Work Commences on New Strategic Plan

Five years ago, the School launched the current strategic plan, Compass 2022, and has made considerable progress in its five key areas: the fall, community groups met to provide input to a 20-person Strategic Planning Committee. Alumni, current and alumni parents, faculty and staff, and current students gathered in groups, both small and large, to consider the School’s past, present, and future. accomplished with Compass 2022 as well as identify new opportunities.”

The groups analyzed trends, opportunities, and needs globally, regionally, and within the Steward community. Leadership + Design, a consultancy that specializes in independent schools and also supported the development of Compass 2022, is leading the process.

The input and refining process will culminate in a large-scale community input session early in 2023. Then, the Steering Committee will begin work on a draft plan, which will be presented to the Board of Trustees in the spring of 2023. Once approved, it will be shared with the community at large, and work toward it will start at the beginning of the 2023-24 school year.

As a result of Compass 2022, the Center for Engagement began; the Alumni Office and programming expanded; service learning opportunities grew; the Leadership Program launched; the Entrepreneurship Program thrived; and a school counselor, a coordinator of diversity, equity, and inclusion, and a coordinator of campus life and community stewardship were hired.

Now, in the 2022-23 school year, it’s time to envision Steward’s next strategic plan. Throughout

“When we created Compass 2022, we set milestones and guideposts in recognition of the fact that a strategic plan is not a roadmap with step-by-step instructions,” said Head of School Dan Frank. “Rather, it’s a compass that leads us toward our ultimate goals, with room to flex and stretch along the way. That was a prescient decision, considering we had to navigate many new paths in the COVID-19 pandemic. In this year’s strategic planning process, we will once again recognize the need to both define our future priorities and allow space for the work to evolve.”

Mr. Frank continued: “It’s too early to clearly articulate the focus areas of the next plan, but I believe it will both build on the work we’ve