Strategic Plan

INTRODUCTION
Message from the Board Chair and the Head of School
 
Established in 1820, SJR has a long tradition of academic and co-curricular excellence. Students find themselves engaged in a challenging and diverse environment aimed at developing their communication skills, immersing them in a wealth of co-curricular and leadership activities and preparing them for university and beyond.

SJR’s last strategic plan was originally planned to be reimagined at the end of the 2020 academic year. However, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic meant that the Board of Governors decided to focus the entire School’s energies on sustaining our daily operations and providing the best possible programming for our students during this incredibly challenging time. We shifted to annual strategic targets in 2020-2021, and we have completed a great deal in the last three years, including:

• the commencement of the Athletic Centre Revitalization Project.
• the implementation of our new enrollment profile, and the required internal refurbishments.
• the introduction of the balanced school day in Junior School.
• the expansion of the School’s Advanced Placement (AP) program in Senior School.
• the development of a new faculty performance program and the new academic leadership opportunities.
• the development of a long-term financial plan for the School.
• the commencement of the annuitization of benefits of retired and deferred members of the Staff Pension Plan for Employees of St. John’s-Ravenscourt School.

As we turn our attention to the future, we now wish to develop a new long-term Strategic Plan built collaboratively with efforts by the Board of Governors, Senior Administrative Team, faculty, and staff, along with contributions from our outstanding students and parents. The pace of change in education is increasing all the time, and with this in mind, we must review our vision, mission, and values to ensure that we build a plan that is relevant for the future.

We have decided to develop a two-year bridge plan that outlines a roadmap to focus our efforts in the short-term as we consult and engage with our stakeholders to strengthen our foundations as we build a new long-term strategic plan that will make our School stronger, more resilient, and better prepared for the future. We look forward to continuing to work with the members of our community to achieve the initiatives laid out in this plan and to begin our work to develop our longer-term strategic plan for SJR.

STRATEGIC PRIORITIES

Tied to our Vision, Mission, and Values, this Bridge Plan sets specific strategic priorities within our overall strategic house that articulate the broad results that, when achieved, will move our school closer to our desired future. Under each goal, we have laid out key initiatives that we will undertake.
 
LEADERSHIP AND GOVERNANCE

STRATEGIC PRIORITY 1: REAFFIRM OUR IDENTITY
Over the course of the plan, we will revisit and renew our mission, vision, and values to ensure they capture and communicate the essence of SJR.
 
We will:

• engage a consultant and develop a plan to consult with all stakeholders as we revisit and renew our mission, vision, and values.
• identify and communicate the core qualities that are integral to an SJR education and make SJR unique.
• create a renewed mission, vision, and values that are communicated appropriately to all stakeholders.
• create a new long-term strategic plan to launch in the academic year 2025-2026.
• ensure that all strategic initiatives and decisions are examined through the renewed vision, mission, and values lens.

 
STRATEGIC PRIORITY 2: PREPARE FOR THE CAIS ACCREDITATION
SJR commits to thoughtfully and thoroughly prepare for the CAIS accreditation in April 2025.
 
We will:

• use the self-study process as a mechanism integral to school improvement at SJR.
• update and scrutinize all board and school policies through a lens of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
• ensure that the Governance Committee monitors and supports changes to educational delivery and educational administration through the receipt of ongoing operational updates.

 
LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

STRATEGIC PRIORITY 3: ENSURE A VIBRANT AND INCLUSIVE TEACHING AND LEARNING ENVIRONMENT
 
We will:

• create and foster learning environments in which students experience safety through the use of belonging, equity, diversity, and inclusion practices.
• develop curricular and non-curricular opportunities that support student agency, advocacy and service to others.
• design and implement lessons with small group instruction and opportunities for students to collaborate, discuss, and debate as a mode of learning.
• design meaningful experiences and environments where information and communication technologies support and enhance learning, and where students are active and critical users of technology.
• develop age-appropriate homework tasks that are pedagogically responsive to the diverse needs of students to support consolidation, extension, and enrichment of classroom experiences.
• foster respectful and ongoing communication with parents about student performance and wellbeing in the spirit of helping each student to achieve their personal best results.

 
STRATEGIC PRIORITY 4:  WE MUST ATTRACT, RETAIN AND DEVELOP EXCELLENT FACULTY AND STAFF
 
We will: 

• support the development of colleagues in academic middle leadership positions.
• undertake a compensation review and examine our current approach to recruitment, orientation and retention of faculty and staff.
• continue to refine our strategy for future recruitment and succession planning.

ENROLMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY

STRATEGIC PRIORITY 5: WE MUST DEVELOP STRATEGIES THAT SUPPORT THE SCHOOL’S ENROLMENT PROFILE AND UNDERTAKE RESEARCH AND PLANNING TO CONFIRM THAT ALL DECISIONS ENSURE SJR’S OPERATIONAL SUSTAINABILITY
 
We will:

• finalize annuitization of benefits of retired and deferred members of the Staff Pension Plan for Employees of St. John’s-Ravenscourt School.
• continue to review the admissions process and make changes in response to trends and feedback received.
• undertake market research to understand our current and prospective families better.
• continue to monitor and update the School’s long-range financial plan, including the optimal capital structure
• finalize the development and implementation of an Athletic Centre business model.
• update the comprehensive campus assessment to ensure there is an appropriate plan for ongoing facility renewal.
• create a business interruption plan.

OUR COMMUNITY

STRATEGIC PRIORITY 6: WE MUST CONTINUE TO DEVELOP SUPPORT AND ENGAGEMENT AMONGST ALL SJR STAKEHOLDERS
 
We will:

• update the advancement department’s strategic plan with a focus on building community engagement and the development of appropriate KPIs.
• finalize donor recognition policies and protocols and approve internal recognition sites.