STRATEGIC PLAN

2022-2025

Over the last several months, a group of dedicated Shattuck-St. Mary’s School community members worked through a strategic planning process to create a guiding document for us to use over the next three years. These board members, parents, and faculty representatives distilled our work into three strategic goals: Organizational Excellence, Programmatic Excellence, and Financial Excellence. All strategies to meet the School’s organizational, programmatic, and financial goals and objectives are designed to be carefully coordinated to ensure an overall plan that is both cohesive and effective.

As with any strategic work, the goal of our current plan is to build upon the success of our School programs and determine the elements needed to sustain SSM for another 165 years. It is time, then, for us to execute the plan as outlined, and some of this work is already underway. If you have interest and/or expertise in a particular area as outlined here, please consider this an invitation for your support.

Sincerely,

Matt Cavellier Shattuck-St. Mary’s Head of School

GOAL:

Shattuck-St. Mary’s structure, composition, and staffing will effectively support the School’s mission, community, and programs.

OBJECTIVE:

Develop and implement a plan to establish the most effective organizational model for the School, both in operations and in governance.

GOAL:

All Shattuck-St. Mary’s programs will be mission-aligned, excellent, sustainable, and relevant.

OBJECTIVE:

Evaluate all School programs on an ongoing basis using a consistent framework for assessment and decision-making.

Excellence Organizational

STRATEGIES:

• Review the current needs and demands of multiple boards and recommend any appropriate changes.

• Evaluate the effectiveness of the current Board of Trustees’ committee structure for increased board engagement.

• Evaluate staffing levels and expectations in all areas of School life, in order to inform hiring decisions, and facilitate recruitment and retention.

• Address the need for and benefit of diversity as positions become open at all levels of the organization.

Excellence Programmatic

STRATEGIES:

• Develop a framework, with key stakeholders, to assess the excellence and sustainability of each program on a three-year schedule, and make appropriate changes based on whole-School vision, resources, and facility needs.

• Respond to critically under-enrolled programs by making temporary changes, and creating a twoyear plan for rebuilding or redesigning.

• Confirm Shattuck-St. Mary’s desired Portrait of a Graduate to inform and help prioritize programming decisions.

• Articulate and address the real and perceived tensions inherent in the Center of Excellence model.

• Conduct a market and brand analysis to determine the viability and appeal of our current educational model.

Excellence Financial

GOAL:

Shattuck-St. Mary’s will be a financially healthy School, sustainable both in the short-term and long-term future.

OBJECTIVE:

Create a rolling three-year financial plan that achieves balanced operating budgets and addresses physical plant needs.

STRATEGIES:

• Establish targets for enrollment size and composition, tuition levels, financial aid, fundraising, endowment contributions, and supplementary income that support rolling three-year balanced operating budgets.

• Assess the financial viability of all programs through a systematic review process.

• Evaluate monetizing current assets and explore additional supplemental sources of income opportunities.

• Formulate a plan for funding ongoing and deferred maintenance expenditures.

• Update the School’s Master Campus Plan based on current and projected institutional priorities.

There’s no “hiding” the fact that Shattuck-St. Mary’s Faribault Community Egg Hunt has become a beloved tradition for both members of the SSM community and area residents alike. This year’s event was “eggs-tra” special, as it celebrated its 20th anniversary!

The annual holiday hunt, which takes place the Saturday before Easter Sunday, commenced when former SSM Head of School Nick Stoneman answered a call from the Faribault Chamber of Commerce asking for someone to take over the egg hunt they had run in Central Park. His wife, Vicky Stoneman, along with now-retired SSM staff members

“The first hunt we were given 2,000 eggs from the Chamber, but decided we needed many more, as we had aspirations of having several hundred kids and wanted at least 15-20 eggs per kid,” noted Vicky Stoneman as she reflected on that very first egg hunt. “We also decided we needed a village-or a school in this case- to stuff the eggs, as there was no way a small crew was going to be able to fill thousands of eggs.”

Since that inaugural year, a large group of volunteers (mainly students) has helped stuff and hide over 13,000 eggs yearly, which are collected throughout campus by community children ages 1-11 in mere minutes. In an effort to even the “hunting” field, the committee decided to expand the hunt beyond the Parade Field to the nearby Chapel lawns and the areas in front of the academic buildings, creating designated hunting grounds for specific age groups.

In 2019, the organization of the treasured event was handed over to Amy Cox ’94 (Director of Auxilary Programs), Stephanie Vagle (Director of Innovative Academics & weCreate®), and Megan Maschoff (Director of Communications).

“I am truly honored to carry on the legacy of the Faribault Community Egg Hunt,” stated Stephanie. “Lonnie Schroeder, Vicky Stoneman, and Amy Wolf created a wonderful tradition beloved by many people. There are now generations of families that come to the SSM campus for the Egg Hunt; arriving first as young people or young parents, and now with their own children or grandchildren. The Egg Hunt is a delightful poof of colorful, childlike magic that also benefits the Community Action Center of Faribault. It is a meaningful and welcoming event for our whole community.”

And Vicky couldn’t agree more. “The hunt was, and still is to this day, great fun and a wonderful way to invite and host the Faribault community on campus. It is a joyful event that all parts of the School rally to make happen, a model of what one community can bring to another community.”

We hope you will join us for the 21st Shattuck-St. Mary’s Faribault Community Egg Hunt next year on Saturday, March 30.