BE BOLD. BE BRAVE. BE READY. STRATEGIC PLAN 2015-2018
OUR PURPOSE OUR PROMISE
We unleash the potential of passionate and creative problem solvers, ready to contribute to a better world.
We challenge, inspire and support one another as we imagine and create our best futures.
OUR COMMITMENTS CREATIVITY
Together WIC students and faculty build a powerful culture of creativity that is without boundaries. We are critical thinkers who challenge ideas, pave new paths and encourage inventiveness whenever possible.
CONNECTION
As a close-knit community, we know and care about each other. We foster an environment where students can feel supported while building their futures.
CONFIDENCE
WIC students are ready for the challenges and opportunities life presents them. They grow strong, self-assured and motivated by each WIC experience. Through academic rigour and a supportive environment, our students become resilient problemsolvers who believe they can and will achieve what they set out to do.
AT WEST ISLAND COLLEGE.... You can be strong, sure of who you are and what you can do. You can be brave, exploring outside of your comfort zone. You can fail without fear, knowing there’s a whole community behind you. You can be inventive, outrageous, playful and fun. You can be gentle, thoughtful and introspective. You can learn without limits and wonder without walls. You can be part of something bigger: a team, a family, a community. You can be the most authentic version of yourself. You can be fierce in your path, wherever it takes you. You can be anything, because at WIC it’s your future to own.
OWN YOUR FUTURE.
HEAD OF SCHOOL MESSAGE West Island College has been proud to be a vibrant part of the Calgary community for nearly four decades, dedicated to inspiring students to rise to the challenge of contributing to a better world. While we look back on our past with great pride, as we look to the future we recognize that we must continually strive for improvement, and that we must continue to evolve and respond to changes and challenges in proactive ways. Therefore, we look to our Strategic Plan, and the pledges to our community contained therein, to provide the framework for our continual growth and development within our continued commitment to high standards. Our focus is on serving our stakeholders in an engaging and responsible way, creating a bright future for both our current and past students and for the College by: enriching our academic program, ensuring rigour and relevance for today’s learners; empowering our team of master teachers and professional staff to deliver on our vision; nurturing relationships within and beyond the school; and providing unparalleled, real world learning experiences; thereby unleashing the potential of passionate and creative problem solvers who are ready to contribute to a better world. I want to thank our thoughtful and responsive community for their efforts in producing this Strategic Plan. It would not have been possible without the involvement of everyone in our extended community – students, parents, alumni, faculty, staff, administration, and of course our Board of Directors. They all provided enthusiastic feedback, ideas and suggestions, and inspired us with the warmth of their convictions about the efficacy and the spirit of West Island College. I know that, with such passion for your school, we will continue to improve and to serve our community even better in the coming years.
Carol Grant-Watt, BEd., MA.
OUR FOCUS IS ON SERVING OUR STAKEHOLDERS IN AN ENGAGING AND RESPONSIBLE WAY, CREATING A BRIGHT FUTURE FOR BOTH OUR CURRENT AND PAST STUDENTS AND FOR THE COLLEGE
WE ARE EXCITED ABOUT THE FUTURE OF OUR SCHOOL WHICH CONTRIBUTES TO THE FUTURE OF OUR CHILDREN
BOARD CHAIR MESSAGE The Board of Directors at West Island College wholeheartedly approves of this Strategic Plan, which is the result of the conscientious work of many individuals, following the extensive accumulation of responses from our entire community. I have been involved with the College for 11 years as a parent, and for 6 with the Board. I have seen many classes of graduates move through the College and I am also fortunate to see many alumni at the University of Calgary during my work week. I am proud of my association with WIC, and wish to affirm the Board’s commitment to following through on the priorities outlined in this Strategic Plan. In order to support WIC’s exceptional teaching and learning, the Board will continue to nurture the strong relationships within and outside the College, fostering bonds with all stakeholders. We will also reach out to institutes and groups in the Calgary community and in the global community, knowing that these networks provide unparalleled real world experiences that set our graduates apart, and set them on the road to personal and professional success. We will continue to build on a strong foundation of tradition and excellence. We will also continue to focus on providing extensive opportunities for our students by capitalizing on innovation and expansion, while ensuring the financial sustainability of the College. We are excited about the future of our school which contributes to the future of our children. We hope you will read this document and join us in our optimism.
Dr. Patricia Doyle-Baker, Dr. PH, MA, B.Sc
STRATEGIC PLANNING TIMELINE January February 2014
March – April 2014
May – June 2014
September 2014
October 2014
November 2014 – January 2015
• Audit of WIC’s mission and vision, faculty credo and strategic plan • Stakeholder surveys and competitive review (competitor schools in Calgary) Survey participation: • Alumni – 31 • Faculty/Staff – 50 • Parents – 79 • Students – 107
• Discovery workshops • Parent and student stakeholder consultation
• Strategy development and revisions • Planning Committee review
• WIC strategic planning team review (team consisted of both faculty and staff)
• Board of Directors review
• Brand language refinements
January 2015 – May 2015
April 2015
May 2015
June 2015
September 2015
November 2015
• Brand development (manifesto and tagline) • Visual identity refinements
• Strategic plan priorities summarized for Board review and approval. Based on historical Board Retreat feedback in 2012/2013 and various discussions, the Board identified the priority areas that needed to be covered in the strategic plan
• Strategic plan draft for planning committee review, based on approved priorities
• Strategic plan refinements for Board review and approval
• Publishing of the new strategy and deployment of new brand standards
• Official launch of the 2015-2018 Strategic Plan
PRIORITIES
1
At WIC, our focus is on serving our students, parents, staff and alumni in an engaging and
Enrich our academic
responsible way. With this at the forefront of our vision, we look toward creating a bright
program, ensuring
future for the College. With our purpose, promise and commitments guiding our future,
rigour and relevance
we will focus on five strategic priorities:
for today’s learners
2
3
4
5
Empower our team
Nurture relationships
Provide unparalleled,
Ensure a sustainable
of master teachers
within and beyond
real world learning
future for the College
and professional
the school
experiences
staff to deliver on our vision
1
Enrich our academic program, ensuring rigour and relevance for today’s learners We will focus on exceptional and unparalleled teaching and learning. Through this we, as a collaborative educational community, will provide extraordinary opportunities and experiences and spark curiosity to prepare our students for a world beyond WIC.
TO ACHIEVE THIS WE WILL: ELEVATE ACADEMIC RIGOUR We will ensure the vertical integration of enriched skills, knowledge and aptitudes throughout the core curriculum, at all grade levels. We will develop and deploy a diagnostic testing program at the start and end of each grade to enable teachers to determine areas of remediation and opportunities for enrichment. We will expand our offerings of Advanced Placement courses. We will ensure our students achieve 100% acceptable standard and a minimum of 50% standard of Excellence on the Alberta Education Diploma Examinations and school final exams. We will ensure students have a solid foundation in Mathematics and Language Arts ensuring they can analyze and synthesize complex concepts and applications. Our students will have the academic acumen to succeed in the post-secondary program of their choice. EXPAND THE FRENCH IMMERSION PROGRAM We will hire additional exceptional teachers to complement existing faculty. We will expand our program to two classes of French Immersion students at the grade 7 level each year. INTEGRATE DIGITAL LITERACY AND RESOURCES ACROSS THE CURRICULUM We will continue to expand WIC’s responsiveness to the increasing impact of digital technology in education and ensure we stay relevant by constantly evaluating an evolving digital landscape. We will focus on the effective use of technology in relation to communication literacy within the classroom, ensuring our students are proficient and responsible digital citizens. DEVELOP ENHANCED PROGRESS REPORTING AND ASSESSMENT TOOLS We will develop and deploy a new reporting process, replacing our traditional report cards with a combination of outcomes based assessment in addition to a final grade. Students will have an understanding of their proficiencies on the outcomes as well as have numeric grades. Teachers will be better able to diagnose areas of difficulty and enrichment and prescribe effective strategies for learning.
2 Empower our team of master teachers and professional staff to deliver on our vision We will hire and fortify our team of dynamic and passionate educators and professional staff who are committed to a growth mindset, and who inspire and lead, providing students with hope, confidence and belief in their potential.
TO ACHIEVE THIS WE WILL: DEVELOP A COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGY FOR RECRUITMENT, ONBOARDING AND RETENTION OF EXCEPTIONAL TEAM MEMBERS We will develop a comprehensive human resources development plan to attract and retain exceptional people in all areas of the College. As part of the communications plan we will position WIC as a top employer and an extraordinary place to work. COMMIT TO STRATEGIES THAT SUPPORT AND CELEBRATE EXCELLENCE IN TEACHING We will ensure teachers are supported through a comprehensive and integrated professional development plan. The teacher and staff evaluation model will include mentorship, coaching and support. We will provide the team with enhanced resources to focus on student success. Faculty excellence will be recognized in terms of remuneration, professional development and time. BUILD THE TEAM’S DIGITAL LITERACY We will ensure our teachers are able to use digital resources effectively in the classroom and in their workplace. We will build competency and confidence, ensuring we have the collective capacity to lead in the ever and rapidly changing digital technology world. PROVIDE THE TEAM WITH ENHANCED RESOURCES TO SUPPORT STUDENT SUCCESS We will ensure our teachers have access to respected leaders in education and professional development experiences that will elevate and inspire exceptional teaching. We are, and will continue to be, a school that learns, expands its thinking, challenges the status quo and makes exceptional teaching and learning the norm.
3
Nurture relationships within and beyond the school We will continue to build relationships, collaborate, listen and respond to the members of the WIC community. WIC is an incredible place to work and learn. We recognize that the people within our community – the students, faculty, staff, parents and alumni – are the foundation of our existing school environment.
TO ACHIEVE THIS WE WILL: FOSTER A HEALTHY, INTERCONNECTED COMMUNITY We will introduce a “Week of Wellness� to raise awareness of strategies and resources available to support resilient adolescents. We will address bullying, social issues, conflict resolution skills and positive community engagement. We will implement a physical literacies continuum to promote healthy and active lifestyles. We will strengthen the working relationship between the Parent Advisory Committee (PAC) and WIC administration. We will grow the Teacher Advisor program strengthening positive relationships between teachers and students. WE WILL MAINTAIN OUR SMALL CLASS SIZES We will ensure our community values and our focus on the ideal teaching environment are at the heart of developing strong relationships between teachers and students. We will ensure our classrooms are personalized and that teachers know their students. STRENGTHEN OUR COMMUNITY BY LISTENING, LEARNING AND INVESTING IN RELATIONSHIPS OUTSIDE OF THE COLLEGE We will utilize a variety of tools to ensure our community stakeholders have a voice in the College. We will come together in formal and informal settings to share ideas, present information, seek feedback and share celebrations. We will nurture our alumni association, focusing on lifelong engagement and connection to WIC. EXPLORE RELATIONSHIPS WITH PARTNER INSTITUTIONS We will explore opportunities to work with other independent schools in the Canadian Accredited Independent Schools (CAIS) network sharing expertise, professional development opportunities and shared synergies, and explore partnerships with other international schools to expand the opportunities available for WIC students. We will seek strategic partnerships with post-secondary institutions, businesses and organizations to provide additional learning opportunities for our students. PARTNER WITH LOCAL AND GLOBAL CHARITIES We will continue to work closely with the Jane Goodall Institute to raise awareness about environmental stewardship and evolve the Roots and Shoots program at WIC. We will ensure our students contribute to the well-being of their local and global communities by being active volunteers, fundraising and raising awareness about important issues. We will strategically partner with WIC alumni connected charitable causes.
4 Provide unparalleled, real world learning experiences We will provide our students with a significant academic advantage through our real world learning opportunities. We will continue to be bold in offering our students opportunities that allow them to explore, take risks and learn beyond the walls of the College.
TO ACHIEVE THIS WE WILL: FURTHER DEVELOP THE WIC INSTITUTE PROGRAM TO PROVIDE DIVERSE EXPERIENCES ACROSS A VARIETY OF DISCIPLINES The Institute model allows students to combine their rigorous academic programs with unique experiences where they can explore different vocations. The mission is to engage students in opportunities that prepare them for success at post-secondary levels, and to connect WIC students with individuals who are successful in these fields. We will create a Liberal Arts Institute and evolve the Fine Arts certificate into an Institute. We will expand the certificate program to include International Languages and Athletics certificates. We will expand the Institute model into the junior school. We will leverage the Institute model to create more engaging experiences in our core curriculum at all grade levels. WE WILL CONTINUE TO RESPOND TO INCREASED STUDENT ENROLLMENT BY PROVIDING NEW OPPORTUNITIES WITHIN THE OUTDOOR EDUCATION PROGRAM TO ENSURE OUR PROGRAM REMAINS RELEVANT AND DYNAMIC. INCREASE THE OPPORTUNITIES FOR FORMAL AND INFORMAL LEADERSHIP EXPERIENCES FOR STUDENTS We will plan and organize a variety of student leadership events and conferences building on the key concepts of: inspiring a shared vision, modelling the way, challenging the process, enabling others to act, accountability and encouraging the heart.
5
Ensure a sustainable future for the College As our programs and students’ needs continue to grow, we will continue to evolve and respond to these changes and challenges in proactive ways. We will continue to focus on providing extensive opportunities for our students by capitalizing on opportunities for innovation and expansion.
TO ACHIEVE THIS WE WILL: LAUNCH AN ADVANCEMENT PROGRAM TO SECURE THE FINANCIAL FUTURE OF THE SCHOOL Our shared vision for the College means adopting a formalized approach to advancement to ensure the financial sustainability of the College. As we build on a strong foundation of tradition and excellence, we will be respectful in our introduction of the program, preserving the elements we hold dear. DEVELOP A FACILITIES AND INFRASTRUCTURE STRATEGY TO MEET THE EVOLVING NEEDS OF THE WIC COMMUNITY We will explore the possibilities of improving, expanding and building new facilities to enhance our learning and academic support spaces. We will move forward with environmentally sound practices. We will enhance the outdoor spaces of the College to provide room for play, reflection and collaboration. We will establish a maximum enrollment of 600 students to ensure our school does not lose its strong community connectedness. We will ensure our facilities, classrooms and infrastructure are developed, maintained and appropriate to support teaching and learning. We will develop a communications plan to increase awareness surrounding the rebrand and launch of the 2015-2018 Strategic Plan. The website will undergo a complete transformation. We will work to introduce the new WIC brand to the market, and will actively seek opportunities to showcase WIC innovations and student successes in the local media. We will ensure our website meets the needs of our stakeholders by being current, user-friendly and comprehensive. We will ensure our website draws potential families to consider the College as their school of choice.
Praestantiam Consectemur
LET US PURSUE EXCELLENCE
7410 Blackfoot Trail SE Calgary, AB T2H 1M5 www.westislandcollege.ab.ca