St. Margaret’s faculty and staff gathered Monday to review and assess the accomplishments of the school’s aspirational Strategic Plan after two years of dynamic implementation, and to engage in the iteration phase of the design thinking innovation process revisiting and continuing to prioritize the key goals of the plan.

Faculty and staff split into their self-selected teams each focused on a goal in the plan to iterate and update initiatives and recommendations for moving each goal forward from this point in implementation. These teams had originally formed in the 2016-2017 school year to make recommendations and prototypes based on student feedback and school needs.

“It was easy to see there is still tremendous passion, synergy and interconnectedness for the innovation process and the strategic plan goals to continue to improve the learning experience for our students,” said Ryan Dahlem, assistant head of school for strategic initiatives.

The high-energy session was also a chance to reflect and celebrate on the faculty and staff’s commitment to this work, which has led to the implementation of important strategic priorities such as the school schedule redesign, interdisciplinary studies, the Upper School Innovation Block, a revamped service-learning model, cultural-competency development, and student health and wellness initiatives.

The faculty and staff also provided current feedback to school leaders on what action steps are of highest priority next for the school. 

“The Board of Trustees entrusted our professional community to carry out action steps and realize the vision they put forth in this ambitious Strategic Plan,” Mr. Dahlem said. “Iterating within our original teams was the next step in carrying out that responsibility.”

The school is implementing the plan’s priorities and goals using the design-thinking process, an innovative methodology created by Stanford University’s Design Institute (the d.school) that draws inspiration from the fields of engineering, design and social science to tackle complex problems.

Additional information on the implementation of St. Margaret’s Strategic Plan will be provided at the State of the School address next Thursday, Jan. 17 at 6:30 p.m. in the McGregor Family Theater.