Building a Better Future

by Jana F. Brown

In an interview with Head of School Jim Hamilton, Berwick’s aspirational leader talks about the goals of the new strategic plan.

Since arriving at Berwick Academy in the summer of 2018, Jim Hamilton has made it his mission for the School to be increasingly intentional about all it does — from teaching, to learning, to financial planning, to everything in between.

It was with that mindset that Hamilton and the members of the Board of Trustees, supported by the full Berwick community, entered into the strategic planning process. The result is a plan built on six goals: growing environmental commitment; refining Berwick’s academic systems; continuing to focus on justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion; developing strategic partnerships; enhancing financial durability; and bolstering auxiliary programming.

“I think what most excites me,” Hamilton says, “is envisioning the confidence and pride we will feel, as a community, when we successfully achieve these goals. To me, this is about strengthening and enhancing our foundation in a way that will allow us to be continuously bold going forward.”

1 GROWING ENVIRONMENTAL COMMITMENT

In talking about each of the goals, Hamilton is both specific and general in outlining what success might look like in the respective areas. To begin, the School is steadfast in its desire to grow its commitment to the environment. In addition to recently hiring Sarah Jeanne Shimer as Berwick’s first sustainability coordinator, environmental stewardship will find its way into the classroom across all three divisions. Younger students will learn about what it means to be aware of their natural surroundings early in their Berwick careers through a planned outdoor education program.

“We think a lot about our responsibility as an institution and how sustainability comes into our decision-making process,” Hamilton says. “We want to create a culture of environmental sustainability, which will empower community members to be stewards of the environment.”

2 REFINING BERWICK’S ACADEMIC SYSTEMS

While Curriculum 2020, a key component of the previous strategic plan, focused on what Berwick needed to do to enhance the preparation of its students for a world beyond the School, the plan for the next five years will address the how. Hamilton explains that the School is evaluating how departments are structured, how chairs are selected, how long they serve, and how to offer the best professional growth opportunities for faculty.

“This is about strengthening and enhancing our foundation in a way that will allow us to be continuously bold going forward.”

“We’re also looking at scope and sequence in terms of graduation requirements,” Hamilton says. “And we are also focused on how we can be the best teachers. How can we grow as individuals? How can we be structured in such a way that the School operates at its highest potential? We are matching the work we did in terms of the what and overlaying that with a better understanding of the how so that when those two things marry, the program continues to move forward.”

3 FOCUSING ON JUSTICE, EQUITY,

DIVERSITY, AND INCLUSION

Also critical to Berwick’s success is the School’s work around justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI). Building on the work of the previous strategic plan, which focused on increasing cultural competency at Berwick, this essential goal of the new plan will incorporate inclusive programming into all three divisions.

“We’ll be thinking about where we want our fourth graders to be in this,” Hamilton says. “Where do we want our eighth graders to be? And then, ultimately, have we given kids the tools they need when we send them off into the world?”

When evaluating JEDI, the School will look at how that translates in terms of faculty and staff hires, who sits on the Board of Trustees, and what it means in general to be a community that values diversity and inclusivity.

4 DEVELOPING STRATEGIC

PARTNERSHIPS

The development of strategic partnerships, Hamilton says, is a goal that will carry over into many areas of school life. Among the initiatives is for Berwick to create an internship program that facilitates opportunities for students in a variety of industries on the Seacoast. This could mean providing practical experiences for students within the fields of medicine, law, engineering, and sustainability, among many other areas. Relationships with strategic partners will help make these job-shadow opportunities happen, but Hamilton is also thinking about the alliances Berwick might make with other schools, the University of New Hampshire in particular.

“We think a lot about UNH and other universities,” Hamilton says. “How do we create opportunities for our students to access all of the great things UNH has to offer? In turn, how do we entice more UNH faculty and staff to send their kids to Berwick? We are thinking about strategic partnerships with institutions of higher learning and potentially partnerships with other independent schools. Could someone teach Mandarin at multiple schools, for example? Could we share food service or custodial services? It will be important to be as efficient as possible going forward.”

5 ENHANCING FINANCIAL

DURABILITY

A significant part of enhancing financial durability at Berwick is a $15 million capital campaign with a mission of “securing a financial future.” Growing the endowment is a top priority of the campaign, billed as a “transformational investment for our school” that comes with the “flexibility to thrive.”

The plan, Hamilton explains, is fairly simple. “It is to be intentional, to understand the big levers that we have financially, and how we either control them or employ them,” he says. “I think about the cost of tuition, I think about the cost of health insurance and faculty salaries, making sure we’re being thoughtful in our spending and appropriately conservative in how we live our life financially.”

6 BOLSTERING AUXILIARY

PROGRAMMING

Auxiliary programs also play an important role in financial sustainability. To limit the draw on endowment and augmented tuition, the School must seek alternate sources of income. That includes offering after-school or summer programs for both Berwick and community children and making school facilities more available for rental. Offering “one-stop shopping” for current Berwick families — music lessons or dance classes, for example — benefits families and also generates additional income for the School.

“It has a secondary impact of bringing lots of kids to campus, whether that’s in the afternoons or in the summertime,” Hamilton says, “which we hope also impacts enrollment, which is critical to our success.”

Aspirational Leadership for the Future

Hamilton is optimistic about the plan and its six strategic goals, though he is also working with the Board and others to make sure the goals remain incremental and achievable over the next three to five years. Referring to his leadership style as “aspirational,” Hamilton is hopeful that the School will be able to check off tangible items on its wish list, including construction of an outdoor education space, a new turf field, and an expansion of The Commons.

He often uses the words “flexibility and durability” when describing how he envisions not only the plan, but Berwick itself in the years to come. Ultimately, Hamilton strives to build and expand on the many strengths of the School.

“I look at this time as a bolstering period, as a confidence-building period,” Hamilton says. “To me, waking up around 2026, with a successful campaign, with a successful strategic plan, I just think that our ability to make choices will be much higher than it is today. Ultimately, my goal is to have the work we do in the next few years not only benefit our current students and faculty, but secure Berwick’s future for years to come.”