The O'Neal School Strategic Plan 2017-2022

The O’Neal School Strategic Plan 2017 - 2022

Mission Statement O’Neal is a college preparatory school dedicated to the development of academic excellence, strength of character, and the physical well-being of its students in an environment where integrity, self-discipline, responsibility, and consideration for others are fundamental.

The O’Neal School Vision The O’Neal School is a vibrant community of students, teachers, parents, and administrators. With full enrollment representing the wide diversity of our community, we attract the finest talent among the families we serve and the faculty we employ. In addition to exemplary studies in language arts, social studies, mathematics, and sciences, our students participate actively in performing and visual arts, athletics, clubs, and community service.

Our school and facilities are the finest in the area, and our students learn through collaboration and team building both inside the classroom and outside in the natural beauty of our 40-acre campus. Our faculty guide and educate our students with individualized and inspiring curricula from Pre-K through 12th grade, and our students go on to attend distinguished colleges and universities within the United States and abroad.

Our alumni are talented leaders in an extraordinarily wide range of fields, and they contribute actively to society. Our families and other stakeholders give generously to The O’Neal School, and we are building an enduring campus to support our mission.

Through what we do and who we are, The O’Neal School plays a unique, significant, and important role in the Sandhills community.

Academics. Achievement. Character.

Dear O’Neal School Community, On behalf of the Board of Trustees, we are pleased to present the 2017 - 2022 Strategic Plan for The O’Neal School. The School’s Mission Statement articulates the ideals that founded O’Neal nearly five decades ago. This Strategic Plan provides direction to strengthen the School in order to offer the best possible educational opportunity for students and families in the Sandhills region. It is clear that our students are living and competing in an increasingly complex, dynamic global community, and so we must continuously advance our programs to prepare our students for college and beyond.

The O’Neal School is in a unique position in its history. With a complete campus, we can focus our strategic attention on our students’ educational experience and outcomes and on O’Neal’s long-term sustainability. To that end, the Strategic Plan focuses on four priority areas: 1.

2.

3.

4.

The Educational Experience Financial Sustainability Campus Optimization Community Engagement

To implement this ambitious plan, we acknowledge that The O’Neal School’s success has always relied on the support of the entire community – faculty, students, families, alumni and friends. Our plan includes implementation steps for each strategic priority, and we believe it provides a clear direction for the years to come. We are optimistic about O’Neal’s future, and we look forward to working with all of the School’s constituencies to meet the goals of this plan. Together, we will continue to provide a school distinguished by academic excellence, strength of character, and physical well-being of its students.

Sincerely,

Konni McMurray John Elmore Chair, Board of Trustees Head of School

The Educational Experience Today’s dynamic educational environment requires that we continually benchmark our progress to ensure inclusion of current best practices in education. The educational curriculum and how it progresses through each grade will be our focus. To further the development of the whole child, we will expand our capabilities in the following areas: performing arts, global education, health, and physical education. Recruitment, development, and retention of exceptional faculty who are passionate to educate students will be a core tactic.

Create Vertical Alignment and Program Cohesion

Curriculum scope and sequence across grade levels, departments, and divisions will be documented.

An overview form of this documentation will be utilized externally for inquiries and to inform parents.

A more comprehensive form will be utilized internally by our faculty to ensure program cohesion and consistency. A review process for our academic programs will be utilized for benchmarking, program evaluation, and routine program updates to ensure ongoing program enhancements and quality.

Broaden the Global Education Program

The O’Neal School has a history of global educational exposure through international student enrollment, opportunities for studying abroad, and foreign language studies starting in Pre-K3. We will expand our global initiative by intentionally integrating global education into the curriculum at all grade levels. We will formalize our international partnership programs while designing ways to recognize and celebrate the international presence at O’Neal.

Expand Opportunities in the Performing Arts

Performance opportunities will increase across all divisions as additional music and theater class offerings will be included in the Middle and Upper School Arts Programs. Performing arts options will also be expanded in the after-school programs for the Lower and Middle Schools.

Strengthen Focus on Health and Physical Education

Health education offerings for students will be expanded at all levels. Innovative physical education programs, including after-school venues, will be integrated into the curriculum to meet the needs and interests of all students. We will offer and teach athletes proper strength and conditioning programs to maximize their performance and maintain wellness.

Attract, Develop, and Retain Exceptional Teachers

The O’Neal School is committed to recruiting, developing, and retaining the finest faculty members to teach and challenge our students. Faculty development programs and continuing education will be utilized to keep our teachers on the leading edge of educational methods and approaches. We will work to ensure that salary and benefits are attractive and competitive.

Foster Individual Student Achievement and Growth

Our faculty’s familiarity with individual students inside and outside the classroom has been a noted strength of The O’Neal School. Programs and processes that strengthen student-teacher relationships to meet the unique needs of each of our students will continue to be a priority. There will be a comprehensive review of all programs, including the Academic Enrichment Center, to ensure differentiation for all students.

Financial Sustainability At the O’Neal School, we will endeavor to create a legacy of fiscal responsibility to accomplish our goals in education, programs, and facilities. The School provides an exceptional educational experience, and we will strive to continuously improve our efforts for the children and young adults that we serve.

Through prudent fiscal management, a growing student body, a strong marketing program, and an inspired charitable culture, O’Neal will be prepared for the future ahead of us.

Connect with Founders, Past Parents, and Alumni

In order to position O’Neal for the future, we must nurture its legacy. A strong relationship with O’Neal’s communities of the past serves to fortify its future. Ongoing outreach to these groups will be a priority.

Expand the Student Population

The School will strive to find and attract new families to enhance our overall student body and support our mission. The new talents and interests of these students will lead to an increasingly diverse and vibrant community as the school grows to its full potential.

The enhanced ongoing efforts in the areas of marketing and student retention are interrelated and are critical to our success. The academic outcomes of our graduates and their success after graduation are a testament to our achievements.

Create a Culture of Giving

O’Neal seeks to grow to a strengthened community with a more robust financial position by increasing the endowment and fostering a closer connection with founders, past parents and alumni. We will launch a capital campaign effort as we approach our 50th year in 2021.

Campus Optimization Five buildings on the School’s 40-acre campus provide many educational, athletic, and social opportunities for our students and their families. Preventative maintenance and effective utilization of our facilities are critical strategic imperatives. We will develop a financial plan for the ongoing maintenance and upgrading of existing and new facilities.

Campus Usage and Master Plan

We will engage a professional land-use planner to determine the efficiency of how our buildings, grounds, and outlying land are being used in order to update the campus master plan. Ideas include a track, additional athletic field, pool upgrade, weight room upgrade, a possible expansion of the Upper School, creation of a “central campus” gathering site and construction of a pre-kindergarten “cottage”.

Campus Footprint

Options to expand the current campus footprint will continue to be evaluated. We will monitor enrollment data and capacity needs to anticipate future requirements for land and facilities. Relationships with adjacent land owners will continue to be developed for potential future partnerships or land purchases.

Campus Safety

The safety of our students and faculty is our highest priority. We will maintain a safe environment for the O’Neal community through ongoing review of facilities, processes, procedures, and security needs.

We will utilize external resources to advise us on best practices.

Community Engagement The O’Neal Community has a unique culture that is strong in character, service-oriented, and welcoming to all. It is important that we convey this message to our greater community so that we are perceived as the inclusive, nurturing entity that we are.

Embrace Our Diverse Community

It is imperative that O’Neal keep looking forward and embrace the continually changing demographics of its market and the nation. We will challenge our students to expand their footprint in this diverse community through service. Public events will be hosted at O’Neal to welcome the wider community and showcase our programs and campus.

Tell O’Neal’s Story

O’Neal has a rich history of educating students in the Sandhills. The experiences of O’Neal families, students, and faculty will continue to be utilized to share our unique culture and community. The changing world of communications, including social media, advertising, and online reviews, will help promote our school to a broad audience, and to share our story through stakeholders’ experiences.

Celebrate O’Neal’s 50th Year

We will seize opportunities to honor this milestone to promote the history of the School, its successes through the years, and our plans for its future. The O’Neal School’s 50th Anniversary Celebration in 2021 will serve as a milestone event and will provide unique opportunities for commemorative activities.

Academics. Achievement. Character.