Presentation - School Strategic Plan Overview

Small School, Big Opportunity

Lowcountry Preparatory School 2030 STRATEGIC PLAN

STRATEGIC PLAN COMMITTEE MEMBERS Ali Ballard Becky Schroeder Elizabeth McCallister Erin Angner Gwen Webster Joshua Howe Julie Galloway Keith West Kendall Thornton Kevin Barnes Michelle Kirkland Mims Paige Ferguson Pate Ford Sarah Knight Tara Lavallee Vannah Scarborough Wes Wehunt

MISSION STATEMENT We empower students to achieve their full potential by growing in faith and character to lead with integrity and serve with compassion.

VISION STATEMENT To be the premier college preparatory school in the area where students discover that who they are is just as important as what they know.

LPS ANCHOR STATEMENTS Meaningful Connections

Enriching Experiences Secure & Supportive Environment

Educational Excellence

Specific Commitments Inspire our families to actively volunteer and contribute their time, energy, talents, and passions in support of the school.

Deliver a 'State of the School' presentation, designed to share the vision for the future, address misconceptions, and foster unity through open communication.

Establish clearly articulated and consistent expectations for students and parents to foster a positive school culture aligned with the mission.

Develop and maintain a clear and effective admissions process to recruit character-driven and academically motivated students.

Meaningful Connections Create a positive school culture and grow the student body by strengthening the sense of belonging and pride among students, faculty and staff, administration, Marlin families, and alumni.

Enriching Experiences Enhance the educational learning and social wellbeing of our students by incorporating opportunities that extend beyond the classroom to promote personal growth, develop skills, expand perspectives relating to real-world connections in preparation for future endeavors.

Specific Commitments Evaluate and enhance current programs to ensure campus activities are designed for optimal growth of our students.

Create a Student Leadership Committee that empowers students to take an active role in creating campus, community, and worldly experiences that align with the characteristics in our "Portrait of a Graduate."

Prioritize experiential learning, educational field trips, student internships and guest speakers to elevate academic excellence, build student engagement and offer hands-on experiences that bring lessons to life.

Establish an adaptive athletic program designed to handle the fluctuations in enrollment and varied participation interests by seeking solutions that provide competitive athletic opportunities with the flexibility of adjusting to changing variables.

Specific Commitments: Facilities Create a Facilities Master Plan Committee and utilize the Parent Business Directory to address maintenance needs.

Address deferred maintenance issues and identify new facility enhancements through periodic surveying.

Evaluate and improve the campus security system and continually train staff to respond to threats.

Specific Commitments: Student Wellbeing Develop a comprehensive student life program for all grade levels aimed at improving relationships, service, and civic duty to community by focusing on fostering positive values, promoting ethical behavior, and enhancing social-emotional skills.

Track and address students’ behavioral and emotional needs through a clearlydefined and detailed schoolwide process.

Prioritize student mental health by providing accessible resources, training our community in emotional wellness, and nurturing a culture of compassion and care.

Secure & Supportive Environment Invest in our school by maintaining secure facilities and fostering a supportive learning environment where every child feels safe, valued, and empowered to succeed.

Educational Excellence Continue to enhance our traditional college preparatory program by recruiting and retaining highly qualified faculty to implement a rigorously aligned and technologically innovative curriculum.

Specific Commitments Cultivate curriculum-aligned learning experiences that connect classroom knowledge to the real world through work-study programs, internships, job shadowing, community engagement, capstone projects, and global travel opportunities.

Promote consistent communication between Lowcountry Preparatory School and faculty, students, and parents.

Recruit, train, and retain highly qualified faculty by providing competitive compensation packages, conducting regular faculty observation, and ensuring ample opportunity for professional development.

Commit to integrating cutting-edge technology that enhances personalized learning, cultivates digital literacy, and prepares students to thrive in a continually evolving global landscape.

Portrait of a Graduate To ensure that our mission is not only aspirational but actionable—we created something brand new in the life of Lowcountry Prep: our very first Portrait of a Graduate.

This tool provides a shared vision of the qualities, skills, and values we believe every student should develop during their time here.

It is both a compass and a promise—a way to align our teaching, programming, and culture around the kind of young people we are working together to raise.

This Portrait of a Graduate is not a checklist—it is a vision of growth. It’s a reflection of our belief that education is not simply about what students know, but about who they become. It will serve as a vital guidepost as we design learning experiences, assess our programs, and support students on their journey from Pre-Kindergarten through 12th grade graduation.

We invited our senior class of 2025 to reflect on this Portrait and help us bring it to life in their own words. Together, this group of 15 students crafted definitions for each of the six key traits—capturing not just what these words mean on paper, but how they resonate in practice.

This personalized expression from our seniors is not only inspiring—it’s affirming. It shows us that the Portrait of a Graduate is not an abstract ideal, but something our students can understand, embody, and articulate as they prepare to enter the world… and the world needs more people like this.

SPECIFIC COMMITMENTS TIMELINE

0-18 MONTHS

18-36 MONTHS

2025 - 2026

36-60 MONTHS

0-18 MONTHS MEANINGFUL CONNECTIONS Promote consistent communication between Lowcountry Preparatory School and faculty, students, and parents.

ENRICHING EXPERIENCES Evaluate, modify, and enhance current activities and programs that provide enriching student experiences to ensure campus programs and activities are designed for optimal benefit focused on the growth of our students.

Create a Student Leadership Committee that empowers our students to take an active role in creating campus, community, and worldly experiences that align with and promote the characteristics in a "Portrait of a Graduate."

SECURE & SUPPORTIVE ENVIRONMENT Create a Facilities Master Plan Committee to address deferred maintenance issues and identify new enhancements.

Persistently evaluate and improve the campus security system and continually train staff to respond to threats.

EDUCATIONAL EXCELLENCE Cultivate meaningful, curriculum-aligned learning experiences that connect classroom knowledge to the real world through work-study programs, internships, job shadowing, community engagement, capstone projects, and global travel opportunities.

Prioritize and commit to experiential learning, educational field trips, student internships and guest speakers to enhance our programs of learning and academic excellence in order to build student engagement and motivation along with offering hands-on experiences that bring learning to life.

SPECIFIC COMMITMENTS TIMELINE

0-18 MONTHS

18-36 MONTHS

2027 - 2028

36-60 MONTHS

18-36 MONTHS MEANINGFUL CONNECTIONS Develop and maintain a clear and effective admissions process to recruit character-driven and academically motivated students.

ENRICHING EXPERIENCES Recruit, train, and retain highly qualified faculty by providing competitive compensation packages, conducting regular faculty observation, and ensuring ample opportunity for professional development.

SECURE & SUPPORTIVE ENVIRONMENT Develop and maintain a clear and effective admissions process to recruit character-driven and academically motivated students.

EDUCATIONAL EXCELLENCE Commit to integrating cutting-edge technology that enhances personalized learning, cultivates digital literacy, and prepares students to thrive in a continually evolving global landscape.

SPECIFIC COMMITMENTS TIMELINE

0-18 MONTHS

18-36 MONTHS

2029 - 2030

36-60 MONTHS

36-60 MONTHS MEANINGFUL CONNECTIONS Develop and maintain a clear and effective admissions process to recruit character-driven and academically motivated students.

ENRICHING EXPERIENCES Implement a comprehensive student life program for all grade levels aimed at improving relationships, service, and civic duty to community by focusing on fostering positive values, promoting ethical behavior, and enhancing social-emotional skills.

SECURE & SUPPORTIVE ENVIRONMENT Consistently track and address students’ behavioral and emotional needs through a clearly-defined and detailed schoolwide process.

Prioritize student mental health by providing accessible resources, training our community in emotional wellness, and nurturing a culture of compassion and care.

EDUCATIONAL EXCELLENCE Commit to integrating cutting-edge technology that enhances personalized learning, cultivates digital literacy, and prepares students to thrive in a continually evolving global landscape.

Assessment & Accountability To ensure we are faithfully living out our mission and making meaningful progress toward our strategic goals, we will implement a consistent and transparent process of reflection, evaluation, and growth. Our commitment to accountability includes the following practices:

Faculty & staff anchor committees will meet regularly to guide implementation, identify areas of success and challenge, and recommend adjustments.

Surveys will seek regular input from students, parents, faculty, and alumni to assess how our values are being lived out and where support is needed.

Student voice will be captured through reflection responses during advisory programs and campuswide initiatives that tie into our anchor commitments.

Professional growth & development for faculty will include reflection on contributions to our anchor goals, with space for innovation and initiative.

School leadership and the Board of Trustees will publish reports that share qualitative and quantitative progress toward our commitments timeline, including highlights, metrics, and next steps.

An excerpt from a senior speech written by Luke Burrow, class of 2025 Salutatorian Only at Lowcountry...

“Only at Lowcountry could I have played soccer, even though I hadn’t played in years.

Only at Lowcountry could I have gained the social confidence to attend Boys State and lead the Yearbook team and speak here in front of you today.

Only at Lowcountry could I have experienced these close and meaningful connections with teachers. Teachers that care enough about their students to buy them Cheez-Itz and tamales and barbeque for classes or custom cakes and charcuterie boards for weekend study sessions...

No one will be perfect, by simply trying your best–whether it be on your schoolwork, engaging politely with others, or being a part of a community–you will unlock a world of enriching experiences. That is the most important thing I’ve learned here. And that is the best advice I can give you all today. “

Note from Wes Wehunt, Head of School Luke simply and eloquently captures the essence of what we mean when we say small school, big opportunities.

As we look ahead to the 2025–2026 school year, which marks the 30th anniversary of Lowcountry Prep, we recognize that now is the time to solidify our identity, to unite around shared beliefs, and to create a blueprint for future success — a plan rooted in both immediate action and long-term strategy. We believe this 2030 Strategic Plan charts our course for the next 30 years of teaching and learning.

Whether you're part of our current community, a proud alum, or a family just discovering Lowcountry Prep, we invite you to grow with us. Join us as we shape the next chapter of education on the Hammock Coast—grounded in meaningful connections, enriched by purposeful experiences, sustained by a secure and supportive environment, and driven by a commitment to educational excellence.

In partnership and possibility, Wes

MARLINS MAKE WAVES