Strategic Planning Reports On Updated List of Goals

During last Wednesday’s Strategic Planning meeting, four working groups presented a list of critical issues for discussion. Faculty, staff and trustees collaborated on each working group, and each was assigned to a broad task representative of the goals in the Academy’s Deed of Gift: Goodness and Knowledge, The Great End and Real Business of Living, Youth From Every Quarter and Usefulness to Humankind.With these four core ideals in mind, the groups generated long-term goals for the school and ideas for accomplishing them.For employees who were not assigned to one of the four groups, last week served as the “first chance for the entire faculty, as well as the staff members who are involved in the process, to hear what the groups have been doing,” physics instructor Scott Saltman said.

“We’ve been encouraged to think creatively and optimistically, and not to think about logistical difficulties at this point.”

The session began with reports from the working groups that Principal Lisa MacFarlane had charged with the task of identifying critical issues that the Academy faces.Director of Studies Brooks Moriarty described critical issues as “those things we keep talking about—problems we’d like to solve as a school or issues that matter most to the community.”Among the issues raised were diversity, health and well-being, flexibility of curriculum and sustainability. The list of critical issues outlined problems ranging from stress and workload to culture of innovation and acceptance of failure. The theme of non-sibi also received a great deal of attention. Faculty and staff devoted some time to general discussion of these issues before breaking into smaller groups for more in-depth discussion. The groups spent most of the morning trying to prioritize the critical issues in order to narrow the focus to what matters most to the community.Science instructor Ann Rankin explained that “the goal of these small conversations was to give the working groups a sense of which of their ideas caught the attention and imagination of the groups.” By discussing them in smaller groups, faculty and staff were able to zero in on the most pressing topics that can be addressed through a strategic plan.After much discussion, several issues emerged as most important. “The next step is to translate critical issues into specific big ideas,” Moriarty explained. The steering committee and working groups will work on identifying two to three big ideas, which will serve as a basis for continued discussion and implementation of specific changes. These ideas will “define our strategic planning and the Exeter of the future,” added Moriarty.English instructor Barbara Desmond, who also serves as a member of the steering committee, noted that the process is still not far enough along for specific options to be considered. She explained that currently, the role of the steering committee is “to listen closely to colleagues and guide the process as it moves forward.” She went on to say that “it is too early to anticipate the changes that are likely to happen.”Saltman agreed, and said that with regard to future changes, “it’s impossible to know at this point in the process” what exactly they will be.Rankin agreed and added that “the next step is for the working groups to use the feedback they heard to help guide and inform their conversations.”A concrete result of the meeting, however, was that Melissa Mischke’s position as Dean of Students and AJ Cosgrove’s position as Dean of Residential Life have both been extended for two years longer than anticipated. While both had planned to vacate their positions in Jeremiah Smith Hall, Cosgrove said, “I am looking forward to remaining in the position for another two years.”Even though little has been accomplished concretely this year during strategic planning, many lauded the substantive conversations that have resulted and increased thoughtfulness regarding the school’s mission. And while ideas are still in need of refinement before completion, significant progress has been made towards establishing goals for the future of the school. According to Moriarty, the meeting was very productive. “A lot of great ideas floated in the discussions, and we are getting closer to setting priorities for the future,” he stated. The strategic planning process will continue through the remainder of the academic year and into the fall, with the focus on “the kind of Exeter we can and should be for kids who are four years old right now,” Moriarty added. The incremental changes that will occur over the next years will be working towards broader long-term objectives.Because strategic planning has a long-range outlook of about 15 years, it will take much more discussion and planning to translate the goals discussed at the recent meeting into concrete steps for improving the school. According to Saltman, “we’ve been encouraged to think creatively and optimistically, and not to think about logistical difficulties at this point. Once some big ideas rise to the top and gain acceptance across a wide range of constituents (including students), we will have to work on the challenge of implementing those ideas.”