COMPASS 2028
THE STEWARD SCHOOL STRATEGIC PLAN
2024-25 PROGRESS REPORT
INNOVATION IN TEACHING AND LEARNING
Offer new ways for students to develop, demonstrate, and be assessed on their learning at Steward
• Student reflections are now integrated into each Upper School class.
• Middle Schoolers are leading their parentteacher conferences.
• Cross-divisional faculty and administrators evaluated our student assessment methods and are now considering the merits of alternatives or additions.
Milestone
Expand our Entrepreneurship, Leadership, and Service Learning Programs
• More parents and alumni participated in the Entrepreneurship Program this year, and the Middle School program now includes a culminating Market Day.
• The Leadership Program has grown; 81 Upper Schoolers were either participating in or had completed the program this year. That’s about 30 percent of our Upper School students!
Additionally, partnerships with Virginia Tech and the University of Richmond have deepened.
• The Service Learning Program expanded its scope with the schoolwide Warm Wishes drive this winter.
Milestone
INNOVATION IN TEACHING AND LEARNING
Expand the Bryan Innovation Lab program and impact
• A standard schedule for exciting Visiting Innovators (like this year’s innovator Michael Tennant, founder of Curiosity Labs) is under development.
• The Nature Play School program continues to engage both young Spartans and the local community.
• Across campus, all of our classrooms now offer recycling, and composting opportunities are also available, all thanks to our BIL team!
Milestone
INNOVATION IN TEACHING AND LEARNING
Leveraging technology: augmented reality/virtual reality, artificial intelligence, media literacy, and computer science
• All Upper School faculty were asked to create at least two lessons that integrated AI.
• This year, we started the Steward AI Leaders (SAIL) group, which includes faculty members from all divisions, to identify and streamline the way AI is used, monitored, and evaluated in our classrooms.
OPTIMIZING HOLISTIC, WHOLE-PERSON EXPERIENCES Area 2
Milestone
OPTIMIZING HOLISTIC, WHOLE-PERSON EXPERIENCES
Ensure our campus aligns with and enhances our mission and values
• We have begun an audit of cultural use of time, which will include academic courses, cocurricular programming, and special events. It will lead to a prioritization recommendation.
• Following the audit, school leaders will evaluate the bell schedule and marking period schedule to identify to potential changes to benefit our community.
• Schoolwide themes are being chosen earlier to allow for greater curriculum integration. This already happened with the 2025-26 Nature theme.
Milestone
Leveraging our humanity: The Center for Civil Discourse and Discernment
• In the fall, Head of School Dan Frank launched a White Paper about Civil Discourse at Steward. Civil Discourse is also one of our six newly named Core Values.
• A committee is completing an analysis of civil discourse norms on campus and working on recommendations for enhancing these skills among both students and
adults. Simultaneously, faculty members are completing trainings about Restorative Practices and Crucial Learning (based on the book “Crucial Conversations”).
Milestone
OPTIMIZING HOLISTIC, WHOLE-PERSON EXPERIENCES
Care and Balance: Health and Well-being
• The Center for Engagement regularly shares helpful resources with parents via email. Keep an eye out for this information in your inbox!
• Students in Grades 6-12 completed a survey about mental health, school life, and engagement, which will inform school programming choices.
• We have a goal of training all faculty in Youth Mental Health First Aid, and approximately 50% have already been certified.
BUILDING AND ENGAGING THE COMMUNITY Area 3
Milestone
BUILDING AND ENGAGING THE COMMUNITY
Core Values: Define, integrate, and measure those values that matter most to the Steward community
• Our six core values (academic achievement, care & respect, civil discourse, individuality, inspiration, and innovation) were announced last fall and definitions were shared this winter. This school year, “I am a Spartan” (Steward’s version of a Portrait of a Graduate) was completed. It will be shared in August.
Milestone
Stakeholder partnerships and participation
• We love reconnecting with our alumni and are excited that attendance at alumni events has increased by 50% in the past three years!
• Family engagement is core to our Steward community, and, therefore, programming has been altered to enable additional connection, such as new opportunities for parent campus visits and adjusted event times.
Milestone
BUILDING AND ENGAGING THE COMMUNITY
Ecosystem of partnership: Opportunities with and for the external community
• In January, we offered the third-annual Beloved Community RVA, a half-day conference open to the community. This successful event for more than 150 people included student-led symposia and a nationallevel speaker, Freedom Rider Joan Mulholland.
• In April, a trio of Upper School leadership students hosted a successful Women’s Empowerment Conference.
• In May, area schools joined us to welcome R.J. Palacio, author of the bestselling book “Wonder,” to campus.
