July 1, 2016
Dear Friends,
This spring, we asked for your help in supporting our school-wide strategic planning process. More than 800 community members responded through surveys and focus groups. School leaders have analyzed St. Andrew's financial and demographic data, comparing our results to those of independent schools in greater Washington and nationwide. As summer brings a pause in our planning process, I want to share highlights of what we have learned and are considering for St. Andrew's future.
Key Strengths of St. Andrew's
Resoundingly, you have shared that St. Andrew's delivers on its essential promise: this is a happy, supportive, challenging school that broadly develops children's potential. Every constituency - students, parents, faculty and staff, trustees, and alumni - echoed this feeling and named it as a core strength of the school.
The faculty and staff received similarly positive reviews. You cited their care for students, their passion for teaching, and their dedication to continual improvement. Our employees reported that they are excited to come to work each day because of the school's mission, culture, and opportunities for professional growth.
The Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning is deeply valued. Current and prospective families and teachers understand that that CTTL research and programs drive pedagogical innovation and student learning at St. Andrew's. Only five years after its founding, the CTTL has become the primary positive differentiator for St. Andrew's in greater Washington's crowded independent-school market.
School programs received strong feedback, with all academic disciplines receiving high marks. Our science curriculum received widespread praise, appropriately for a research-based school. The depth and breadth of diversity programs, as well as the demographic diversity of our student body, received strong positive feedback. Many respondents noted the increasing success of St. Andrew's athletics, the deep enjoyment students receive from athletic competition and teamwork, and the hope that these trends will continue. Alumni and current families named college counseling and placement as an area of great strength and pride.
Finally, our data-driven research pointed out the school's transformative progress over the past decade, as our enrollment, facilities, diversity, and endowment have all grown. Although still a relatively young school, St. Andrew's has established itself as a distinctive, top-tier institution.
Areas of Challenge for St. Andrew's
Many respondents, as well as our data analysis, affirmed the importance of expanding Lower School facilities and enrollment. This will strengthen the school in multiple ways, including the educational experience of our youngest students.
Many respondents noted that the school and the CTTL must continue to deepen the understanding by faculty, students, and families about research-based teaching and learning. As our faculty and staff strive to know and inspire each student, the school needs to provide sufficient time, professional development, and compensation for these high-caliber educators to thrive at St. Andrew's now and in the future.
While St. Andrew's has strongly embraced broad-based diversity as essential to our students' education, challenges remain. The diversity of our faculty and trustees does not reflect the diversity of our student body and families. While most respondents felt fully welcome and accepted at St. Andrew's, some students shared that their political and religious views are not fully respected by their peers.
Even after a decade of extraordinary growth, St. Andrew's cannot afford complacency. While our endowment, facilities, and public profile have increased, the school must raise even greater resources to fund ongoing improvement.
Likely Areas of Strategic Focus
By December the Board of Trustees and administration expect to approve a strategic plan for
St. Andrew's next decade. Areas of focus will include:
- Growing Lower School enrollment and facilities to strengthen St. Andrew's
- Investing more deeply in our faculty and in research-informed teaching
- Supporting the inclusivity and diversity of our community
- Increasing financial capacity to support our faculty, students, and programs
- Building understanding of the distinctive value of a St. Andrew's education
I fully embrace these challenges and opportunities. Thank you for making St. Andrew's current strengths and aspirations for the future possible.
Best wishes,
Robert Kosasky
Head of School
