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Strategic Priorities The Raleigh School

The Raleigh School is a cooperative community of children, parents, and teachers that fosters a love of learning in an atmosphere of challenge, inquiry, and respect. This mission provides clear direction and vision, but each year we meet challenges and opportunities by articulating specific goals. For the 2023-2024 school year, the Board of Trustees in collaboration with the school community and with the guidance of the Strategic Planning Committee, has identified priorities in 5 strategic areas to be targeted and assessed over the next 1-3 years.

OUR PRIORITIES

Dynamic Leadership

Transformative Programs and Teaching

Strategic Management of Enrollment, Facilities, Human and Financial Resources

Impactful Auxiliary School Programs

Community Development and Engagement

Priority: Dynamic Leadership

Provide and cultivate thoughtful, successful, and mission-centered leadership.

Current Action Items:

  • Create a longer-term strategic vision for The Raleigh School. Using information/data from community surveys, horizon scans, and partnership investigations, develop a vision for where TRS should be ten years from now.
  • Use the reaccreditation processes to foster and support faculty leadership by encouraging reflection and goal-setting for future programmatic initiatives.
  • Codify a board succession planning approach that incorporates goals for board composition (needed experience and diversity), multi-year identification/recruitment, and committee chair succession.

Priority: Transformative Programs and Teaching

Strengthen and ensure that curriculum across age and grade levels is mission-aligned while developing a common language to educate parents, inform practice, and continue a culture of collegiality.

Current Action Items:

  • Adopt a new/revised elementary math program that is aligned with our mission/values and supports the development of age-appropriate mathematical reasoning and skills.
  • Review and re-evaluate ways to inform parents about child progress (newsletters, reports, conferences,...) ensuring mission/values alignment.
  • Create curriculum-connected activities utilizing outdoor play spaces to enhance and extend learning.
  • Develop and implement tools/structures to ensure children are introduced to a variety of perspectives and experiences that enable them to develop an awareness and deeper understanding of the rich diversity of humans present in their own community and throughout the world.
  • Ensure children are given intentional opportunities to share their own unique stories and selves and to learn about and appreciate those of others.
  • Ensure children are regularly engaged in discussions about class rules and culture; they are actively coached through conflict resolution and helped to negotiate solutions to social problems that strengthen the inclusive community of the class.

Priority: Community Development and Engagement

Continue to cultivate an active and inclusive community, ensuring strong partnerships between educators, children, and parents.

Current Action Items:

  • Create and begin a 5+ year implementation plan for elements of the newly created TRS Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging framework.
  • Develop a long-range fundraising plan (10 year) that sets goals and priorities for philanthropic endeavors (Fund for TRS, larger gifts, tuition assistance, faculty/staff education, special events) and details the work of trustees and volunteers in fulfilling the plan.
  • Continue to explore goals, opportunities, and feasibility of community partnerships.

Priority: Strategic Management of Enrollment, Facilities, Human and Financial Resources

Ensure that The Raleigh School successfully manages its resources in order to serve children and families for generations to come.

Current Action Items:

  • Review all admissions and marketing-related materials and procedures to ensure consistent messaging, emphasizing the school’s mission and approach in a clear and compelling manner.
  • Create a financial resource strategy that includes a financial aid strategy/mission statement, a sustainable tuition structure, a financial oversight dashboard, and an endowment draw strategy.
  • Celebrate the new courtyard space and ensure that it’s being used to support learning and community building.

Priority: Impactful Auxiliary Programs

Ensure all current school programs best serve our children and families in a mission-appropriate way, encouraging the development of the whole child.

Current Action Items:

  • Create an auxiliary programs (camps, clubs, aftercare, science olympiad) 5-year plan that incorporates programmatic and financial goals.
  • Continue to develop an elementary music program that builds off of our current preschool program, builds children’s love/knowledge of music, and uses music to strengthen our community.

To support the work being done to address these strategic priorities, please deeply engage in your parent committee work, community events, and give to the Fund for TRS in support of the work of teachers.

When children, teachers, and parents come together, amazing things happen. That is The Raleigh School.