Mirman School Strategic Plan

STRATEGIC PLAN

A blueprint. A roadmap. A schematic. A wish list.

No matter what metaphor you use to encapsulate Mirman School’s 2018-2021 Strategic Plan, it represents something equal parts daunting and invigorating. The words you’re about to read point the way to our community’s future — at least how we envision it unfolding over the next three years.

While the process of arriving at any Strategic Plan can sometimes seem lofty, a process as much about looking at where one comes from as it is about dreaming up where one might go next, I hope you’ll find our goals to be as achievable as they are aspirational. And whether what resonates with you most is becoming a more inclusive institution, recruiting and retaining a world class faculty, or looking towards what it means to sustain an evolving and integrated curriculum to serve the complex minds in our care, I’m thankful to have your partnership as we pursue these various trajectories together over the next few years.

Respectfully, Dan Vorenberg Head of School

Mirman now » Mirman next

Mirman’s 2018–2021 Strategic Plan was created in collaboration between representatives from the Board of Trustees, faculty, administration, past parents, alumni, and current parents. Far more than can be described with categorical statements of their roles in the Mirman community, the people and perspectives whose voices gave shape to this plan represent an incredibly diverse and multi-faceted group of leaders who have seen Mirman iterate and innovate for more than a half a century.

From small steering committee meetings to a larger daylong retreat, the ideas generated for this Strategic Plan were broken into six focus areas: mission and philosophy, community and inclusivity, program and curriculum, faculty and staff,

financial sustainability and advancement, and campus and facilities. These focus areas were then further broken down into distinct initiatives for growth and institutional change intended to be mapped out along a three-year period. Far from existing in isolation, this Strategic Plan builds on Mirman’s larger history as well as more specific recent successes. From Dr. Norman and Beverly Mirman’s living room to our beautiful and expanded campus, each period of institutional growth adds depth and layers to a living, breathing legacy here on Mulholland Drive.

Whether you’ve spent time in our community for decades or semesters, you’ve been a vital part of our past and present. We invite you to join us as we build our future.

Mission & Philosophy

Develop strategies to ensure we live and communicate our mission and philosophy.

Rationales

1. To ensure that our school best serves the needs and potential of our highly gifted students.

2. To ensure that we fully and broadly communicate Mirman’s institutional identity and impact to both internal and external constituents.

3. To more effectively engage prospective families who may face obstacles in their quest to access gifted education.

4. To enhance understanding of gifted education through a cultural competency and equity lens. Action Steps

1. Ensure the congruity of our educational practices with our mission.

2. Establish ourselves as a thought leader and resource in gifted education through on-campus programming, teacher training, partnerships with other gifted education leaders, and delivery of curated and original digital content.

3. Evaluate contemporary best practices in gifted identification and propose recommendations to the admissions process.

4. Communicate more frequently and strategically to both internal and external constituents on how Mirman lives its mission, educational philosophy, inclusivity statement, and core values.

Community & Inclusivity

Articulate clear objectives and implement strategies to ensure an inclusive, equitable, diverse, vibrant, and connected community of learners, families, alumni, faculty, and staff.

Rationales

1. To prepare our students to succeed and thrive in an increasingly diverse and complex society.

2. To demonstrate that Mirman’s institutional commitment to racial/ethnic and SES (socio-economic status) diversity is essential to a vibrant educational process.

3. To ensure an inclusive school culture and climate that fosters a safe learning environment for students to explore, take risks, and be civically engaged both locally and globally.

Action Steps

1. Recruit a diverse population of educators, students, and trustees, which includes increasing Latinx and black/African American representation and enhancing SES diversity.

2. Train all Mirman constituents in cross-cultural effectiveness skills through new models of communication, interaction, and identity development.

Program & Curriculum

Develop and deliver an inspirational, innovative, and integrated curriculum for highly gifted students.

Rationales

1. To ensure instructional practices are aligned with contemporary best practices for highly gifted students.

2. To inspire students to value discovery as an essential factor in lifelong learning.

3. To empower students to discover and channel their unique talents to positively impact the larger community.

4. To integrate and advance a multicultural, anti-bias curriculum that reflects all dimensions of diversity and connects Mirman’s community of educators and learners.

Action Steps

1. Continue implementation of a challenging thematic and integrated curriculum.

2. Develop a comprehensive, integrated, and developmentally appropriate socialemotional K-8 curriculum.

3. Integrate core values with curricular goals and Mirman’s school culture.

4. Create mission-driven signature programs and curricular experiences that promote creative, collaborative, and critical thinking skills and that allow students to explore their passions and talents.

5. Develop and implement initiatives to increase student retention in the Upper School.

Faculty & Staff

Continue to recruit, recognize, develop, and retain a highly qualified and diverse faculty and staff.

Rationales

1. To empower our staff to advance their praxis and the mission of the school.

2. To provide our students with role models who reflect our core values and our diversity of thought, experiences, and identities.

3. To attract and retain highly qualified faculty, staff, and administrators from a broader demographic and geographic range.

4. To grow and sustain institutional stability in our professional community as a whole.

Action Steps

1. Provide ongoing professional development that focuses on gifted pedagogy, socialemotional learning techniques, cultural competency, and the development of an anti-bias curriculum.

2. Build a professional growth plan that provides tiered benchmarks to allow additional opportunities for upward growth, rewards, and recognition for faculty and staff.

3. Formalize hiring practices with a focus on teacher excellence, institutional fit, core values, and increasing diversity. This also includes formalizing job expectations and onboarding initiatives for all positions.

Financial Sustainability & Advancement

Commit to a vigorous fiscal strategy and comprehensive fundraising plan.

Rationales

1. To ensure the school’s financial independence, sustainability, and growth.

2. To ensure Mirman is accessible and affordable to Mirman families across a wide swath of SES diversity.

3. To support the enhancement of new and innovative curricular programs and facilities.

Action Steps

1. Ensure that Finance and Advancement initiatives follow current best practices and are designed to directly support the strategic objectives and vision of Board governance and the Head of School.

2. Identify strategies focused on endowment growth, as part of comprehensive financial and fundraising plans.

3. Launch a public capital campaign to fund a campus improvement project.

4. Explore new and improve existing alternative revenue streams and fundraising opportunities.

5. Research and analyze various tuition and financial aid models, and propose recommendations that espouse Mirman’s inclusivity statement and commitment to SES diversity.

Campus & Facilities

Expand the creation of contemporary learning spaces both on and beyond our physical campus.

Rationale

To pioneer and modernize learning spaces shaped by Mirman’s mission and educational vision.

Action Steps

1. Obtain entitlements for the implementation of the Campus Master Plan.

2. Explore/develop opportunities for improvement of existing facilities.

3. Explore opportunities for learning settings and strategic relationships beyond existing facilities.

Mirman School Strategic Plan Committee

Administration

Juyun Barnavon

Brad Barry

Connie Chiu

Noah Kaufman

Stephanie Leung

Tessa McKeown

Michael Novak

Jenn Salcido

Dena Scott

Ron Simmons

Rita Anne Smith

Michael Taggart Dan Vorenberg

Faculty

Stephanie Feder

Jeffrey Flagg

Hazel Heredia

Nicolás Kello

Jeff Maynard

Elizabeth Nelson

Trustees

Modi Wiczyk, Chair

Claire Cui

Mayee Futterman

Sharon Perlmutter Gavin

Kourosh Ghassemieh

Jennifer Hinman

Anessa Karney ‘77–‘82

Alan Mirman

Erich Nall

Steve Oh James Peace Karen Sherwood

Aparna Sulé Lauren Turner Kiko Washington

Kate Phillips Wiczyk Alex Wuo

Former Trustees

Susan Berman

Wally Marks

Leslie Mirman Geffen

Parents

Lori Aramian

Elizabeth Currid-Halkett

Josh Jones

Kelli Kirkland

Lauren Lake

Mark Landecker

Paddy Spence