The Aspire Program of Hathaway Brown School - Strategic Plan

TEACHING LEADERS: CULTIVATING LEADERSHIP IN GIRLS AND INSPIRING YOUNG PEOPLE TO TEACH

The Aspire Program of Hathaway Brown STRATEGIC PLAN 2019 – 2025

Hathaway Brown’s Aspire Program empowers adolescent girls to imagine new possibilities for themselves, their education, and their communities.

Aspire allows students to develop a strong sense of self, prepares them to be leaders, and creates pathways to college degree attainment. Aspire seeks to equip remarkable young educators with the tools necessary to bring new ideas to our schools and communities. Through our internship experience, teachers learn the components of a high quality education and become competent educators and advocates for education.

STRATEGIC RECOMMENDATIONS

Hathaway Brown is a dynamic and compassionate community dedicated to excellence in the education of girls.

For us, educational excellence includes, but reaches well beyond, superb preparation for college. The

true mission of the school, as reflected in our motto, “Non scholae sed vitae discimus,” is preparation for life. We strive to foster in the minds of our students an abiding passion for learning and in their

hearts a constant devotion to strong character and public service. At this moment in history, there

is great need for women of vision and courage who are empowered for leadership in a multicultural and globalized society. We seek to answer that need by inspiring our students to achieve their utmost potential, and to rise boldly to the challenges of their times.

While transforming the lives of the girls in our care is our primary calling, Hathaway Brown embraces

broader aspirations as well: to help shape a future of unbounded possibility for women; to stand

among the country’s leading schools in educational innovation; and to be such a force for the common good beyond our campus that we are respected as a civic treasure.

Strengthen.

Sustain.

Narrate.

Engage.

Teach.

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Aspire to greatness.

The Aspire model is rooted in what is most exceptional about Hathaway Brown School: identifying young women with extraordinary potential, providing deep learning experiences that expand their horizons, and engaging outstanding educators and giving them the resources to succeed are core components that reflect the institution’s focus on excellence in girls’ education.

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LEARNING TO LEAD An essential component of Hathaway Brown’s commitment to girls’ education is to expand our reach to students of great promise across Greater Cleveland and to create opportunities for women.

Through Aspire’s partnerships with community organizations locally and nationally, HB is viewed as a leader in public-private purpose.

The School provides experiences that improve educational outcomes for all children in the region.

Aspire provides a unique, all-girls experience to students. By offering this program for young women in our community, we take what we know is best about education for girls and share it with students who may not otherwise have the chance to thrive, in an environment that is designed specifically for them.

The components of the Aspire experience support deep engagement and fully embrace the HB motto of learning not for school but for life. Aspire is a joyful and hopeful place where people are hungry for learning and encouraged to reflect on their growth, building character through every experience.

In addition to core academic components and college preparation, Aspire students are offered exposure to college-prep classes, health and wellness workshops, career exploration opportunities, and other experiences that supplement their learning and help close the academic achievement gap and increase the girls’ abilities to navigate diverse social, academic, and professional spaces.

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“ Let us pick up our books and our pens, they are the most powerful weapons.” // MALALA YOUSAFZAI

INSPIRING TO TEACH Aspire is a learning lab for teachers and students alike. It offers a space in which to practice innovation in the education of students and in the preparation of teachers. As a member of national college access organizations, Aspire has propelled HB onto the national stage as a thought and practice leader in outof-school time education and teacher preparation. In addition to Hathaway Brown and our strong partnership with the National Coalition of Girls’ Schools, Aspire has built strategic connections with our local public school systems, engaging with leadership and supporting our district partners in achieving their goals.

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As a program of Hathaway Brown, Aspire’s mission is also aligned with the mission of the school: fostering in the minds of students an abiding passion for learning and in their hearts a constant devotion to strong character and public service.

Community partners and public school districts enthusiastically partner with Aspire because they recognize it as an essential link between their schools and HB.

“ The solution for Cleveland’s challenges is education.

It is not an individual solution but a community solution.” // ERIC GORDON, CEO Cleveland Metropolitan School District

Aspire assists in closing the achievement gap by preparing young women of promise for success in high school, college, and beyond, while simultaneously giving new teachers the skills and experiences they need to establish solid professional foundations as effective educators.

Aspire is aided in its work through important symbiotic relationships with regional school districts and other civic and foundation partners.

Aspire is the ‘third semester’ of Hathaway Brown, as well as a premier teacher training internship experience. Aspire not only offers a rich academic experience that mirrors an accelerated, ninemonth school year, but also teaches leadership, responsibility, and wellness. Students take academic classes, receive grades and comments, complete a culminating assignment, participate in special events, and more. More than 125 students are served by Aspire each summer, which is very similar to other HB divisions.

Strategic Plan

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STRATEGY 1

Strengthen.

Distinguish Aspire’s program and continue to create a transformative curriculum for girls in under-served areas of Cleveland.

— Reaffirm HB’s commitment to long-term ownership of the program — Explore ways to more deeply tie Aspire to the fabric of HB ACTION STEPS: •

Establish an advisory board comprised of inspirational trustees, administrators, faculty, and staff to support the work of Aspire and connect it more intentionally to HB in innovative ways.

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Commit to integrate the program, including students and families, into the HB fabric through curriculum, internship opportunities, parent education, and professional development.

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Deepen Aspire’s connection to HB, naming it the ‘third semester’ of our program.

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Create a reciprocal relationship where HB faculty and staff can engage with the program during the school year and summer.

Strategic Plan

STRATEGY 2

Sustain.

Build on Aspire’s existing endowment to ensure long-term sustainability.

— Create a short- and long-term fundraising strategy for Aspire that complements other school advancement efforts — Through the Finance Committee of the HB Board of Trustees, consider multiple financial models for Aspire

ACTION STEPS:

• Work to secure $6.5 million in endowment to ensure the long-term sustainability of the program.

•

“Every child deserves a champion— an adult who will never give up on them, who understands the power of connection, and insists that they become the best that they can possibly be.” // RITA PIERSON, Educator

ontinue to expand the outreach, by C sharing the Aspire story more broadly with foundations and individual donors, to maintain a robust operating budget.

•

Reinforce the Aspire model, to ensure that we meet the needs of as many students as possible in Greater Cleveland.

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Strategic Plan

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STRATEGY 3

Narrate.

Develop more effective communication strategies to tell the Aspire story in compelling ways to various constituent groups, using data that illustrates Aspire’s impact.

— Increase consistent visibility of the brand to the HB community and partner constituent groups — Further modernize Aspire’s communication systems by fine-tuning multiple uses of a new database system ACTION STEPS: •

Integrate Aspire stories into the HB marketing and communications editorial calendar, ensuring it is consistently included in the social media campaign and outreach narrative.

•

Create and update a new strategy for telling the Aspire story, including video and marketing materials.

•

Develop and implement data collection strategies to effectively measure Aspire’s outcomes for students and teachers.

“Aspire gave me the hope that I use daily to change the world and make it a better place.” // DELANI HUGHES, Aspire Class of 2012, HB Class of 2017

Strategic Plan

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STRATEGY 4

Engage.

Establish Aspire as a national model for public service and community partnership initiatives in independent schools.

— Strengthen the connections between communities, institutions, and organizations served by Aspire and HB, developing reciprocal, beneficial relationships — Share the Aspire model more broadly to inspire or collaborate with similar programs across the region and country

ACTION STEPS: •

osition Aspire as a model for outstanding P girls’ education nationally by increasing the visibility to national partners.

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Develop a more robust parent education program in collaboration with HB.

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Raise the stature of Aspire in the broader community in order to increase wholistic opportunities for Aspire girls beyond our walls.

Strategic Plan

“Make the most of yourself by fanning the tiny, inner sparks of possibility into flames of achievement.” // GOLDA MEIR

STRATEGY 5

Teach.

Explore ways to bolster the teacher-intern experience of Aspire.

—Continue to expand the teacher training program as a premier opportunity for early educators to gain expertise in education using the resources available at HB —Further align Aspire’s training program with premier teacher training programs across the country to ensure the quality of the program and that it remains current with educational trends ACTION STEPS: •

Evaluate opportunities to evolve the teacher training experience, including the creation of a formalized certificate program through the state of Ohio that offers credit for completion of the Aspire teacher internship experience.

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se Aspire’s new MyAspire platform to U help Aspire faculty alumni build their network and stay connected with each other and the program. Formalize a program for teacher alumni to support them in staying in the field of education.

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Collaborate with placement firms/ organizations and local school districts to help Aspire teachers secure employment at public and private schools across Northeast Ohio and the nation. Build stronger connections between local school districts to send Aspire teachers into Greater Cleveland schools.

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Secure housing for out-of-state students to increase the quality of the teacher pool, perhaps through partnership with local colleges and universities.

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Strengthen recruitment efforts in college education programs that are committed to the education of women or to urban education.

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STRATEGIC PLANNING TIMELINE Spring 2018

Summer 2018

Fall 2018

Spring 2019

2019 – 2025

• Steering Committee

• Aspire executes annual summer session

• Review of notes from focus group meetings

• Publication of Aspire Strategic Plan

• Implementation of Aspire Strategic Plan

• Meetings with Aspire students, faculty, alumnae

• Steering Committee wrap-up meeting

gathers for opening meeting

• Meetings with HB faculty/staff, Aspire parents, philanthropic supporters

• Online survey for school and community partners

STEERING COMMITTEE SHARON BAKER sbaker@hb.edu

FRAN BISSELLE fbisselle@hb.edu

DANA LOVELACE CAPERS ’86 dcapers@hb.edu

CAMMY HOWE DUBIE ’88 cammydubie@gmail.com STEVE ELLIOTT selliott@hb.edu

BRITTANY HARRISON bharrison@hb.edu

HOLLEY MARTENS holleymartens@gmail.com KATHLEEN OSBORNE kosborne@hb.edu

CAMILLE LIPFORD SEALS ’02 cseals@hb.edu KOYEN SHAH kshah@hb.edu

ABOUT ASPIRE The Aspire Program at Hathaway Brown School is a tuition-f ree academic enrichment and leadership development program for highachieving girls in grades 6-9 from low-income communities in the Greater Cleveland area. Young women of tremendous potential who come from schools and communities that are under-resourced and where they are limited in exposure to higher education are invited to apply for enrollment in the program. In addition to our work with young women, Aspire is equally committed to being an agent of change around issues of educational inequity by providing a teacher training experience to high school, college, and graduate school students who are curious about teaching and may be considering careers in education.

Hathaway Brown School 19600 North Park Blvd.

Shaker Heights, OH 44122 216.320.8767 // HB.edu Girls K-12 Co-ed Infant Care and Early Childhood