Creating Pathways to Endless Possibilities
The Strategic Plan for Roland Park Country School
It’s an age-old debate about what matters more: the journey or the destination. At RPCS, we know it’s not just one or the other – it’s both.
The paths we travel are just as important as the destinations we reach.
We see the proof every day in our girls and young women. We are proud of the destinations they reach, but we are just as proud of how they get there—by following their curiosity, pursuing their passions, challenging themselves to excel in an academically rigorous environment, and committing enthusiastically to the whole process. Just watch them: Designing and building a robot from scratch. Delivering the big speech to thunderous applause. Joining new clubs and embarking on new adventures. Striving for both individual and team success in the classroom and on the field. Choosing joy, strengthening the mind and the heart at the same time, and celebrating and supporting each other all along the way.
When everyone focuses on both pathways and outcomes, we see the results: a community full of life and individual
achievers who always remain deeply connected to each other. Every day at RPCS, we seek to provide the right balance of knowledge, inspiration, challenge, character, passion, joy, and skills so that our girls and young women can move forward on their own paths, whatever those paths may look like and wherever they may lead, always recognizing that not every girl will follow the same path in the pursuit of her endless possibilities.
It is in this spirit that we have developed our Strategic Plan for 2024-2029. This Plan is a vision for our community that builds on our strengths to reach an even brighter future. A future that fully embraces the paths we travel and the destinations we will reach. A future that feels uniquely RPCS.
Our mission
Roland Park Country School students thrive in a collaborative and inclusive community that cultivates intellectual curiosity and emotional intelligence. Striking a balance between tradition and innovation for over a century, RPCS inspires girls and young women to think critically and pursue their passions. Our graduates embody a resilient and purposeful approach to boldly lead for the greater good in college and beyond.
Our core values
Our five principles help make us who we are—they are a guiding star for each of us at RPCS and underpin our strategic initiatives throughout the Plan.
Build each other up.
We want to see our peers succeed. We are each other’s most reliable collaborators and loudest cheerleaders. We know that we’re stronger when we work together.
Lead for the greater good.
By encouraging girls to understand and celebrate their strengths and by creating an environment where girls empower each other, they are more likely to step into leadership roles, not just for personal gain, but for the greater good.
Seek and embrace diversity.
We know that diversity results in better educational outcomes, leads to equity, and makes our communities stronger. As an institution educating tomorrow’s leaders, pursuing diversity is our responsibility.
Live healthy and be well.
We want our students to live healthy, balanced lives, and that starts with an academic program that demands of them reasonably: they are deeply challenged and engaged in their education because they are allowed to be children and teenagers.
Take your seat at the table.
What the world needs is for girls to lead the way, authentically and frequently. We bring the best of our girls’ attributes—which are limitless in a girls-centered environment—to the table to inform better decision-making.
Our school philosophy
Roland Park Country School, a college preparatory school for girls, is dedicated to the intellectual and moral development of its students. We cultivate creativity, independence of thought, tenacity of purpose, self-discipline, and emotional, physical, and spiritual well-being. We maintain high academic standards, uphold tradition, and promote innovation. We nurture a cooperative, resilient spirit within an atmosphere of mutual trust and respect. In a diverse, inclusive, and joyful community, Roland Park Country School strives to instill in its students a lifelong love of learning, as well as the responsibility to look within and beyond themselves to contribute to and serve as stewards and leaders of their communities.
Priority 1:
Championing teaching and learning
Our experienced and dedicated faculty uphold the highest standards of educational excellence, while developing new ways to support our students’ intellectual growth and development. Looking ahead, we will further strengthen our academic experience by prioritizing innovative teaching methods.
Initiatives
• Prioritize and implement best practices of teaching and learning that reflect curiosity, responsiveness, and current data-driven research.
• Enhance an excellent student experience by recruiting and supporting diverse and passionate faculty and staff who embrace innovation and collaboration.
• Assess and augment curricular choices that reflect a deep commitment to teaching skills, knowledge, habits of mind, and an understanding of the world that our students need for today and for their future.
• Broaden our professional growth programs so that our faculty is equipped and empowered to meet the needs of all learners.
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“Our students feel cared for and valued because of the strong relationships formed with their teachers and advisors that in turn allow them to take risks, face challenges and find success in their learning. Our rigorous academic program and wide range of innovative co-curricular opportunities prepare students for life in college and beyond.”
Sara Rollfinke, Upper School Head
Priority 2:
Maximizing student wellness and engagement
A great education inspires the mind, nurtures the body, and opens the heart. When these three elements are perfectly balanced, girls are supported, challenged, and fully engaged in what they’re doing. This enables them to fearlessly articulate their dreams and pursue their boldest paths forward.
Initiatives
• Establish and implement a cohesive and dynamic approach to K-12 wellness that prioritizes every student’s health, well-being, authentic self, and social-emotional development.
• Develop and implement multifaceted student life programs for K-12 that reflect the core values of our School and ensure that each student gains the skills and competencies to live courageously, care deeply, and create stronger and more inclusive communities.
• Implement and evolve co-curricular programs that prioritize and nurture all facets of our students’ interests and passions, inside and outside the classroom.
• Cultivate and listen to all voices and perspectives to further elevate the student experience where all our girls and young women can take their seats at the table.
“At RPCS, we keep the students at the center of all that we do. With the school’s commitment to fostering a thriving and supportive culture and community, we will help our students grow to become the best versions of themselves.”
- Elisha James, Assistant Head of School for Culture, Community and Belonging
Priority 3:
Expanding transformational leadership experiences
At RPCS, we believe in the power of female leaders. Here, every girl and young woman has the space and support to develop her full leadership potential. We ensure that our graduates will become the resilient, collaborative, and creative leaders and team members we need today—and especially tomorrow.
Initiatives
• Develop and support signature programs that maximize student leadership opportunities and embrace collaborations, further connecting classrooms and communities through meaningful experiences on and off campus.
• Educate girls with an approach that cultivates ethics, confidence, empathy, and civic engagement in all disciplines.
• Increase opportunities for students to reflect upon and synthesize learning from robust leadership and academic, athletic, and extracurricular experiences.
• Seek and expand student experiences for local, national, and global service learning programs to enhance the girls’ capacity for empathy and a deep appreciation for community learning and engagement.
- Sara Rollfinke, Upper School Head
Priority 4:
Building on our strengths, investing in our future
RPCS is on an exciting and distinctive path forward. By optimizing our spaces, utilizing strategic marketing efforts, and enhancing philanthropic support, we will continue to share our story boldly and engage our entire RPCS community.
Initiatives
• Communicate our mission and vision with confidence and ensure that our exceptional pathways to endless possibilities for our students are clearly and consistently shared.
• Provide robust programming and exceptional value to RPCS families by revitalizing our spaces on campus to showcase curricular and extracurricular experiences.
• Attract and retain exceptional faculty and staff by ensuring a competitive compensation and benefits structure.
• Build upon the impressive financial strength of the School and expand the culture of philanthropy among all constituents to sustain the success of RPCS for generations to come.
“By planning thoughtfully for the future and the school’s continued financial sustainability, we’ve created a clear roadmap that will position RPCS as the premier school for the next generation of female leaders.”
- Tammy Passano Wiggs, 1997, P’29, P’31, P’33, Vice President, Board of Trustees
A conversation with Head of School Joan Smith
What makes this the right moment to embark on a strategic plan? Over the past few years at RPCS, we’ve launched many wonderful programs. So many of these initiatives are extraordinary, and they’ve further expanded the opportunities we offer our students. With all that growth, now is the time to take a step back, look at what we’ve done, and put it all in some perspective so that we can more effectively harness these programs as a whole. We need to prioritize and make things actionable.
In addition to what we’re doing, I also want to look at how we go about it. I want us to be more relational than transactional, and I want to incorporate in very meaningful ways what we’ve learned about the brain and how we can help the classroom reflect the brains that sit at those desks and support them for their growth and achievement. I feel very strongly that students achieve more when they are nurtured and supported. Rigor and nurture should be very closely linked, and I think the fact that they can sometimes be seen as canceling each other out is a misunderstanding of the human psyche.
Bringing clarity back to our mission is fundamentally what we’re working on. Not to throw things out, but to put them in their proper place and do them at a very high level.
There’s always been a great sense of teamwork here. The willingness to get back in the boat and row in the same direction is strong. I’ve seen that firsthand in my work on this Plan with the faculty, the staff, and the Board, and it makes me confident that this Plan won’t just be a document on a shelf.
I want the girls to see themselves as lifelong learners. I want them to understand themselves and have confidence in that self they’ve discovered.
Since your return to RPCS, what qualities and characteristics of the School have remained constant? I first came to RPCS as Upper School Head and remained in that position for 18 years. I found then, and I find now, that RPCS is academically very challenging but made more manageable because of a faculty that supports every student. The faculty-student relationships were and are so strong. It’s not unusual on alumnae days to have our young graduates give shout-outs to their teachers and inspire current students. I like that sense of a long tradition of excellence and the ability for students to know that they have great places to go because they can see what these women have achieved.
There’s also a tremendous amount of pride. I appreciated that when I first came here, and it continues today. I’ve made it a priority to sit down with every adult at RPCS and spend time talking with them. Overwhelmingly, they love the place. I have a granddaughter who just graduated from RPCS, and I see that same sense of pride in her, too.
Where would you like to see the School five years from now?
We have the enormous benefit of being financially secure. Our endowment is very strong, and it gives us the luxury of taking a step back and reassessing our path forward. But in five years, I don’t think we’ll be radically different. We’ll be doing what we’ve always been doing—at the highest level, with laughter, pride, and joy.
In five years, I want to see these seniors, who will be a year out of college, off accomplishing amazing things because of what they’ve done here. Maybe they loved mock trial and are
in law school, or they did an internship in a doctor’s office and thought, ‘Maybe I’m not wild about doing checkups, but I love neuroscience.’ I want to see that they have launched their careers as a result of their experiences at RPCS.
I would also add: I want the girls to see themselves as lifelong learners. I want them to understand themselves and have confidence in that self they’ve discovered. I think that’s such an important key to their ability to take the world by its tail and shake it.
Is there a moment that you feel best illustrates Roland Park Country School’s essential character as a community? For me, it’s Opening Day. The entire school comes together in the gym, parents and some alumnae join in too, and we celebrate that we’re back. A lot of girls love school, but we deliberately start out with really high energy so that it’s infectious and undeniable. We sing, we dance, seniors decorate their cars. There’s a lot of tradition and incredible joy.
You look around at students who are brand new to RPCS, and they’re just marveling at everything. They’re amazed by all these students who are saying, ‘Yay, I’m back at school!’ By their second year, they’re playing that role for the next group of new students.
That connection, that joy in being together, sets the tone for the new year. Even the songs we sing are important—we’re all putting out air in the same direction. It’s symbolic of playing on the same team. It’s all about being able to rely on the tried and true while also starting afresh.
80 Community members involved across six learning teams
28 Strategic design team meetings
936 Respondents to 2022 Community Survey
A thorough and inclusive process
Our Strategic Plan represents the culmination of many months of collective effort and community involvement. We began with a community-wide survey in the fall of 2022, which brought in responses from current students, parents, guardians, grandparents, alumnae, and other key groups. The results of that survey defined our priorities for our strategic design team (SDT), which consists of faculty, staff, and trustees who worked closely with community members to visualize and develop our final Plan.
Our Path Ahead
With the 2024-2029 Strategic Plan as our guide and a common sense of purpose as a community, we are confident in the endless possibilities for our School and our students. We invite every member of the RPCS community to contribute to and invest in our path forward and share in our success. We will implement, adjust, and grow. Although the path may rise, dip, and bend, we know that the actions we take along the way are just as important as the destinations we reach.
“Our ‘special sauce’ is that we know the pursuit of excellence is meaningless without purpose, passion, and a lifelong commitment to tirelessly learning and seeking to improve the lives of those around us.”
- W. Kyle Gore, P’15, P’17, P’20, President, Board of Trustees
With profound thanks to each of our 936 Community Survey respondents:
The Board of Trustees
President, W. Kyle Gore, P’15, P’17, P’20
Vice-President, David Clapp, P’26
Vice-President, Carroll Knott McGill, 1993, P’25
Vice-President, Tammy Passano Wiggs, 1997, P’29, P’31, P’34
Secretary, Janet Bauer Hartman, 1968, P’96
Assistant Secretary, Chip Smith, P’24
Treasurer, Steven Susel, P’25
Assistant Treasurer, Mark Newcomb, P’30
Dr. Celeste Woodward Applefeld, 1964, P’98*†
Emily Athanas, P’24, P’28
Caroline Blatti, Former Head of School**
Linda Schaefer Cameron, 1984
Cynthia Cavanaugh, P’23
Shannell Richardson Cockrell, 1997, P’21, P’26
Kelly Donovan-Mazzulli, 1994, P’23, P’24
Scott Foley, P’26**
Corinthia Pratt, P’27
Cary Zink Kassouf, 1995**
E. Robert Kent Jr., P’89, GP’20*†
Liz Lenrow, 2006
Catherine Passano McDonnell, 1994, P’22, P’24, P’27*
John B. McGowan, P’21
Brian Moffet, P’18, P’21
Alecia Pridgen, P’23, P’25
Donna Parker, P’12, P’14
Ted Russell IV, P’28, P’32
Helen Williams Sale, 2002, P’31, P’34
Bob Schaefer, P’84, P’87*
Jeffrey H. Seibert, HA, P’06*
Joan Smith, HA, GP’24, Head of School
Tori Soudan, P’16, P’18, P’25
Richard C. Tilghman, Jr., P’00*
Roszel C. Thomsen II, HA, P’07, P’10*
Duffy Weir, P’06, P’08, GP’35, GP’38
Genevra Waldron, P’23, P’24, P’26**
Institutional Strategy Committee
David Clapp, P’26, Chair
Shannell Richardson Cockrell, 1997, P’21, P’26
Kelly Donovan-Mazzulli, 1994, P’23, P’24
W. Kyle Gore, P’15, P’17, P’20
Carroll Knott McGill, 1993, P’25
Chip Smith, P’24
Donna Parker, P’12, P’14
Duffy Weir, P’06, P’08, GP’35, GP’38
Tammy Passano Wiggs, 1997, P’29, P’31, P’33
Janet Bauer Hartman, 1968, P’96
Corinthia Pratt, P’27
Linda Schaefer Cameron, 1984
Cynthia Cavanaugh, P’23
Caroline Blatti, Former Head of School, Ex-Officio
Lindsay Sisson, Ex-Officio
Elisha James, P’18, Ex-Officio
Sara Rollfinke, Ex-Officio
Strategic Design Team
W. Kyle Gore, P’15, P’17, P’20, Board of Trustees President*
David Clapp, P’26, Board of Trustees Vice President*
Chip Smith, P’24, Board of Trustees Member*
Joan Smith, HA, GP’24, Head of School
Elisha James, Assistant Head of School for Culture, Community and Belonging, P’18*
Robert Anderson, Director of Technology
Caroline Blatti, Former Head of School*
Scott Buckley, Co-Director of Athletics
Kathy Cullen, Chief Financial Officer
Danae Hamlet, Director of Counseling
Margaret Lofgren, Middle School Head
Annie Morse, Director of Admissions and Enrollment Management
Lauren Pappas, Chief Human Resources Officer
Abbey Pulcinella, Director of Strategic Communications, P’29, P’31
Sara Rollfinke, Upper School Head*
Stephanie Scanlon, Lower School Head
Lindsay Sisson, Former Director of Enrollment Management*
Dani Kell Steinbach, 2004, P’32, P’39, P’41, Co-Director of Athletics
Melissa Tully, Senior Communications Associate, P’34
Evelyn Zink, HA, P’93, P’95, P’97, Director of Advancement
Learning Teams
Akua Agyei-Boateng
Lynda-Marie Monaco, P’17, P’19
Robert Anderson
Rose Berns-Zieve
Julie Bierman
Dale Bittinger, P’24
Neda Blackburn, Ph.D.
Meg Bottiglieri
Casey Lord Briggs, 1991, P’21, P’24
Melissa Bristow Carter-Bey, 1992
Kati Colombat
Ericka Croft, P’23, P’27, P’29
Katherine Crosby, 1990, P’27
Sally Diehl
Lisa Diver, 2006
Kelly Donovan-Mazzulli, 1994, P’23, P’24
Kate Feiring
Molly Ricely FitzGerald, 2006, P’39
Courtney Fitzgibbon, P’25
Scott Foley, P’26
Elisa Frost
Sara Gerrish, P’37
Jaleh Goodale, P’20, P’23
Danae Hamlet
Fitz Hardcastle, P’29, P’34
Janet Bauer Hartman, 1968, P’96
Kim Hoffman
Alison Honeycutt, P’24
Liz Lenrow, 2006
Margaret Lofgren
Alexa Miton
Mark Newcomb, P’30
Tiana Redfern Oguaman, 1999, P’23
Angela Palmeri
Donna Parker, P’12, P’14
Ashley Pearson, P’34
Sarah Morehead Pope, 2006
Ted Russell, IV, P’28, P’32
Annie Ferebee Short, 2001
Joan F. Smith, HA, GP’24
Tori Soudan, P’16, P’18, P’25
Dani Kell Steinbach, 2004, P’32, P’39, P’41
Ashley Thayer
Lisa Teeling
Elizabeth White, P’25
Kim Wilson, P’04, P’09
