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Tuesday, October 11, 2016


Dear Friends:I’m writing to provide an overview of a new strategic planning process that the Board of Trustees will be conducting during the 2016/17 academic year, as well as to invite you to participate in a community survey that will inaugurate and inform this process.The board last engaged in a comprehensive planning effort in 2009, leading a deep institutional conversation that culminated in the Long Range Priorities (LRP) of 2011. The LRP document has had an important impact on the School, supporting ongoing and new programs in interdisciplinary and global education, stimulating discussions about service learning, and supporting stellar professional development experiences. New opportunities, particularly the pending purchase of contiguous real estate, the increasing concern with rising tuition, and the rapidly changing educational landscape, however, have compelled the board to reexamine our long-term strategy.The development of the strategic plan is also intended to dovetail with the School’s reaccreditation process. For the past 18 months, Sidwell Friends has assessed itself against standards established by the Association of Independent Maryland and DC Schools (AIMS), which has instituted perhaps the most rigorous criteria for accreditation in the independent school sector. Now that the School has completed its self-study, an AIMS Visiting Team is reviewing that document, visiting the School next week, and then completing a report that will include both commendations and recommendations for improvement.Before AIMS reaccredits the School, we must submit an action plan and track our progress against it. AIMS also encourages schools to incorporate visiting team recommendations into a strategic plan that articulates institutional priorities, establishes goals and a responsible financial framework for achieving them, and allows for an annual evaluation based on the local environment and emerging trends in education.Before taking our next steps in the strategic planning process, the board and the leadership of the School want to solicit broader community input. We have contracted with Ian Symmonds & Associates, a firm based in Portland, Oregon, that has extensive experience in facilitating planning processes for colleges and independent schools. To coordinate the planning effort, the board has established a Strategic Planning Steering Committee (SPSC), which includes faculty, trustees, parents, and alumni. I am especially pleased to announce that former Middle School Principal Sally Selby will be a member of that group, providing historical perspective and sharing her characteristic wisdom on this project.The SPSC will meet monthly throughout the academic year, with the goal of using the self-study, the AIMS Visiting Team Report, survey responses, and focus-group conversations to determine the School’s most important priorities. Clerked by Sidwell Friends trustee and parent May Liang, the SPSC is charged with identifying major strategic challenges and opportunities and establishing four to six subcommittees to examine these topics in depth. Faculty, staff, parents, and alumni will also serve on these subcommittees. The board, which may accept or amend SPSC recommendations as it deems appropriate, expects the committee to present a draft plan at its June 2017 meeting. Once the plan is approved, it will be shared with the broader community.Ian Symmonds is familiar with the importance of inclusivity to the Quaker process and has designed an approach that will allow all community members to provide input. We look forward to hearing your thoughts; in fact, since the self-study commenced, we have already solicited community feedback through several noteworthy efforts: In spring 2015, the School administered a survey developed by the National School Climate Center to all parents, faculty, staff, and students in grades 3–12. In fall 2015, Neustadt Creative Marketing (NCM) surveyed parents and alumni on a wide range of topics about the School, including essential facets of the academic, arts, and athletics programs. NCM also conducted focus groups with all internal constituencies, including alumni, parents, faculty, and students. Several additional mechanisms have been used to collect data. Upper School Principal Mamadou Guèye has conducted senior exit interviews with the classes of 2015 and 2016; similarly, parents with expertise in market research have conducted focus groups of senior parents over the past two years. The Admissions Office also seeks feedback from parents of applicants who select other schools, and we have a number of other informal channels through which we solicit thoughts on the School.These exercises have provided meaningful information to us and will be crucial to the SPSC, so we thank everyone who has participated. But before we proceed, we want to ensure that members of our community who did not respond to previous surveys or would like to provide additional information have an opportunity to do so. As a result, we are asking parents, alumni, faculty, staff, and students to participate in a SWOT analysis, a tool commonly used in strategic planning and one with which SPSC will begin its work. As you may know, this approach seeks to identify an organization’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. To access this survey, please click here. It will remain open through Monday, October 24. In addition to administering this survey, Ian will be visiting campus over the next several months to conduct focus groups with all constituencies. Please stay tuned for additional information.I hope that we can rely on your participation in this important work. We look forward to receiving your input and to working together to make the most of this planning process for the School and our students. We have extraordinary opportunities ahead of us and are hoping to draw on the considerable talents and insights of our community as we discern the best way forward.In friendship and with gratitude,Bryan GarmanHead of School


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