Clarksville Academy Strategic Plan Booklet 2016

strategic plan 2016 - 2021

Clarksville Academy promotes academic excellence, personal integrity, and physical and civic responsibility.

Clarksville Academy’s Core Values Scholarship: Honor:

Rigorous, comprehensive curriculum

Code of conduct applicable to students and staff

Character:

Personality traits that enhance the

reputation of students and staff

Respect:

Respect of self and others

Success:

Ultimate achievement of students’ goals and

aspirations

 

Our Mission Clarksville Academy assists students in identifying student interests and goals and provides the academic tools to ensure student success in college and beyond.

School Objectives Assist & Guide students in achieving their fullest potential.

Strengthen & Encourage students to discover their passions and interests through opportunities in academics, arts, athletics, and community service.

Prepare & Equip students to be leaders guided by the core values of the school.

Profile and Overview Clarksville Academy is located near the

Cumberland

River in historic downtown Clarksville, 45 miles northwest of Nashville, Tennessee.

Founded in 1970, it is the oldest and largest private school in the Clarksville area.

The student population is

650 students in grades

PK-12.

The school offers the most comprehensive

college

preparatory program in Clarksville-Montgomery County area.

Clarksville Academy’s campus models that of a

small university and consists of a distinctive mix of nine freestanding structures.

The Clarksville Academy Sports

Complex,

a multi-sport facility on 27 acres, has five athletic fields, a field house, a covered pavilion, and an indoor pitching and batting facility.

Stakeholders Clarksville Academy’s stakeholders include

students, faculty, parents, alumni, and members of the Board of Trustees.

Stakeholders are asked annually to share valuable feedback that is compiled in a SWOT (strength, weakness, opportunity and threat) format for analysis. This information assists school leaders in regularly updating the strategic plan to ensure that it remains current and relevant.

Clarksville Academy Strengths Innovative Education combined with a Challenging Curriculum: The combination of 1:1 technology with a rigorous, top quality college preparatory education is significant asset of the school. An emphasis of arts, language, cultural enrichment, athletics, and community service add to the rich educational experience.

Diverse Student Body: The student population is varied and diverse. Students are a unique blend consisting of domestic, international, military, and first generation independent school and alumni legacies. The percentage of students with military connections fluctuates between 25 to 30 percent each year. All eight ethnicities recognized by the Federal government are represented at the school. The gender mix in 2016 is 332 males and 313 females.

Safe and Nurturing Environment: The small campus design encourages independence.

Small class size and a low teacher to student ratio create an environment that is one where relationships flourish and students are comfortable.

Athletic Opportunities: The school offers a full slate of athletic team offerings for students in grades 6-12. Boys and girls are strongly encouraged to participate in one or more sports each of their intermediate and high school years.

A Culture of Community Service: Lower school students are afforded class-based opportunities to assist others in our community who are in need. Intermediate school students transition to volunteer-based service while all upper school students participate in Clarksville Academy’s Challenge Based Learning Service Program (CBL). CBL is a yearlong program where students create teams and provide solutions for community needs. Students receive service credit hours for their CBL work during their upper school years.

Leadership: The Clarksville Academy Board of Trustees and an experienced school administration provide strong leadership and wise planning for the school. School growth, academic and athletic success, and strong accountability evidence this successful collaboration.

CA Opportunities Facilities Improvement: Consistent, adequate renovation and maintenance of existing facilities is a top priority, as is continual land and facilities planning to accommodate future growth. Future planned capital projects include a Fine Arts renovation with theater addition, a free standing classroom building on North Second St., and a redesign of play areas and traffic circulation as shown on the campus master plan design. 


Athletic Unity by Value Enriched Training: Adopt as a regular practice infusion of school values into athlete and coach training. Stress to parents and students the importance of appropriate personal conduct and behavior when representing school and family. Perform an annual review of the entire school athletic community’s adherence to the sports conduct policy.

Strengthen Financials: Manage school finances through a budget-based model that increases the school’s cash reserves and provides for competitive teacher and other employee salaries. Provide accurate financial data to management and trustees in a timely manner.

Reorganize School Fundraising: Revamp and reorganize the existing fundraising structure to differentiate between annual, capital, and endowment giving. Make those both inside and outside of the Clarksville Academy community aware of the needs of the school.

Create policies and procedures to ensure that the fundraising process is robust, systematic, and transparent.

Provide More Comprehensive Security: Explore new opportunities for increased campus and sports complex safety. Provide educational opportunities for campus security leaders such as workshops and conferences. Review and update the school safety plan as necessary.

Improve School Marketing: Share “good happenings” at Clarksville Academy more often and through more outlets, using the most current and relevant media platforms. Examples of “good news” are affordable tuition, lower student-teacher ratios, the SeniorKindergarten Buddy Program, higher ACT scores, college acceptances and awards, sports victories, student elections, and other student-centered success.

Broaden and Improve Parent Involvement: Provide more opportunities for parents to become involved with the school and to have regular parent contact throughout the calendar year, not just at the beginning of school.

Regularly Update the Strategic Plan: Update and revise the plan annually to ensure that is relevant to the school’s current situation.

A Strategic Vision for 2016 and Beyond Clarksville Academy will provide an education that consistently achieves superior student outcomes. The academic offerings must be current, challenging, and provide a foundation for success in college and the years beyond. Renovation and expansion of the current campus facilities and increasing the present program offerings are necessary for the continued success of the school. The school will foster increased giving in annual, capital, and capital campaigns through an organized, systematic plan. The school will maintain SACS accreditation. These actions will build upon and improve the quality and student outcomes of Clarksville Academy’s excellent college preparatory, 21st century education.

Distinctive Educational Experience Goals: Academic, athletic, and service programs should produce global-minded students equipped to solve problems and collaborate effectively. Experiences in the classroom, on stage, on athletic fields, and in the community, within our state and internationally, should be rich and varied. School values of character, respect, scholarship, and honor should integrate with all programming to produce confident, successful graduates who use integrity and compassion as guideposts.


Recommendations: Continue to expand and strengthen curricular offerings.

Retain and recruit faculty members who are educational professionals committed to supporting the school’s mission, vision, and goals.

Ensure availability of funding to support professional development opportunities, teacher programming, and instructional supply support.

Continue to expand and strengthen curricular offerings.

Continue to utilize the ASPIRE assessment tool for collection of school-wide academic performance data to evaluate subject mastery, progress, and scope and sequence alignment.

Continue to provide time in teacher and students’ schedules for participation in solution/project-based learning in our community and beyond.

Ensure that students have opportunities to enhance their language and cultural studies abroad.

Continue to meet and maintain the high level of standards set by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

Encourage students to matriculate to competitive colleges and universities that best match their goals, abilities, and ambitions.

Provide additional guidance to parents regarding expected coursework relative to college acceptance and the college selection and application process.

Athletic Program Goals: Clarksville Academy believes that our core values are important components of a successful educational experience. Athletic coaches and staff should lead using these same core values. Value-based training and coaching that places emphasis on honor, respect, and integrity helps students grow into strong, confident, and caring leaders.

Recommendations: Align all student programs and experiences, athletic and non-athletic, with the school’s core values to foster a mindset where students naturally use those values in their daily activities and decision-making.

Hire faculty and coaches who exemplify the school’s core values in their personal and professional lives.

Incorporate the Athletic Code of Conduct Policy and core school values into all athletic programs.

Ensure that Clarksville Academy maintains a welcoming and safe environment where student athletes can flourish as they respect, honor, and support each other.

Campus Facilities, Technology, and Security Goals: Maintain campus facilities through continuous maintenance, renovations, and restoration according to a systematic, budget- based process. Share plans for additional expansion needs in a manner that seamlessly integrates with fundraising initiatives. Place a high priority on blending technology with the Clarksville Academy educational experience. Improve safety and security on campus and the sports complex.

Recommendations: Revise and utilize the campus master plan as a guide for all future renovation and expansion.

Refine plans as possible for the addition of a theater and performance space adjacent to the Fine Arts building.

Develop a master plan of action for expansion of the main campus and sports complex.

Explore new opportunities for increased campus and sports complex safety and security, and continue the practice of security officials’ attendance at conferences and workshops.

Sustainability Goals: Clarksville Academy must have a strong financial position to support the school in the decades ahead. Prudent financial management by the leadership team and the Board of Trustees members is very important in achieving this goal. The school must maintain its strong student retention rate and continue to build a strong applicant pool that allows for smart growth with students and families who share the school’s mission.

Recommendations: Manage school finances through a budget-based process that continually improves the school’s economic position.

Increased participation in annual giving and concentrate efforts on raising levels of giving.

Formalize Clarksville Academy’s giving structure.

Grow the CA endowment.

Grow working capital.

Concentrate efforts to maintain a strong retention rate.

Focus admissions efforts on smart growth and the development of a strong student applicant pool.

Research the use of financial aid to provide access to students at all grade levels.

Maintain a current and relevant campus and facilities plan to accommodate future growth.

Governance Goals: Clarksville Academy recognizes the importance of a diverse and unified governance structure. The school’s governance structure should continue to include an accountable leadership team that promotes, maintains, and advances the school’s mission. Past and present parents, alumni, and community and professional leaders should be utilized as much as possible to further the goals of the school.

Recommendations: Evaluate the size and structure of the Board of Trustees and the board committees to make adjustments as necessary.

Constitute the board with a blend of experienced trustees, pas and present parents, alumni, and community and professional leaders as defined in the best practices of National Association of Independent Schools.

Ensure the governance team is united and driven to advance Clarksville Academy in accordance with the strategic plan.

Summary This strategic plan has five major goals that will have an associated timeline for their implementation. Timelines may shift depending on circumstances. Flexibility during implementation is very important, and failure to adapt can lead to unrealized goals. Continuous, regular review of progress is very important to the execution and success of the strategic plan. Necessary support for plan implementation from organizational stakeholders will be planned and well defined. Organizational stakeholders for Clarksville Academy are varied and sometimes overlap. Trustees members and the Head of School are classified as the implementation process sponsors. The implementation committee consists of the Lower, Intermediate, and Upper School heads and other key personnel. Faculty and staff form the subgroups needed to facilitate adoption of the changes and are the implementation/action team. There is planned overlap of people, time, and attention to ensure that support will be available for any unexpected occurrences. Approval, acceptance, and support from the parents and students are also crucial for success of the strategic plan. Clarksville Academy alumni and influential community leaders are additional stake holders as well as a crucial part of the puzzle in financial underwriting.

In summary, this strategic plan is designed to drive continuous, responsible, and measured improvement in all areas of Clarksville Academy for the foreseeable future.




Clarksville Academy 710 North 2nd Street Clarksville, Tennessee 37040 931.647.6311 www.clarksvilleacademy.com