I recall not long ago hosting a college admissions dean at an evening college information session.  He began by suggesting to the parents and students that what “the college process” needed more than anything was some creative rebranding.  He contended that the term called to mind the mechanical process that yielded ground beef and furthermore that no one looks forward to sitting down to a meal of “processed food.”   He suggested that as an alternative, we embrace the term “the college experience.”

In that spirit, I submit this update not on our strategic planning process but on our strategic planning experience!  Since my last update, we’ve been quite busy. In early September, our external facilitator, Ms. Jenn Desjarlais spent a morning with the school’s administrative council and then a few weeks later, she visited the Board of Trustees at their September Board meeting.  Her prompts were short and direct: a) What issues or questions must this process (sorry!) thoughtfully consider for it to be a success? And b) how must the process be structured and who must be included to earn the “buy-in” we will need to implement it. But those two short prompts yielded, as you can imagine, a plethora of data that is already proving to be useful.  

Also in this time frame, our Steering Committee has gathered on two separate occasions to consider what we have learned so far and what our next steps should be.  The most obvious “next step” will transpire here at school from Thursday, October 10 to Saturday, October 12, when Jenn will be on campus conducting sessions with a number of stakeholder focus groups. As you can see by her schedule, we have set a brisk pace for her!

Student Group #1

Faculty Group #1

Student Group #2

Community Group

Parent Group #1

Parent Group #2

Academic Program Heads

Grandparents Group

Founding Faculty Group

Faculty Drop-Ins

Trustee Emeriti

Alumni Council

I hope you agree that this schedule speaks to our original promise to adhere to a process that is both transparent and inclusive. 

As for the road ahead, by the end of this weekend, we will have gathered a generous supply of both quantitative and qualitative data, which has been the primary goal of what we refer to as Phase 1 of our “strategic planning experience.”  It will then fall to Ms. Desjarlais, with significant input from our Steering Committee to analyze that data and compile it into a “briefing booklet” that will inform Phase II, the exciting process by which we come to some consensus as to the strategic priorities that will guide us into the future.  

Stay tuned!

Yours in planning,