PILLAR 1: LIVING OUR MISSION Drawing on its Episcopal Identity, ESN aspires to be a different kind of independent school community in the city of Nashville, where families of diverse racial, religious, and socio-economic backgrounds can find a home and a sense of belonging. Inspired by what Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. described as the “beloved community” and the strong Diocesan work already underway in this area, we seek to weave diversity, inclusion, and community engagement into our academic program.
To this end, we are committed to maintaining small classes where every child is known, nurtured, and loved, in order to foster academic excellence and teach the social-emotional skills necessary to be a good friend and a good neighbor.
TO BE ABLE TO TRULY LIVE ITS MISSION, EPISCOPAL SCHOOL OF NASHVILLE WILL: Articulate, celebrate, and live our Episcopal Identity, so that it is woven throughout the program and encourages the innate spirituality of each child. Coordinate and articulate how we nurture each child’s spirit of discovery and joy of learning through an inquiry-based approach to teaching and learning that integrates curricula across subject areas and enables students to collaborate with their peers on projects to identify and create solutions to real world problems. Demonstrate ESN’s commitment to racial, religious, and socioeconomic diversity, through the admissions, financial aid, and faculty/staff hiring and retention processes. Integrate inclusive practices and community engagement into the core and co-curricular programming, which will inspire each child to maximize their personal, social-emotional, and academic growth.
Ensure that the facilities, furniture, equipment, and technology allow for the ideal PK-8 environment that is safe, welcoming, and inspiring.
TO BE ABLE TO TRULY LIVE ITS MISSION, EPISCOPAL SCHOOL OF NASHVILLE WILL: Goal: Articulate, celebrate, and live our Episcopal Identity, so that it is woven throughout the program and encourages the innate spirituality of each child. Objectives: 1. Define and communicate to internal and external constituencies what an Episcopal School is and how ESN's Episcopal Identity informs its daily practices. 2. Continue to develop, refine, and document an approach to religious education, communal worship and celebration, and individual spiritual growth that is inclusive, non-sectarian, and respects a diversity of backgrounds and faith traditions. 3. Emphasize living our faith through service projects in the community.
TO BE ABLE TO TRULY LIVE ITS MISSION, EPISCOPAL SCHOOL OF NASHVILLE WILL: Goal: Coordinate and articulate how we nurture each child’s spirit of discovery and joy of learning through an inquiry-based approach to teaching and learning that integrates curricula across subject areas and enables students to collaborate with their peers on projects to identify and create solutions to real world problems. Objectives: 1. Create and articulate "signature experiences"—especially in the Middle School—that are unique to ESN and help the School to live its mission. 2. Capture program "outcomes" so that parents and community members can see the value of an ESN education. 3. Ensure the School's curriculum and resources are aligned with its goals. 4. Continue to develop and ensure a robust and engaging athletics program focused on building athletic confidence, appreciation, and sportsmanship, attracting students of all abilities and interests, and building ESN community spirit. 5. Continue to develop and ensure a robust and engaging visual and performing arts program focused on nurturing each child’s creative expression, artistic skills, confidence, and building ESN community spirit.
TO BE ABLE TO TRULY LIVE ITS MISSION, EPISCOPAL SCHOOL OF NASHVILLE WILL: Goal: Demonstrate ESN’s commitment to racial, religious, and socioeconomic diversity, through the admissions, financial aid, and faculty/staff hiring and retention processes. Objective: 1. Develop and implement a plan that focuses on student, faculty and staff diversity recruitment and retention in support of long-term institutional excellence and mission fulfilment.
TO BE ABLE TO TRULY LIVE ITS MISSION, EPISCOPAL SCHOOL OF NASHVILLE WILL: Goal: Growing out of our Episcopal Identity, integrate inclusive practices and community engagement into the core and co-curricular programming, which will inspire each child to maximize their personal, social-emotional, and academic growth. Objectives: 1. Develop and implement a plan to engage with the broader community, including volunteers, to enhance the learning opportunities of the students and help meet community needs. 2. Ensure the academic program meets the individual learning needs of all ESN students. 3. Ensure that the School has the financing and staff to serve its current and prospective student population (and their families).
TO BE ABLE TO TRULY LIVE ITS MISSION, EPISCOPAL SCHOOL OF NASHVILLE WILL: Goal: Ensure that the facilities, furniture, equipment, and technology allow for the ideal PK-8 environment that is safe, welcoming, and inspiring. Objectives: 1. Complete renovation and furnishing of the Commons to make it a multifunctional space fit for chapels, presentations, productions, and lunch. 2. Implement a pilot classroom with updated technology and furniture with a view to updating all teaching and learning spaces with age-appropriate technology and furniture. 3. Conduct a feasibility study of the kitchen and associated costs to determine if the School can offer a food service.
PILLAR 2: SECURING OUR FUTURE From portable learning cottages to the historic Ross Elementary Building, Episcopal School of Nashville has grown from an opening enrollment of 16 students in 2016 to 121 students (and counting) in 2021. As we have grown, so have our costs, especially that of providing financial assistance to students who would not otherwise be able to benefit from our small class sizes and commitment to academic excellence through close personal attention and meaningful, hands on, engaging educational experiences. Furthermore, as we have grown, so has our need to define, coordinate, and staff our evolving program.
TO BE ABLE TO THRIVE AS A SCHOOL FOR DECADES TO COME, EPISCOPAL SCHOOL OF NASHVILLE WILL: Goal: Meet the School’s annual fundraising goals through an innovative, relational, systematic, and datadriven approach. Objectives: 1. Create and implement a best practices major gifts and annual giving program as well as sustain and grow our current donor base. 2. Target grants available from corporations and independent and family foundations in order to diversify the sources of funding. 3. Create a robust and easily navigable donor management database that allows the School to engage donors of different capacities, communicate effectively and efficiently, and keep track of giving year over year by donor, and to create reports as needed. 4. Increase participation by local Episcopal church members at school events and school families at local Episcopal church events; share opportunities to promote ESN in the local community. 5. Refine and refresh fundraising messages and processes so that donors identify immediate and long-term tangible benefits from their philanthropy. 6. Promote legacy and bequest giving to grow ESN’s endowment.
TO BE ABLE TO THRIVE AS A SCHOOL FOR DECADES TO COME, EPISCOPAL SCHOOL OF NASHVILLE WILL: Goal: Meet the School’s enrollment goals through a personalized, systematic, and data-driven approach. Objectives: 1. Collaborate with the Admissions Director and Treasurer annually to set tuition and enrollment targets and reach target enrollment by 24-25 school year (212 students). 2. Improve retention of ESN students at key transition points. 3. Direct recruitment activities at strategic entry points. 4. Raise community awareness and increase geographic reach outside of our current catchment area to neighboring communities in order to increase admissions. 5. Employ a repeatable, data-driven approach to analytics to enhance admissions efforts and goals.
TO BE ABLE TO THRIVE AS A SCHOOL FOR DECADES TO COME, EPISCOPAL SCHOOL OF NASHVILLE WILL: Goal: Develop and promote a consistent brand image to strengthen community awareness and engagement. Objectives: 1. Identify key success stories and differentiators and integrate into the School's marketing campaign. 2. Create a robust, dynamic and user-friendly website that is optimized for mobile and can act as the School’s virtual “front door” as well as provide data analytics for future web marketing strategies. 3. Develop a marketing/communications action plan.
TO BE ABLE TO THRIVE AS A SCHOOL FOR DECADES TO COME, EPISCOPAL SCHOOL OF NASHVILLE WILL: Goal: Identify and develop the support systems and personnel that will ensure a solid financial and operational foundation for the School to fulfil its mission. Objectives: 1. Continue to refine the School’s budgeting and expense management process. 2. Develop an organizational chart that represents the current and an ideal administrative structure for the School at 212 students, per the strategic goal. 3. Develop a salary scale and model for compensation increases. 4. Ensure the Board of Trustees has the necessary guidance, evaluation, and support in place for current and prospective Board members to help the School meet its institutional goals. 5. Collaborate with the Development Director and Treasurer to create a detailed budget model with proper expense controls and revenue expectations for each of the major fund-raising initiatives. 6. Review the School’s business operations to ensure that our model is efficient, effective, and compliant for accreditation and address as appropriate. 7. Consider developing a consultative, advisory board that would include representatives from corporate, foundation, and community partners.
Questions? Contact Dr. James Jordan, Head of School, at James.Jordan@esnashville.org