Marin Primary & Middle School Strategic Plan 2015-2020

LIVING OUR MISSION, REACHING FOR THE FUTURE Strategic plan 2015-2020

celebrating forty years – 1976-2016

OUR MISSION: At Marin Primary & Middle School we make education meaningful, while encouraging pride in self, respect for others, and enthusiasm for learning. we treasure childhood.

We honor and enjoy children’s natural curiosity, competence, and exuberance. we teach to reach children.

Using teams of teachers and educational methods tailored to how children learn best, we connect with our students, build trusting relationships, and make learning relevant, memorable, and fun. we teach children to reach.

Asking not “how smart is the child” but “how is the child smart,” we guide our students to see their full potential, and we equip them to pursue it with passion and purpose. we inspire children to make a difference.

We value academic excellence, personal integrity, and community action and encourage our students to become informed, engaged, and ethical global citizens.

celebrating forty years – 1976-2016

REACHING FOR THE FUTURE Over the next five years, Marin Primary & Middle School will: ENHANCE our academic program with advanced curriculum, technology, and an expanded middle school to prepare our students to excel in high school and beyond.

Continue to TRANSFORM our campus to support our evolving program with inspiring, flexible, and innovative learning facilities.

SOLIDIFY Marin Primary & Middle School’s financial sustainability by growing enrollment and reducing the school’s dependence on tuition while attracting and retaining teachers who exemplify our commitment to excellence.

On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I am pleased to present Marin Primary & Middle School’s strategic priorities for 2015-2020.

The plan you are about to read, Living Our Mission, Reaching for the Future, reflects the results of the strategic planning process initiated early in 2014, when our Board of Trustees set out to update the school’s last strategic plan and develop a unified vision for the future.

LETTER FROM JULIE ELAM Head of School

This process has been a true reflection of the collaborative and supportive MP&MS community. During 18 months of intensive listening, data gathering, and discussion, we invited everyone in our community to engage with us: alumni, students, past and current trustees, our faculty and administrative staff, current, and past parents. A comprehensive, school-wide quantitative survey was launched and focus groups brought people together to share their hopes for the school’s future, led by a talented and experienced strategic planning consultant. We explored best practices, visited multiple aspirational programs, assessed the feasibility of growth at different levels of the school, and identified key needs and opportunities. And after thoughtful discussion and careful synthesis, we arrived at a plan that represents the many voices and the shared aspirations of our unique school community.

We call this plan Living Our Mission, Reaching for the Future because that’s exactly what it will enable us to do. MP&MS is deeply committed to “teaching to reach children” — addressing students’ unique developmental needs at every age from preschool through middle school — and “teaching children to reach” — equipping and inspiring our students to seek challenges and realize their unique potential. Affirming our mission, we must invest in and actively build an innovative and inspiring future for MP&MS students and teachers.

I’d like to extend my deepest gratitude to Susan Kan Whitaker, past president of the Board of Trustees and chair of the Strategic Planning Committee, who so ably led an inclusive process to identify the core priorities of this plan. Thanks to all for your participation, your candor, your creative ideas, and your commitment to MP&MS. Together, with this strategic plan as our guide, we will continue to live our mission as we reach for the future on behalf of the current and future Marin Primary & Middle School students and families.

Julie Elam Head of School

LIVING OUR MISSION, REACHING FOR THE FUTURE Strategic plan 2015-2020

our strategic priorities

Strategic Priority #1: ENHANCE our academic program with advanced curriculum, technology, and an expanded middle school in order to prepare our students to excel in high school and beyond.

Excellence in learning lies at the core of the MP&MS mission.

It grows from our deep respect for children and young adolescents. It manifests itself in our commitment to nurturing and challenging each child and to addressing the unique academic and developmental stages that characterize each grade level. Applying a profound understanding of how preschool, primary, and middle school children grow and learn, we support and inspire our students.

curriculum excellence

Marin Primary & Middle School will: Ensure curriculum excellence across grade levels from preschool to eighth grade by: •C ontinuing the curriculum review process to evaluate and refine each of the subject areas, with a specific focus on the enhancement of 21st century skills in the humanities and in science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics, commonly known as STEAM. • I mplementing best practices reflecting current research to assess students’ progress in academic and other areas of development and share information with parents.

•E xpanding professional development for teachers to support an innovative and enriched curriculum.

our strategic priorities

ENHANCE technology & creativity

Further our integration of technology as a critical tool to engage students in creative and innovative ways as learners and as participants in our increasingly interconnected global world by: •P roviding a range of digital tools to support and challenge all students.

•D eveloping projects that allow students to learn through a variety of digital media.

•H elping students to develop a critical eye for viewing and safely using technology and digital media in a positive manner.

broaden academic & social experienceS

Grow our middle school program to enhance and broaden students’ academic and social experience while maintaining our low student teacher ratio by: • I mplementing a new schedule and departmental approach in core academic subjects including math, science, and humanities to provide opportunities for deeper learning.

•A dding greater choice in specialist classes (art, music, drama, physical education, projects lab) and elective programs to extend opportunities for students to pursue their interests and passions.

• I ncreasing the capacity of sixth, seventh, and eighth grade by an additional 15 students per grade.

•C ompleting the middle school campus renovations, including a state of the art science lab and two new classrooms.

our strategic priorities

Strategic Priority #2: Continue to TRANSFORM our campus to support our evolving academic program with inspiring, flexible, and innovative learning facilities.

At MP&MS we believe an academic program achieves its full potential when the core academic pillars — math, science, language arts, social studies, and foreign language — are brought to life through collaborative curriculum, integrated projects, and opportunities for deeper learning with specialist teachers in art, drama, music, library, physical education, projects lab, technology, and our unique outdoor education center. Our program ensures students’ access to this wide range of specialist classes, recognizing the valuable role that diverse skills and creative ways of thinking play in developing the whole child. In 2015 the MP&MS Master Planning Committee finished the design of the campus master plan, which will complete the transformation of our school with the flexible and innovative facilities necessary to support our unique program.

building for our future

Marin Primary & Middle School will raise funds to complete: •E nhanced middle school facilities including a dedicated science lab adjacent to the outdoor education center to support a lab-based science program, new middle school classrooms, and meeting spaces for students and teachers.

• A new community building, which will serve as a gathering place for the entire school and create space for indoor physical education and enhanced facilities for the performing arts.

•T he final steps of the master plan, including renovation of “the cage” area in the primary building, Kirby Field, and preschool entry to showcase our comprehensive program and the beautiful, interconnected web of indoor and outdoor learning spaces with innovative and flexible features to enrich hands-on learning experiences.

our strategic priorities

Strategic Priority #3: SOLIDIFY Marin Primary & Middle School’s financial sustainability by growing enrollment and reducing the school’s dependence on tuition while attracting and retaining teachers who exemplify our commitment to excellence.

The school’s financial needs are shaped by the interaction between our program, providing the best educational experience for our students, and changes in the world around us. The Board of Trustees will continually refine the long-term financial plan to address our needs and sustain the school’s vision and mission.

Financial Sustainability

Marin Primary & Middle School will: • Add a total of 45 students to sixth, seventh, and eighth grade.

•C onvene a task force to address escalating cost of living challenges to attract and retain the best faculty, staff, administrators, and families for the school’s future.

•S upport innovative and enriching professional development opportunities for our teachers and staff.

•E ngage in long term financial planning to explore alternative revenue sources which reduce the school’s dependence on tuition dollars, including strategies to expand the school’s endowment.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Marin Primary & Middle School community who provided the foundation for this strategic plan. We couldn’t have done it without you!

The Strategic Planning Committee’s purpose over the past year was to examine what an MP&MS education should offer in the 21st century and we are confident that the implementation of this plan will do just that — and more!

LETTER FROM SAMANTHA CROSS Board Chair

During the strategic planning process, I was continually reminded of the vision of the late David Heath, founding head of MP&MS, and the school’s early mission. As we celebrate our 40th year and begin implementation of the strategic plan, we are committed to remaining true to our history and we are reminded of what David wrote in an annual letter to the MP&MS community 20 years ago: “Our campus offers families an academically excellent independent school experience, with teachers who continually gain and reflect new competence. Our challenge is to determine how each child learns best.

Our goal is to educate meaningfully while nurturing and building trust.

Our success is measured by the attitudes and accomplishments of every student in every classroom, every day.”

The quote from David still holds true today and it is immediately apparent when entering our campus that MP&MS is a very special place. In 2007 we began Phase I of the master plan with the creation of a new playground for our youngest children and the beautiful fences and gates that now welcome students and families to our campus.

The evolution continued with renovations of classrooms and interior spaces, and culminated in the amazing transformation of our outdoor spaces in the spring of 2014. As we now embark on the final phases of our master plan we are confident it is the right time to enhance and broaden our curriculum, grow the middle school, and move into the future.

I am looking forward to working with the Board, our administration, faculty, staff, and broader community to successfully implement this strategic plan, creating an even brighter future for our students and our school.

Samantha Cross Board Chair

LIVING OUR MISSION, REACHING FOR THE FUTURE Strategic plan 2015-2020

Marin Primary & Middle School 20 Magnolia Avenue Larkspur, CA 94939

Thank you to the MP&MS Board of Trustees and Strategic Plan Committee for their leadership in developing the plan. Thank you to all the faculty, staff, parents, and alumni who participated in the process. The Board of Trustees approved the plan on October 14, 2015 and looks forward to working with the Head of School to achieve these strategic goals.

Board of Trustees Samantha Cross, Chair Mark Slavonia, Vice Chair Tanya Peterson, Treasurer Maria Forney, Secretary Julie Chaiken Nancy Connery Lorin Costolo Joseph Keene Sloan Klein Kim Kraemer Liz Ranieri Kuth Rachel Lehman Mike Mojabi Jeff Powell Jeff Rabkin Dan Schlager Michael Schon LeAnn Wanninger Karen Whitaker Susan Kan Whitaker

Strategic Planning Committee Samantha Cross Julie Elam Maria Forney Joe Keene Jeff Powell Jeff Rabkin Susan Kan Whitaker Ali Witte Consultant to the Committee Elizabeth Rieke Ex Officio Trustees Julie Elam, Head of School Hilary King, Parents Association President

celebrating forty years – 1976-2016