Xaverian Brothers High School Strategic Priorities

In light of the recently completed work associated with our strategic planning efforts and our enduring desire to pursue excellence in all that we do, Xaverian Brothers High School is committed to the following seven priorities.

PRIORITY 1. Rearticulate and Refresh our Mission Statement

This priority calls us to:

• Update the school’s mission statement to enhance its clarity, understanding, and meaning;

• Appropriately incorporate our growing DEI knowledge and understandings into the updated mission statement;

• Ensure that our mission statement is easily understood by all constituents, including current and future students and families.

While the mission of Xaverian has always been understood—to provide an exceptional education in the Catholic and Xaverian Brothers tradition to every qualified young man— much has been written about what it means to be a Xaverian and Catholic school since the last revision of our mission statement, over 20 years ago.

Though Xaverian’s mission remains solidly in place, priority one calls us to collaboratively update our mission statement in order to make it more concise, better defined, and more easily understood. Using language from the Xaverian Brothers’ Partners in Mission document, The Fundamental Principles of the Brothers of St. Francis Xavier, and other Xaverian-specific resources, our goal is to create a mission statement that more strongly represents the goodness of our work and the richness of our community, for both today and in the years to come.

Accountability: This priority will be led by the communications team, in collaboration with the board of trustees, Xaverian’s Leadership Council, and the administration.

PRIORITY 2. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Priority two calls us to:

• Engage in professional development to better understand how we can best serve our increasingly diverse student body;

• Further develop supports to ensure that every Xaverian student has equitable access to all aspects of a Xaverian education;

• Strengthen our workforce by recruiting diverse faculty, staff, administrators, and board members.

Beginning in February 2020, Xaverian assembled a committee of faculty, staff, and administrators to further explore the role of diversity, equity, and inclusion in our school. The enormity of this work is readily apparent as it touches all aspects of our school community.

Efforts related to priority two will result in a better understanding of diversity, equity, and inclusion among all school-wide constituents, as well as the creation of enhanced programs, policies, and behaviors that help to ensure every student is appreciated and valued as a unique expression of God’s love.

It is important to note that this work is designed to build and strengthen the Xaverian community; it will not be divisive in nature as that would defeat the underlying premise of this priority, namely to ensure that every student is properly supported, nurtured, valued, cared for, and understood.

Accountability: These efforts will be led by our principal in close collaboration with the Office for Community, Culture, and Equity, the administrative team, and department chairpersons.

PRIORITY 3: Enhance the Academic Program

Priority three calls us to conduct a comprehensive curriculum audit informed by our stated mission, the latest educational/neuroscience research (CTTL and MBE), and our DEI efforts. We will then act on the audit’s most pertinent findings to:

• Identify areas of our curriculum that need strengthening;

• Develop new academic courses/programs with special consideration paid to financial literacy, bio/tech and life sciences, STEM, cultural competency, health and wellness, and campus ministry.

While Xaverian maintains a robust student experience rooted in exceptional academic, campus ministry, athletic, and fine arts programming, our strategic planning highlights a desire to further expand our offerings. When one considers the fast paced and ever changing landscape of our globally connected world, the impetus for priority three becomes clear; to remain relevant we must ensure that our program of study continues to meet the needs of today’s students.

As such, we will need to first conduct the appropriate research to discern which offerings will best support the continued growth of our students. This process could result in the addition of courses, programs, or even a new department, and it may require specific resources and funding to come to fruition.

Accountability: Accountability for priority three will be led by the Xaverian Leadership Council, in close collaboration with the administrative and advancement teams.

PRIORITY 4: Leverage our Geographic Location to Supplement Academic Growth

Priority four calls us to:

• Establish strategic partnerships with local universities, companies, hospitals, and non-profit organizations to provide real-world learning experiences for our students.

Xaverian is located approximately 15 miles outside of the world-class city of Boston, Massachusetts. We are surrounded by the region’s exceptional universities, hospitals, technology companies, and cultural resources. This priority challenges us to look beyond the walls of our school in an attempt to fully leverage the resources afforded to us by our geographic location. The results of this effort will be strategic partnerships with select local institutions that further enhance student knowledge, understanding, and real-world applicability of curricular concepts.

Accountability: Efforts associated with priority four will be led by the advancement and counseling teams, in collaboration with the administrative team and the Xaverian Leadership Council.

PRIORITY 5: Maximize Affordability through Endowment and Scholarships

Priority five requires that we:

• Continue to keep Xaverian affordable for as many qualified young men as possible;

• Explore the creation of new funding opportunities and sources including endowed positions, endowed departments, scholarship opportunities, and more.

Dating back to its founding in 1963, Xaverian has always strived to remain affordable for as many qualified young men as possible. While tuition covers the majority of our operating expenses, the need to continue providing financial aid and scholarship dollars is vital. Therefore, priority five calls us to build our endowment and increase scholarship opportunities in order to keep our school affordable for our young men and their families.

Accountability: The advancement team will be responsible for this priority, with support from the head of school, the business office, and the advancement committee of the board of trustees.

PRIORITY 6: Conduct a Capital Campaign Feasibility Study

Priority six requires that we:

• Conduct a capital campaign feasibility study to determine how much capital can be raised (through gifts and donations) to fund the initiatives contained in our strategic plan.

Several identified priorities (in particular priorities three, four, five, and seven) will require capital and focused fundraising efforts. Typically, the resources needed to bring the “big ticket” items to fruition emerge through a combination of increased debt and fundraising. Conducting a capital campaign feasibility study will help illuminate our fundraising possibilities. Simply stated, a successful capital campaign will be essential to satisfy several noted priorities.

The capital campaign feasibility study should be completed in the next 8-12 months.

Accountability: The advancement team will be responsible for this priority, with support from the head of school, the advancement committee of the board of trustees, and the entire board.

PRIORITY 7: Enhance our Facilities, Buildings, and Grounds

Priority seven requires that we complete the following, in order:

• Create additional parking space, especially given that access to overflow parking at Moderna is now severely limited;

• Renovate our cafeteria, kitchen, and servery to create a modern, student-centered common space for dining, gathering, socializing, and events;

• Construct additional fine arts space and renovate existing space, including practice spaces, a modernized band room, performance spaces, and storage;

• Once the above items are realized, Xaverian will then re-assess the needs of our physical plant. At that point, options to consider include but are not limited to, the expansion of our X-Ploration Center, additional classroom/lab space, a multi-purpose athletic center, a dedicated wrestling room, a 25-yard competition pool with diving well, and an ice rink.

Enhancing our facilities, buildings, and grounds will be a labor-intensive process that includes architectural designs, permitting, construction, and securing the necessary gifts to fund construction/renovations. However, the results of this work will be a modernized physical plant designed to meet the growing needs of our students and families. It is also imperative that any facilities work be completed in an environmentally conscious and sustainable manner, as we are called to be good stewards of our environment.

Accountability: Priority seven will be led by our head of school in close collaboration with the facilities and finance committees of the board of trustees, the administrative team, and Xaverian’s Leadership Council.