building upon our legacy

BUILDING UPON OUR LEGACY
CHARTING OUR STRATEGIC FUTURE
The Ravenscroft Strategic Plan
An inspired legacy of learning, leading, and serving
Ravenscroft embarked on the
development of a new strategic
plan in September 2005,
seeking to replace an existing
plan that had been created in 1988 and
refreshed in 2000. Just prior to the launch
of the planning process, Ravenscroft had
completed research and analysis pertaining
to its current and desired market position
and, as a result, adopted a new strategic
direction for the future. This direction
focused on finding the intersection
between an historic legacy of excellence,
a desire for greater community relevance
in the future, and a vision to become a preeminent, independent
college preparatory school in the Southeast. Armed with a new
strategic direction from which to view the future, faculty, staff,
students, parents, alumni, and Board members set out to write the
next chapter in the history of Ravenscroft.
A desire for collaboration drove the development of the planning
process. In order to develop a truly collaborative strategic plan for the
future, Ravenscroft obtained input and direction in the form of surveys
and interviews from all major institutional stakeholders, including
students, parents, faculty, staff, Board of Trustees, alumni, and
community members. A nine-month process was developed with the
assistance of a planning facilitator, Ian Symmonds of Ian Symmonds
and Associates (Portland, Ore.), and a Steering Committee of key
stakeholders was formed in order to guide the process. The Steering
Committee, whose membership is shown on page 8, was charged with
two primary functions: (1) examining high level institutional strategic
issues, such as mission, vision, and core values; and (2) guiding
subcommittee efforts around essential functions of the School. The
following is a listing of the subcommittees that were formed to assist
the process. A membership roster is shown on page 9.
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Academic Program and Curriculum
Admissions and Enrollment
Athletics
Authoring
Community
Facilities and Equipment
Faculty Growth and Evaluation
Finances and Pricing
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Fine Arts
Governance
Institutional Advancement
Marketing and Positioning
Staffing and Compensation
Students
Technology
Since Steering Committee membership was carefully selected based upon
areas of expertise and experience, subcommittee chairs were derived
from and appointed through the Committee. The various subcommittees
were charged with developing appropriate membership and were led
through a series of three primary strategic planning exercises. These
exercises focused on identifying key strategic issues born out of the new
strategic direction, researching and discovering opportunities for the future,
and the development and prioritization of major strategic initiatives. The
results of these exercises formulate strategic initiatives for Ravenscroft, but
together, form the five major goals for the future of the institution.
Dr. Sanders L. Abrahams
Chair, Strategic Planning Committee
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BUILDING UPON OUR LEGACY
CHARTING OUR STRATEGIC FUTURE
The Ravenscroft mission, vision, and value
statements, and five primary strategic initiatives
are outlined on the following pages. When
combined with our legacy of excellence, these
statements form the pages of the next chapter in
Ravenscroft history.
OUR MISSION
The Ravenscroft community, guided by our
legacy of excellence, nurtures individual
potential and prepares students to thrive in a
complex and interdependent world.
OUR VISION
Through the implementation of our Strategic
Plan, Ravenscroft will build upon its status as
the premier comprehensive, independent
college preparatory school in our community
and will become a preeminent academic
institution in the Southeast.
The key elements of our vision include a
commitment to the following:
Academic
Provide a rich and appropriately challenging curriculum taught
with passion by a nurturing and knowledgeable faculty.
Community
Enhance our contribution to become a more valued member of
our community and increase our diversity to better reflect that of
our area.
Environment
Promote a working and learning environment that expects and
celebrates mutual respect, personal responsibility, ethical leadership,
and a sense of humor that restores.
Journey
Inspire our School community to value the educational journey as
much as the outcome.
Relationships
Nourish meaningful and supportive relationships among students,
teachers, staff, alumni, parents, and in the greater community.
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OUR VALUES
Our values ground our School,
programs, and initiatives in the
most important aspects of the
Ravenscroft community – people
and their collective growth.
They reflect our legacy of
excellence with an inspired
commitment to the future.
An Engaged Mind
A student’s mind is engaged by a developmentally appropriate and
balanced college preparatory program emphasizing inquiry, critical
thinking, and a love of learning.
An Ethical Character
A student’s character is enhanced and horizons are broadened through
leadership, extracurricular, community service, and global study/
travel opportunities.
An Aesthetic Appreciation
A student’s talents are cultivated and creative mind is enriched by a
comprehensive program of Fine Arts.
A Healthy Lifestyle
A student’s personal fitness and physical wellness are promoted through
a complete physical education and interscholastic athletic program
emphasizing lifelong health, discipline, sportsmanship, and teamwork.
A Spiritual Foundation
A student’s faith is developed as we embrace the Judeo-Christian
tradition of Ravenscroft and respect the religious beliefs of each
individual. As a community, we will model and teach values such as
honor, respect, responsibility, and compassion.
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STRATEGIC GOAL #1
Provide an optimal environment for
teaching and learning in order to
prepare students to succeed in college
and to thrive in a complex and
interdependent world.
The world in which our children learn, lead,
and serve today is a far more complex place
than just a decade ago. We need look no
farther than the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill
area and the Research Triangle Park to witness
the influence of a global world at our doorstep.
As an educational leader of the region, we believe we have an explicit
role to play in preparing our students for a rapidly changing and globally
connected world.
In the next five years, we seek to provide for our community an optimal
environment for teaching and learning. Our top priority – and proud
legacy – is the stewardship and development of our strong, college
preparatory academic program. In addition, the major efforts for our first
strategic goal include:
• Ethics and Leadership: We will develop an Ethics and Leadership
Program so that: (1) our students are effectively prepared to lead
virtuous and meaningful lives; (2) we are a community that consistently
teaches, models, and practices its stated virtues; (3) our students are
prepared to lead and follow with integrity; and (4) our community will
be more inclusive and will be successful in celebrating diversity.
• Global Education: We will seek to prepare students for a complex
and interdependent world. Ravenscroft will accomplish this by
developing a comprehensive Global Education Program that infuses the
curriculum with worldwide themes, creating professional training
opportunities focused on global issues and involving members of our
community in international travel and hosting.
• Fine Arts and Athletics: The Fine Arts department will expand its
performing, dramatic, and visual arts programs and incorporate the use
of digital technology. We will advance the programs and people of our
Athletic department, ensuring that policies are aligned with the School
mission, and that coaches are supported and mentored.
• Teaching Expertise, Evaluation, and Compensation: We will
increase the effectiveness with which the individual needs of students
with diverse learning styles and/or learning differences are met. We will
nurture the talents of our faculty members and develop effective
criteria for their improvement and evaluation, as well as seek the best
and most appropriate compensation for their work at Ravenscroft. We
will create a plan to enhance developmentally appropriate technology
for the classroom experience.
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STRATEGIC GOAL #2
Build and enhance relationships
with our internal and external
communities in order to grow
the relevance and sustainability
of Ravenscroft.
Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill is an area
that has grown significantly over the
past few decades. As an institution with over a century of history and an
historic and ongoing commitment to the area, Ravenscroft seeks to build
and enhance our relationships with our community. And, our community
is a broad one, including students, parents, faculty, staff, and alumni, as
well as the various civic leaders, arts and athletic organizations, and
businesses with whom we collaborate.
The major efforts for our second strategic goal include:
• Build and develop stronger, meaningful, and productive
relationships with our local community. Ravenscroft will seek
to develop community relationships by hosting events, concerts, and
lecture series for the community at large.
• Enhance our internal relationships among our students and
parents. Ravenscroft will create new and enhance existing programs
for new student and parent transition to the School, as well as
transition from one area of the School to another.
• Promote Fine Arts and Athletics. Recognizing that the Fine Arts
and Athletics programs present a public face to the School, we will
communicate their excellence to our internal and external community.
• Enhance our external relationships. Ravenscroft will provide
opportunities that will encourage and expand its community
relationships through greater student involvement, including the
enhancement of our community service program.
• Establish and strengthen enduring relationships with our
donor community. Ravenscroft will work toward strengthening
relationships and enhancing resources available to the School
community for strategic initiatives.
• Advance the mission and strategic initiatives of Ravenscroft
by inspiring a commitment to leadership philanthropy and
community-wide participation. Ravenscroft will develop
programs and events targeted toward engaging stewardship through
the cultivation of and connection to community relationships.
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STRATEGIC GOAL #3
Develop an ongoing process to ensure the success of the
Strategic Plan, including both the provision of funding for
strategic goals and the continued implementation of best
practices in governance and finance.
Independent school stability is derived from a variety of institutional
strengths, market position, and effective resource management. Our
stability will be strengthened by the way in which we govern our future
and steward our human and financial resources.
In the next five years, Ravenscroft seeks to develop and implement best
practices in governance and finance. The major efforts for our third
strategic goal include:
• Study, develop, and implement a plan for the funding of this Strategic
Plan and associated initiatives.
• Conduct a review and analysis of Board membership, structure, and
responsibilities with accompanying recommendations.
• Establish a mechanism for ensuring Strategic Plan success to include
coordinating implementation and monitoring Plan effectiveness and progress.
• Engage the Board in strategic thinking and action to ensure its effectiveness,
incorporation of best practices, and continual improvement.
STRATEGIC GOAL #4
Enhance our campus’ functionality, aesthetics, and safety.
Ravenscroft will continue to enhance and expand our School campus in
the future, with a focus on living out an integrated Master and Strategic
Plan. Our future will include the integration and prioritization of facility
and safety for our campus in order to meet the needs of our community.
In the next five years, Ravenscroft seeks to enhance our School campus
facility. The major efforts for our fourth strategic goal include:
• Implement, beginning with the 2006-2007 budget year, the findings of
the completed Facility Audit as adjusted for projects already completed,
for those not requiring action at this time, and for those that must
be accelerated.
• Prioritize the goals that emerge from integrating the
Master Plan and the Strategic Plan. This process will
address all aspects of campus facilities including but
not limited to: buildings and grounds security,
construction of a new Lower School, construction of
a new Middle School, revitalization of the Falls of Neuse
entrance with associated fencing, and improved
traffic flows with additional parking space.
• Live out the findings from the Master and Strategic Plan
facility prioritization process through renovations
and construction.
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STRATEGIC GOAL #5
Enhance our brand identity in order to diversify our audiences,
grow demand for our program, extend our visibility, and
provide relevance for our mission.
With an increasingly complex array of primary and secondary school options
available to residents of Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill, Ravenscroft seeks
to build upon its legacy of excellence as the premier independent school in
our area. We also look beyond our boundaries and seek to be considered
among the top comprehensive independent schools in the Southeast.
As part of this vision, we have developed strategies that extend and enhance
our School identity, organizational ethos, and enduring values toward
existing and future constituencies. The strategic initiatives that we have
developed are intended to diversify our audiences, grow demand for our
program, extend our visibility, and provide relevance for our mission in our
community and our region.
The major efforts for our fifth strategic goal include:
• Position Ravenscroft with internal and external constituencies.
In the next five years, Ravenscroft seeks to position its mission and vision
properly with key constituencies of the institution.
• Adopt and implement an integrated marketing and
communications model. To refine and enhance our School identity,
Ravenscroft will move toward a new marketing and communications era
reflected by integrated messaging, diverse mediums, and a clear and
effective identity.
• Increase enrollment demand through the development of a
formal outreach program and the adoption of an enrollment
management model. Our comprehensive and complex enrollment
model must be planned and developed in a systematic way. Ravenscroft
will move admission and financial aid functions to be closely in line with
that of a more sophisticated, university model of enrollment management.
• Improve our ability to serve our community by increasing our
financial aid resources. We will increase our financial aid funding and
use leading independent schools in the region as appropriate benchmarks.
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RAVENSCROFT SCHOOL STRATEGIC PLANNING
STEERING COMMITTEE 2005-2006
Dr. Sanders Abrahams, Chair
(Trustee and Board Secretary,
Alumni Parent, Current
Grandparent)
Michael Lang ’07
(Current Student)
John Malitoris
(Current Parent)
Jean Carter, Vice Chair
(Trustee, Alumni Parent,
Current Parent)
Dr. David McChesney
(Director of Fine Arts)
Celeste Allen ’06
(Current Student)
Margaret Mills ’76
(Marketing Director, Alumna,
Current Parent)
Katie Chatas
(Trustee, Current Parent)
David Monaco
(Assistant Head of School, Middle
School Director, Current Parent)
Kathleen Christopher
(Faculty)
Bahati Mutisya ’07
(Current Student)
Hope Connell
(Former Trustee, Current Parent)
Robbo Newcomb ’78
(Chairman of Board of Trustees,
Alumnus, Current Parent)
Jim Davis
(Current Parent)
Dr. Frank Gozzo
(Trustee and Board Treasurer,
Current Parent)
Michelle Piette
(Faculty)
Colleen Ramsden
(Faculty, Current Parent)
David Henard
(Current Parent)
Casey Stevenson ’08
(Current Student)
Phil Higginson
(Director of Development,
Current Parent)
Dr. Amy Valerio
(Faculty)
Pam Jamison
(Director of Admissions, Former
Trustee, Current Parent)
Dr. James Wehrli
(Faculty)
Leonard Johnson
(Assistant Head of School and
Director of Business and Finance)
Charles Winston, Jr. ’78
(Trustee, Alumnus,
Current Parent)
Doreen Kelly
(Head of School, Current Parent)
Smedes York ‘59
(Alumnus, Alumni Parent)
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RAVENSCROFT SCHOOL STRATEGIC PLANNING
SUBCOMMITTEES 2005-2006
ACADEMIC PROGRAM
& CURRICULUM
David Monaco, Chair; Sharon Beineke,
Don Beardsley, Anne Brennan,
Donna Burrows, Denise Colpitts,
Philip Dietrich, Eladio Donoso,
John Dover, Andrew Edwards,
John Fiedler, Joyce Fillip, Julie Folsom,
Melissa Gherardi, Colleen Girouard,
Dr. Chris Harper, Mary Beth Immediata,
David Kates, Cynthia Lane,
Mark Laskowski, Cy League,
Mimi Lieberman, Melony Lightfoot,
Dr. Ed Mahoney, Carol Miedema,
Pansy Morton, Colleen Ramsden,
Lee Rand, Scott Ringenbach, Janet
Smith, Melissa Spainhour, Marianne
Stapleton, Steve Swaim, Dr. Amy Valerio,
Dr. Peter Valerio, Dawn Wilcox,
Chris Winter, Ed Yohman
ADMISSIONS & ENROLLMENT
Pam Jamison, Chair; Darlene Brajer,
Gordon Grubb, Chris Kelly,
Margaret Mills ’76, Derrick Sauls
Dr. David McChesney, David Monaco,
Leslie Pressel, Bill Pruden,
Janet Smith, Marianne Stapleton
FINANCES & PRICING
Dr. Frank Gozzo, Chair; Jim Davis,
John Malitoris, Munther Qubain
FINE ARTS
Dr. David McChesney with input
from the entire Fine Arts department
GOVERNANCE
Robbo Newcomb ’78, Chair;
John Malitoris, Marian Troxler ’74,
Charles Winston, Jr. ’78
INSTITUTIONAL ADVANCEMENT
Katie Chatas and Phil Higginson,
Co-Chairs; Mike Condrey,
Bill Cozart ’80, Skipper Day ’79,
Gordon Grubb, Bill Moss ’74,
Fran Pugh, Mary Brent Wright
MARKETING & POSITIONING
Ned Gonet, Chair; Grace Edwards,
Chip Hoggard, Michelle Piette
Jean Carter, Chair; Doug Berlon,
David Henard, Pam Jamison,
Debbie Laughery, Fielding Miller,
Margaret Mills ’76, Linda Nunnallee,
Tom Waring, Lisa Ziperski
AUTHORING
STAFFING & COMPENSATION
ATHLETICS
David Monaco, Chair; Kathleen
Christopher, Jim Davis, Doreen Kelly,
John Malitoris, Bahati Mutisya ’07
Doreen Kelly, Chair;
Sara Wesley Fox ’73,
Leonard Johnson, David Monaco,
Dr. James Wehrli
COMMUNITY
Colleen Ramsden, Chair;
Celeste Allen ’06, Jan Qubain,
Diane Schaaf, Casey Stevenson ’08
STUDENTS
FACILITIES & EQUIPMENT
TECHNOLOGY
Leonard Johnson, Chair; Bill Moss ’74,
Munther Qubain
Kathleen Christopher, Chair;
Trey Adams, Katherine Belk,
Kelly Bolz, Kara Brem,
Dr. Barbara Buescher, Bill Chissoe,
Cynthia Cook, Philip Dietrich,
Gary Duggan, Tim Phillips,
Michelle Schulz, Joanne Streamo,
Dr. James Wehrli, Ed Yohman
Michelle Piette, Chair;
Michael Lang ’07, Bahati Mutisya ’07
FACULTY GROWTH & EVALUATION
Dr. Amy Valerio, Chair; Dr. Barbara
Buescher, Kathleen Christopher,
Carolyn Everett, Cherie Fowler,
Dr. Chris Harper, Marcia Jones,
Mark Kammrath, David Kates,
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The Strategic Plan was approved and adopted by the
Ravenscroft Board of Trustees on May 17, 2006.
Ravenscroft School
7409 Falls of Neuse Road, Raleigh, NC 27615
(919) 847-0900 • www.ravenscroft.org