A Strategic Plan for Stuart 2014

STRATEGIC PLAN 2014

Dear Friends of Stuart, I am constantly astounded by what our community is able to accomplish when we work together to provide the very best Sacred Heart education for our girls and young boys. Coming off our 50th Anniversary celebrations, I am thrilled that we have met every objective outlined in our 2011 six-year Strategic Plan in just three short years!

In April, the Board of Trustees, together with our leadership team, embarked on a second round of strategic financial planning. With our Sacred Heart Goals and our mission to prepare young women for lives of exceptional leadership and service as a foundation, we charted Stuart’s course for the next three to five years in the new 2014 Strategic Plan. I am proud to present you with the plan details.

Our 2014 Strategic Plan builds on the momentum of our previous plan with a strong focus on innovative teaching, programming, and facilities, designed to take our girls well into the future. Honoring our excellent faculty and staff, the plan targets a strong school culture and internal leadership.

The Board of Trustees continues to invest in the future and we are so grateful for the Board’s confidence, as well as the support of Stuart’s friends and outside foundations. With all of your help we will continue to fulfill our vision for Stuart’s future well into the next 50 years!

Sincerely,

Patty L. Fagin, PhD Head of School

Stuart’s mission is to prepare young women for lives of exceptional leadership and service, through a challenging and innovative curriculum, superb teaching, and close attention to each girl’s personal development.

STRATEGIC PLAN 2014

Grounded in the Sacred Heart Goals & Criteria, the 2014 Strategic Plan is student-centered, mission-focused, and

honors faculty and staff culture, voice and leadership. Building on the accomplishments of the 2011 Plan, the new 2014 Strategic Plan also focuses on strengthening our facilities to support 21st century teaching and learning.

Strengthen Formation to Mission Efforts

Goal One: An active faith in God Academic Strategic Plan

Goal Two: A deep respect for intellectual values Community Service > Service Learning

Goal Three: A social awareness which leads to action A Robust and Supportive Stuart Community

Goal Four: Building community as a Christian value Growth in Student and Faculty Leadership

Goal Five: Personal growth in an atmosphere of wise freedom

Strengthen Formation to Mission Efforts Goal One: An active faith in God Recognizing that Formation to Mission is paramount to the foundation and future of a Stuart education, we seek to: z Grow our community of Educators of the Sacred Heart (ESCJs) l Continue to send faculty and staff to Network conferences and workshops l Encourage faculty and staff to share Sacred Heart experiences within the Stuart context l Learn from our Stuart faculty and staff who worked alongside Religious for many years z Invite Religious to campus frequently z Increase alumnae connections as speakers and mentors z Broaden the Campus Ministry Program to all students, from preschool through grade 12

Academic Strategic Plan Goal Two: A deep respect for intellectual values In fulfillment of Stuart’s mission to provide our young women with a challenging and innovative curriculum and superb teaching, a key component of the new plan is a missiondriven and student-centered Academic Strategic Plan. z

K-12 curriculum will include:

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An increase in the use of: l Project-based learning l Cross-curricular opportunities

Faculty input on content and implementation of the Strategic Academic Plan will be gathered through:

Continued value and support for: l Our faith-based approach l SHAEP l Arts l Humanities l World Languages l Alumnae integration

Expanded efforts in: l STEM Programs l Financial literacy through the Stuart Institute for Finance & Economics l Increased student leadership opportunities and establishment of the Leadership Center l Character development/advisory programs l Signature Experiences at each grade

Faculty involvement and input

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A Professional Development Committee

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A Curriculum Committee

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Professional Learning Communities

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Classroom visits

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Pedagogical discussions

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Expanded professional development support for faculty (and staff)

Community Service > Service Learning Goal Three: A social awareness which leads to action To completely realize Sacred Heart Goal Three, we strive to expand on our robust community service program as we move toward a service learning program - where our girls analyze and reflect on the values of society, act for justice, and are linked in a reciprocal manner with the poor and marginalized. Structured time will be provided for thoughtful planning of student service opportunities with guided reflection on their overall service experience. Our plan calls us to: z Fund a school-wide (K-12) Service Learning Program z Connect in service - students, faculty and staff across grade

levels

z Expand the co-educational opportunities for service in the

Middle and Upper School

z Build in the critical time for reflection that is the hallmark of a

service learning model

z Include service as a component of our grade level Signature

Experiences

A Robust and Supportive Stuart Community Goal Four: Building community as a Christian value A robust and supportive Stuart community is not only central to Sacred Heart Goal Four, but also makes our school such an extraordinary place for our students to learn, and our faculty and staff to work. The new plan includes the following elements to help strengthen our community: z Valuing Time Together l

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Build teacher collaboration time into the school day schedule allowing faculty time to talk with each other, work together and share Support, integration and expansion of our relationship with the Network of Sacred Heart Schools

z Grow School Spirit & Community Pride l

Showcase Stuart as THE premier school for girls of all ages

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Celebrate our students’ individual and collaborative successes in all areas from the arts, STEM, and athletics, to world language, writing, service and more

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Highlight faculty innovation and leadership through community publications and at all school, divisional, and parent meetings

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Have more fun!

z Valuing Our Spaces—Facilities l

Prioritize future facility projects

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Allow faculty and staff to predict (classrooms, workspaces, air conditioning, etc.)

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Allocate additional resources each year for renovations and upgrades

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Incorporate the 2013-14 Stone House Group Facilities Audit to address building maintenance and modernization needs over the next 10 years

Growth in Student and Faculty Leadership Goal Five: Personal growth in an atmosphere of wise freedom Our fulfillment of Goal Five including a commitment to fostering individual growth extends throughout the Stuart community. To that end our 2014 Strategic Plan includes expanding leadership opportunties and recognition for students as well as faculty and staff. z

Growing Tomorrow’s Leaders

At Stuart we have a long history of developing student leaders, and the 2014 Strategic Plan builds upon this legacy:

The 2014 Strategic Plan recognizes the importance of a strong faculty culture, therefore we will:

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Provide funding for leadership education and opportunities through the Harris B. Siegel Leadership Fund

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Develop new avenues for faculty and staff recognition

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Formalize leadership education, documenting the process by which we build leaders across every grade level and throughout our curriculum

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Give faculty a greater voice in planning for the future

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Service the pay scale each year

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Develop a faculty committee to consider a compensation model based upon professional growth and performance rubrics

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Expand leadership opportunities for our girls through: o Our Sacred Heart global network o Our alumnae o Community and university connections

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Nurturing the Nurturers