Lakeside’s Purpose

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE of Lakeside? What are the school’s strengths and weaknesses — and where are the opportunities and threats? What should employees keep doing — and what should they stop? What is the ideal state of Lakeside School in the future?

These are some of the questions Lakeside’s strategic plan steering committee has been exploring through the school’s first holistic strategic planning process since 2003. The goal is to chart a path for the next three to five years and articulate a vision that will allow us to focus our ideas, align our efforts, and enhance our community so that Lakeside can continue to fully realize its potential.

The first phase of the strategic planning process focused on listening and learning to get a comprehensive understanding of the state of Lakeside today. Local consulting firm Intentional Futures conducted focus groups and interviews and reviewed hundreds of pages of data from the school. In early summer, the firm will summarize its initial discovery process and major takeaways related to challenges and opportunities the school faces.

When employees and students return in the fall, the second phase will begin: We will collectively develop a vision of where we want to go — a desired future Lakeside. This visioning phase will bring people together and build community as we consider Lakeside’s immediate needs and think big for the future.

❚ Reem Abu Rahmeh Middle School director

❚ Jamie Asaka ’96 Director of student and family support

❚ Kai Bynum Head of school

❚ Amanda Darling Director of communications, steering committee co-chair

❚ Lloyd Frink ’83 P’19 ’21 ’25 ’25 Trustee

❚ Charlotte Guyman P’07 ’09 ’13 Trustee, steering committee cochair

❚ Tim Panos ’85 P’22 ’24 ’24 Board of Trustees chair

❚ Carey Crutcher ‘77 Smith P’11 ’14 Trustee

❚ Bridgette Taylor P’21 ’24 Trustee

❚ Wellesley L. Wilson Director of admissions and financial aid

The third phase of the process will occur midyear and will involve figuring out how to move from our current state to where we want to be. Just as teachers determine ways to measure and assess student growth in the classroom, we want to make sure that the goals in our strategic plan are transparent, specific, equitable, and measurable, so that we can understand our own areas for growth and celebrate our successes. Watch for more updates in the months ahead!

— Amanda Darling, director of communications and co-chair of the strategic plan steering committee