Charlotte country Day School
Board led. Community involved. Student focused.
How do we take a school with a proven history of high achievement and propel it into an entirely new generation of excellence?
We began by asking questions. What are our most valued qualities and traditions? What are our priorities as we plan for the future? How can a quickly changing world affect those priorities?
Then we listened. To students and parents, teachers, and trustees. To administrators and alumni. Your collective insight, intelligence, and imagination affirmed the things we value most about CCDS and helped create a shared vision of all it can become.
This report outlines that shared vision and presents the foundation of the comprehensive strategic plan that will make it a reality.
1
Prepare Students to Lead and Thrive in a Changing World
• Maintain the highest standards of academic rigor through teachers who are well-prepared and well-equipped to support students and challenge them to achieve their very best.
• Inspire the development of critical thinking, resiliency, and problemsolving skills through academics, the arts, and athletics.
• Use technology, experiential learning, and collaboration to foster innovation and creativity both within and beyond classroom walls.
• Attract and enroll a student body that is multicultural in scope and innovative in spirit.
• Create experiences and opportunities that lead to cultural awareness and encourage relationships across cultural lines.
• Facilitate opportunities for students and faculty to engage in and comprehend the wider world.
• Support a culture of excellence through regular evaluation of all school programs.
2
Instill Personal Integrity and Well-Being
• Cultivate a community that is shaped by genuine respect for individual differences and that values inclusivity, equity, and compassion.
• Promote the fundamental importance of health and well-being in a balanced, fulfilling life.
• Foster a climate where all members of the community can safely learn and grow.
• Instill a lifelong desire in each student to contribute to the greater good, both locally and globally.
Inspire a Love of Learning Through Exceptional Faculty and Staff
• Recruit, retain, develop, and support a diverse faculty and staff who are passionately committed to creating meaningful learning experiences for each student.
• Provide faculty and staff opportunities and resources to fully support their professional development and education.
• Maintain competitive compensation packages for faculty and staff.
Create a Distinctive and Sustainable Learning Environment
• Ensure financial sustainability through prudent fiscal management.
• Inspire charitable giving to ensure minimal tuition increases.
• Strengthen community and programs through investment in thoughtfully designed, environmentally responsible facilities.
Fall 2011
Winter 2011–12
Spring 2012
Fall 2012
Looking Ahead
• More than 700 members of the CCDS community offer their ideas and ideals in interactive listening sessions.
• A committee representing a cross-section of the community sorts, reviews, and prepares a summary of responses.
• Strategic Planning Committee and Administrative Council review major themes and formulate four goals of the strategic plan.
• Administrative Council creates a framework for implementing the strategic plan.
• Administrative Council refines and adopts action steps to bring the strategic plan to life.
• 600 additional community members offer feedback through an online survey.
• Listening sessions and surveys generate more than 10,000 individual responses.
• More than 70 trustees, administrators, parents, alumni, faculty, staff, and students participate in a three-day workshop to identify major strategic themes and develop the foundation of the strategic plan.
• Board of Trustees approves strategic goals and the essence of the shared vision for CCDS.
