A BOLD LEAP
A Strategic Plan Leading to The Wellington School’s 50th Year
A BOLD LEAP
Mission and Values
Our Mission
We help students find their purpose and realize their potential for tomorrow’s world.
Our Values
Be Curious
Be Yourself
Be Ambitious
Be Empathetic
Be Responsible
DearWellingtonCommunity,
SinceWellington’sfoundingin1982,theworldhasevolvedatanastoundingpace.Whathasremainedconstantisour school’sbeliefthateducationcan—andshould—bebetter.Wellington’sfoundersandthosewhofollowedembraced connection,agility,andanentrepreneurialmindset,embeddingthesequalitiesintoWellington’sethos.Theyunderstood thattrueeducationalexcellenceblendstraditionalacademicswithrelevantopportunity,future-focusedinnovation,anda connectedcommunity.
GenerationsofstudentsandfamilieshavecherishedWellington’sprofoundimpact,callingitthemostimportant educationalexperienceoftheirlives.AgroupofJaguarsiscalledaleap,andwithinWellington’sleap,everyindividualis seen,valued,andbelongs.Morethanpreparingstudentsforcollege,Wellingtonpreparesthemtobecomethriving, contributingadultsinwaysasuniqueandvaluableastheyare.Yet,asyoungpeoplefacevastopportunitiesand unprecedentedcomplexity,theyrequiredifferentskills,mindsets,andsupportthaninthepast.Inthiscontext,standing stillisnotanoption.Tomeettheevolvingneedsofourstudents,andtopreparethemfortomorrow’sworld,Wellington musttakeaboldleap.
ABoldLeap:2032chartsapathforgrowthandambitiousprogress,anopportunitytodeepenourSchool’spurposeand elevateitspotential.Byenrichingandextendingourdeeplyrelational,relevant,andchallengingenvironment,wewillaffirm Wellingtonasanessentialschool,cementingitspositionamongthenation’sgreatestandmostforward-thinkingschools. Todothis,wecommittothreesharedpurposes:
1.Wellingtonwillbethebestplacetoteachandlearnforthoseseekingeducationalexcellenceinahighly-connected, future-focusedlearningcommunity.
2.Wellingtonwillelevatethestandardforeducationalexcellenceandstudentengagement.
3.Wellingtonwillstrengthenitsfinancialfoundation,securingitspermanenceandcontinuedexcellence.
ThisstrategicplanoutlinesthestrategieswewilltakeoverthecomingyearstoguideWellingtontowardsourshared purposes.Bystayingtruetoourvalueswhileembracingthechallengesandopportunitiesofthefuture,wewillcontinueto createanenvironmentwherestudentsareempoweredtobecomethekindofleaderstheworldneeds.TheWellington community—students,families,faculty,staff,andalumni—willbeattheheartofthisjourney,continuallyworkingtogether tobringvaluetoourworldandtoeachother.
ThankyouforallyoudoforWellington,and…Go,Jags! 5
Eliza McLaren Head of School
Engagement
At Wellington, ENGAGEMENT is our north star.
What does engagement mean at Wellington?
Engaged students are curious, capable, and actively involved in their learning. They find school challenging, and they love it.
Engaged educators excel in an environment that supports their passion for school, allowing them autonomy to be creative and responsive, and the resources and support to sustain consistent excellence. At Wellington, all staff are considered educators as all contribute meaningfully to creating the conditions in which students learn.
Engaged families come together in a diverse community, forming meaningful connections and friendships, and partnering in supporting their children and school.
Engaged alumni remain connected to Wellington and each other and have high standards, a strong work ethic, and the creativity, resilience, and curiosity to lead lives of success and significance.
DearWellingtonCommunity,
OnbehalfoftheBoardofTrustees,itiswithdeepprideandexcitementthatwejoinElizainsharingABoldLeap:2032,our strategicplanguidingWellingtontoitsfiftiethyear.Thisplanistheproductofathoughtful,inclusive,andyearlongprocess thatengagedourfullcommunity anditreflectsboththevaluesweholddearandthevisionweshareforourfuture.
Fromtheearlieststages,weknewthisworkhadtobeginwithlistening.Throughaseriesoflisteningsessionsand communitysurveys,wegatheredinsightsfromstudents,families,faculty,staff,alumni,andfriendsoftheschool.Trustees andschoolleadershiptookthesereflectionsseriously reportingbackonkeyfindingsattheHeadofSchool’sStateofthe SchooleventinFebruary andthenusedthemtoshapeandsharpenourgoals.
InMarch,theBoardofTrusteesandtheSchool’sleadershipteamcametogetherforaretreattoreflectoneverythingwe heardandtochartabold,clearpathforward.TheplanwenowsharewithyoureaffirmsWellington’smissionandvalues, introducesanambitiousnewvision,andoutlinesthestrategicprioritiesthatwillguideusintheyearsahead.
Wehopethat,inreadingthisplan,youwillseeyourvoicereflected.Weareespeciallygratefultothefaculty-stafftask forceandthestrategicplanningsteeringcommitteewhosewisdomanddedicationhelpedshapeeveryaspectofthiswork. WearealsoindebtedtoTimFish,whoseguidanceasafacilitatorandthoughtpartnerwasinstrumentalthroughoutthis process.
TheBoardofTrusteesiscommittedtopartneringwiththeSchool’sleadership,faculty,andstafftoimplementthepriorities we ’veoutlinedtogether.TheBoldLeapaheadwillrequireallofoursupport. Weknowthatwithacommunityasstrong, generous,andpassionateasWellington’s,thereisnolimittowhatwecanaccomplish.
Withappreciationandoptimism,
Jim Croft P '17 '20 '22
Board Chair
Strategic Plan Steering Committee: Jim Croft, Tucker Bohm, Gerrie Brand, Ted Manley, Matt Scantland, Andy Thomas, Bob Wheeler, Tim Fish, Shelley Brown, and Eliza McLaren
Faculty/Staff Taskforce: Emily Berty, Erica Clark, Keith DeVoe, Elissa Francis, Louis Frank, David Glover, Kelly Heineike, Dara Jackson, John Kruzan, Sloan Magliery, Amanda Pierce, Rishi Raghunathan, Lindsey Smith, Gina Spicer, Brandon Sullivan, and Laurie Beth Sweeney
Shared Purposes
Our shared purposes and their supporting strategies will guide Wellington’s growth through 2032, ensuring a joyful and ambitious future that honors our past while taking a bold leap forward.
Shared Purpose 1: People & Place
Wellington will be the best place to teach and learn for those seeking educational excellence in a highly-connected, future-focused learning community.
Shared Purpose 2: Program
Wellington will elevate the standard for educational excellence and student engagement.
Shared Purpose 3: Potential
Wellington will strengthen its financial foundation, securing its permanence and continued excellence.
Shared Purpose 1: People & Place
Wellington will be the best place to teach and learn for those seeking educational excellence in a highly-connected, future-focused learning community.
We will cultivate a joyful, innovative, and diverse learning community united by a shared mission and core values supporting educational excellence, character development, and personal growth. Wellington will realize its potential as a unique and exceptional educational choice for students, families, and educators to learn and grow.
Establish Wellington as the employer-of-choice for outstanding educators by offering competitive compensation, clear advancement pathways, and robust professional development, all within a culture of accountability supported by clear expectations and evaluation processes. We will sustain a professional environment that attracts, inspires, supports, and retains talented educators.
Enhance our campus through a comprehensive master plan, creating learning environments at all grade levels that embody our mission-level commitments to engaged, collaborative learning while meeting our growing enrollment.
Establish an Office of Community Engagement & Belonging to reinforce Wellington’s values and community expectations, strengthen campus inclusion and culture, and deepen engagement between Wellington and the larger Columbus community.
Advance programming for well-being across the whole community by articulating PreK-12 social-emotional learning and executive function curricula. Commit to prioritizing and balancing the demands of academics, arts, athletics, family, and personal needs of students and families through coordinated scheduling and programming.
Shared Purpose 2: Program
Wellington will elevate the standard for educational excellence and student engagement.
Wellington will build on its foundation of rigorous academic excellence through innovative programs that inspire the highest levels of student engagement. Our students will develop a lifelong love of learning and the skills to achieve in and contribute to an increasingly complex and competitive world.
Create the Center for Student and Teacher Engagement to drive student programs that inspire engagement, purpose, and skill development, while offering teachers exceptional professional learning and growth opportunities. In doing so, elevate Wellington’s educational program by strengthening curriculum, instruction, learning resources, technology, family partnership, and professional development.
Ensure all students are challenged and engaged at every stage of their education via small group learning environments, differentiated instruction, and multiple levels of courses for supported, on-level, and extended learning pathways. Wellington will expand resources for learning support addressing the diverse learning needs of its students resulting in each student accessing a path to educational excellence while building the skills needed for lifelong success.
Expand engineering, entrepreneurship, and experiential programming to equip every student with valuable hands-on skills, problem-solving abilities, and the capacities to drive improvement and innovation.
Evaluate and refine how Wellington structures and uses time beyond the traditional school day and calendar extending Wellington’s mission and impact to afterschool programs, summer offerings, and to the larger Columbus community.
Advance co-curricular programming including athletics, global and outdoor learning, service learning, and ensuring the flexibility for students to pursue interests beyond Wellington.
Invest in and expand The Wellington Initiative to enhance engagement, learning, and instruction at Wellington while inspiring educational innovation nationally by sharing the School’s approach to advancing student engagement.
Shared Purpose 3: Potential
Wellington will strengthen its financial foundation, securing its permanence and continued excellence.
We will secure Wellington's future through strategic financial growth, expanded philanthropic support, and a deepened culture of giving. By building a durable endowment, increasing annual support, and developing innovative revenue streams, we will ensure the resources necessary to fulfill our ambitious vision. Financial strength will be built upon a foundation of pride and belonging that extends from current students and families to our growing alumni community, creating a virtuous cycle where engagement fuels investment in Wellington's future, and that investment creates an even more engaging experience for generations to come.
Launch a capital campaign and grow the endowment to equip the School with the resources needed to achieve its ambitious goals over the next decade while ensuring long-term stability and sustainability through strategic philanthropic investment.
Increase enrollment primarily in Middle and Upper School in order to support investments in educators and programs that strengthen the School’s reputation and attractiveness, maintain a low teacher-to-student ratio, and expand tuition assistance and access to a wider range of families across central Ohio.
Cultivate an engaged alumni network and alumni-parent community that extends the benefits ofa Wellington education well beyond graduation, while developing longitudinal surveys to track alumni outcomes.
Build on the existing culture of philanthropy raising Wellington’s annual giving benchmark above $1 million while increasing participation across all constituencies.
