BUILDING FOR
BELONGING STRATEGIC PLAN 2019 - 2023
STRENGTH-BASED S T R AT E G I E S F O R N E WA R K AC A D E M Y ’ S FUTURE
MISSION STATEMENT N E WA R K WILL THE
ACADEMY
CONTRIBUTE WORLD
TO
ENGAGED
INDIVIDUALS INSTILLED WITH
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PASSION
LEARNING, OF
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STA N DA R D
EXCELLENCE
GENEROSITY
FOR
OF
AND
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S P I R I T.
T O T H E N E WA R K A C A D E M Y
COMMUNIT Y, “A G O A L W I T H O U T A P L A N I S J U S T A W I S H . ”
French writer and aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s statement reminds us that imagining our shared future is only the beginning of one of the most important tasks an organization can undertake. Newark Academy’s storied history and myriad accomplishments are foundational, but our school’s ability to remain a dynamic institution requires that we plan for the years yet to come. Anticipating opportunities and challenges facing Newark Academy and developing strategies to respond advantageously are primary responsibilities of the NA Board of Trustees. Previous strategic plans set forth by the Newark Academy Trustees resulted in the adoption of the International Baccalaureate program, the initiation of the Immersion Experience requirement and a commitment to prepare the NA physical plant for the next 50 years. The most recent plan, which guided us from 2013 through 2018, provided the Newark Academy community with four pillars of excellence: • A consistently high-caliber, dynamic faculty and student body • Program initiatives geared to 21st-century challenges • An involved, multidimensional extended community
• The growth and continuation of NA’s institutional strengths The Board of Trustees revisited these core objectives when it began the process of developing the 2019-2023 strategic plan. Presented in the following pages, this new plan will guide us through the unpredictable next four years. We hope that this plan will serve as both our lodestar and our ballast for the days ahead. While the four pillars remain, there are also ambitious and inspiring initiatives – from the expansion of financial assistance for students and their families to a new emphasis on skills-based learning at all grade levels. We encourage you to review this plan carefully, as we believe that it reflects optimism and excitement about the road ahead. On behalf of the entire Board of Trustees, we look forward to our shared journey as Newark Academy moves toward its 250th anniversary.
DONALD M. AUSTIN • H E A D O F S C H O O L
DAVID D. MCGRAW ‘77 • C H A I R M A N , B O A R D O F T R U S T E E S
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BUILDING FOR
BELONGING S T R E N G T H - B A S E D S T R AT E G I E S F O R N E WA R K A C A D E M Y ’ S F U T U R E By every standard, Newark Academy offers its students an exceptional learning experience. While this has been the case for nearly two and a half centuries, today’s NA experience rests on four simple but exceptional pillars:
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PEOPLE
PROGRAMS
COMMUNITY
INFRASTRUCTURE
An excellent faculty and a dynamic student body engaged in learning together
Educational curricula that deepen understanding and prepare students to meet contemporary challenges
Active engagement with multi-faceted, inclusive constituent groups
Effective management and stewardship of institutional resources, including finances, physical plant and personnel
As this planning process began, it was abundantly clear that Newark Academy is in the enviable position of facing the future from a position of strength. Our students dazzle us with their talent, commitment, intellectual maturity, openness and generosity. A robust applicant pool, an inspiring faculty, a beautiful campus with best-in-class facilities, and a firm financial footing all indicate that NA is thriving. The Board of Trustees views these strengths not as laurels but rather as a springboard, compelling the school to continue to examine, question and strive for a higher level of excellence. Newark Academy’s strategic planning process engages the community in an opportunity to review and assess, question and consider, dream and plan, in order to determine the direction of the school for years to come. The Strategic Planning Committee, consisting of Board Members and administration, reviewed the 2013-2018 plan in order to note achievements and to acknowledge those aspects of the plan that remain in process. HIGHLIGHTS OF THE LAST STRATEGIC PLAN’S ACCOMPLISHMENTS INCLUDE: The construction and operation of the Wilf Middle School, which provides additional spaces and programs designed specifically for the developmental needs of young adolescents The addition of new faculty and staff positions to meet emerging needs, including a Middle School Counselor, a Science Research Coordinator, an Associate Dean of Students and a full-time Director of Equity and Inclusion The implementation of new courses and programs, including additional STEM courses, expanded science research internships and a reinvigorated community service program The creation of a Board-level subcommittee on access and affordability to ensure that Newark Academy continues to be a diverse and inclusive community The renovation and expansion of existing learning spaces, including the addition of ten state-of-the-art science labs The successful completion of Rise & Flourish: The Campaign for Newark Academy, which secured funds for the majority of costs related to campus improvements and contributed more than $8 million to the school’s endowment
THE STRATEGIC PLANNING COMMITTEE’S NEXT STEP WAS TO CONSIDER A NUMBER OF KEY QUESTIONS ABOUT NEWARK ACADEMY’S FUTURE:
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In a rapidly changing environment, how does Newark Academy equip students with the skills needed to succeed not only in their current and future endeavors, but as engaged members of society? What financial support must we offer to ensure the widest pool of qualified students and faculty? How do we foster a sense of belonging once these gifted students, faculty and staff are in the building?
The plan that follows offers thoughtful, actionable and measurable responses to these questions through various initiatives bound by a single belief: that a sense of belonging, shared by all constituents, is essential if we are to raise the level of excellence at Newark Academy. The attention devoted to matters of equity and inclusion in this plan translates to a commitment not only to recruiting students, faculty and staff who are socially and economically diverse, but also to ensuring that all members of our diverse community feel a true sense of belonging. Through increased financial aid, a responsive educational approach and attention to the best interests of our students, we seek to meet current and anticipated needs. In a rapidly changing world, NA reaffirms its belief in the importance of human connections across differences and in the capacity for mutual empathy. The four pillars developed in the previous strategic plan remain essential: excellent faculty engaged in learning with a dynamic student body; exceptional and innovative educational programs; active engagement of the extended community; and strong institutional foundations. The scope of the 2019-2023 strategic plan provides Newark Academy with a framework for meeting the emerging challenges and opportunities in these areas with strength and a commitment to belonging.
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DY N A M I C S T U D E N T S &
EXCELLENT FACULT Y
A DYNAMIC STUDENT BODY and a superb faculty challenge, inspire, support and enrich each other. Recognizing the value and benefit of a student body that is diverse not only in personalities, passions and points of view, but also in cultural backgrounds, NA is committed to growing our student body through strategic enrollment management that prioritizes populations currently underrepresented at the school. Creating this inclusive and diverse learning environment requires financial support so that no prospective or current student is discouraged from applying or attending because of cost. TO ATTRACT AND RETAIN A DYNAMIC STUDENT BODY, WE WILL DO THE FOLLOWING:
• Expand financial support and grow the endowment in order to maintain and broaden NA’s diverse community and character. Recognizing the increasing financial pressure facing middleclass families, we will double the number of partial scholarships awarded. • Expand and amend admission efforts to increase populations that are underrepresented at NA.
EXCEPTIONAL TEACHERS inspire and engage. As mentors, they embody the passion for learning that they instill in their students. Key to maintaining and supporting this culture of mentorship will be the strategic recruitment and retention of diverse faculty and staff who will connect with all NA students. In order to attract and retain the best faculty we must offer the best possible compensation and provide ongoing education to enrich each teacher’s understanding of their craft and discipline. TO ATTRACT AND RETAIN AN EXCELLENT FACULTY, WE WILL DO THE FOLLOWING:
• Implement hiring practices to assemble a faculty and staff whose demographic composition is reflective of the student body. To this end, we will increase the percentage of faculty of color to thirty percent by 2023. • Grow the endowment to maximize faculty compensation and professional development.
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E X C E L L E N T & I N N O VA T I V E
PROGRAMMING As the demands of higher education, the workplace and other spheres of life change, pedagogy must respond. Newark Academy will continue to provide the essential foundations of a secondary education, even as the best methods for presenting material and developing skills may shift. Increasingly, a strong educational foundation is built less on the mastery of a body of knowledge and more on the development of skills allowing one to nimbly adapt to constantly evolving circumstances. Life-long learning has become essential to long-term success. A school’s program is larger than its curriculum, so its environment must also holistically respond to the changing times.
TO PROVIDE A RIGOROUS AND RELEVANT EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE THAT PRIORITIZES A HEALTHY AND BALANCED ENVIRONMENT AND FOSTERS A SENSE OF BELONGING, WE WILL DO THE FOLLOWING:
• Use the results of a comprehensive skills-mapping process to guide curricular development. Curricular emphases will continue to shift toward skills-based learning grounded in relevant content. • Provide professional development to support skills-based instruction. • Create a system of review for all school programs to ensure that they individually and collectively promote a healthy and joyful educational experience. • Re-examine the school calendar and daily schedule to ensure that they support the program and promote a balanced learning environment. • Ensure that Newark Academy is a welcoming place for all students, faculty and staff. Inclusivity and cultural competencies will be built into curriculum and faculty training.
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A BROAD & INCLUSIVE EXTENDED
COMMUNIT Y We recognize that our students benefit from the knowledge and experience offered by parents, alumni and other members of the extended Newark Academy community. In the service of the students, NA commits to fostering connections among members of that community. TO BUILD CONNECTIONS AND COMMUNITY, WE WILL DO THE FOLLOWING:
• Identify and collaborate with parents and alumni who have the capacity to support internships, mentorships and leadership opportunities for our students. • Expand efforts with the Newark Academy Parents Association and the Alumni Board of Governors to strengthen connections and enrich the student experience. • Engage with all constituents in order to ensure that, as part of the NA community, they feel a sense of belonging.
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STRONG INSTITUTIONAL
FOUNDATIONS While people are the heart of the Newark Academy community, we must ensure that the school is well-run, is secure, and provides an appropriate environment for the implementation of our goals. TO MAINTAIN AND IMPROVE LEARNING SPACES WE WILL DO THE FOLLOWING:
ENVIRONMENTAL AUDIT
Conduct a campus environmental audit to establish priorities and implement procedures for improving our sustainable practices.
RENOVATE
Renovate the auditorium (to be completed in 2019-20).
RENOVATE
Renovate the kitchen (to be completed at a date to be determined). LOOKING AHEAD
REPURPOSE SPACES
Renovate and repurpose select learning spaces (e.g. the Hawkes Memorial Library) to better support programmatic and learning needs.
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The 2019-2023 strategic plan affirms Newark Academy’s unique identity, celebrates our strengths, raises our aspirations and puts the best interests of our students first. We will endeavor to graduate students who can think deeply and creatively about contemporary challenges, who can articulate their ideas in writing and in speech, and who understand their responsibilities as citizens of the world. Proud of what we have accomplished thus far, we look forward to the next four years with expectation and excitement.
BOARD OF TRUSTEES EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
David D. McGraw ‘77, CHAIRMAN Lawrence G. Cetrulo ‘67, SECRETARY Marika Alzadon ‘89 Donald M. Austin John H. Bess ‘69 Patricia Budziak Samuel W. Croll III ‘68 Lauren Hedvat ‘01 Jeffrey Kaplan Wayne D. Kent ‘85 Patrick Wang Larry S. Wieseneck
S T R AT E G I C PLANNING COMMITTEE MANY THANKS TO THE MEMBERS OF THE STRATEGIC PLANNING COMMITTEE
Pat Budziak, CHAIR Tom Ashburn Donald M. Austin Maria Rice Bellamy ’85 John H. Bess ’69 Richard DiBianca Cuong Do Anjali Gupta Karen Guy-Smith Scott L. Hayward Andrew Kogan ’90 David D. McGraw ’77 Von Rollenhagen
Nino Badridze (President of NAPA) Maria Rice Bellamy ‘85 Lara Coraci-Basile ‘88 Cuong Do Anjali Gupta Karen Guy-Smith Scott L. Hayward Andrew Kogan ‘90 Steve Madreperla ‘77 Robert Marcus Lisa Powers Michael Rockoff ‘87 Melissa Tassé Glenn A. Waldorf ‘90 (President of the Alumni Board of Governors) EMERITI
Louis V. Aronson II ’41 Paul Busse ’38* Robert Del Tufo ’51* William D. Green ’69 William D. Hardin ’44* Nancy Baird Harwood ’75 K. Kelly Marx ’51 John L. McGraw ’49 Robert S. Puder ’38* Gary Rose William T. Wachenfeld ’44 *Deceased
2018-2019
TRUSTEES
91 SOUTH ORANGE AVENUE LIVINGSTON, NEW JERSEY 07039 PHONE: 973.992.7000 FAX: 973.992.8962 WWW.NEWARKA.EDU
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