STRATEGIC PLAN 2022-2027: Strengthening Our Core Competencies and Broadening Our Reach

This fall, the Stephen Gaynor School Board of Trustees approved the strategic plan for 2022-2027. The plan is the culmination of a year’s work by over 40 members of the Gaynor community, including faculty, staff, parents, trustees, grandparents, former parents, and alumni.

Head of School Dr. Scott Gaynor said, “In this 60th anniversary year for the school I can think of no better way to honor the legacy of our co-founders Dr. Miriam Michael and Yvette Siegel-Herzog than to imagine the possibilities for our progress and improvement.” He continued, “Over the course of a year the strategic planning team, led by Trustee Andy Bast and Director of Communications Deanna Ferrante, carefully reviewed many facets of the school’s curriculum and programming and thoughtfully recommended goals and initiatives that will elevate our work and mission and strengthen our leadership role in the world of special education.”

The participants were tasked with reviewing the current state of the school, including strengths and perceived areas of improvement, and then creating a roadmap to guide the school over the next five years.

The consensus from the review was that Gaynor is a high functioning institution that does an excellent job of educating children with learning differences.

The strategic planning team was divided into four subcommittees: Faculty and Staff (co-chaired by Trustee Kristy Baxter and Assistant Head of School Jill Thompson), Students (co-chaired by Trustee Keech Combe-Shetty and Director of Lower Division Donna Logue), Families (co-chaired by Trustee Jillian Marcus and then-Director of Admissions Juliana May), and Board of Trustees (co-chaired by Trustee Benjamin Hamilton and Chief Financial Officer Ellen Lee). Board Chair Megan Hogan provided guidance throughout the process, ensuring that the goals of the plan aligned with the board’s priorities, and Assistant Director of Advancement Emily Barnes was a key member of the steering committee.

After reviewing the goals and themes developed over the planning process, the steering committee and subcommittee chairs identified the overarching themes to include:

• Elevating the instructional practices of classroom teachers

• Focusing on diversity, equity, and inclusion

• Focusing on employee retention and recruitment

• Leveraging expertise in executive functioning

• Encouraging robust parent engagement

• Expanding outreach to the community

• Broadening the enrollment pipeline

• Growing the endowment

The steering committee determined that goals fell within two main categories: strengthening our core competencies in curriculum development and teaching excellence, and broadening Gaynor’s reach to a wider and more diverse audience.

Strengthening Core Competencies

At Gaynor, the child is at the center of all curriculum development and professional learning. The school is also dedicated to creating and maintaining a community of belonging in which everyone’s identity is valued, respected and heard. The strategic plan will support the professional development of faculty to ensure that each child receives an individualized program tailored to their learning style and needs, and will address the need to include DEI goals across the curriculum.

Goal 1 is Enhancing the Curriculum. Students learn best when they experience a consistent, comprehensive educational environment throughout their tenure at Gaynor. The next five years will see a continuation of the work begun in the previous strategic plan on creating and implementing a school-wide scope and sequence in all subjects which includes a continuum of general skills and academic content. This five-year plan will focus on writing, social studies/history, and informational skills. A key element will be ensuring that the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion are embedded throughout the curriculum.

Goal 2, Elevating the Instructional Practices of Our Teaching Faculty, builds upon the co-lead teaching model piloted in 2020-2021. Over the coming years, school leadership will prepare faculty for an expansion of the co-lead model by identifying co-lead teams and providing professional development, team planning, and coverage systems.

Goal 3 focuses on Enriching Social-Emotional Learning. Over the course of five years, all students will gain a foundation in social emotional tools and strategies that promote a healthy self-concept, problem solving skills, and a collaborative learning community. This will also help prepare students to be engaged global citizens.