Click here to listen to Episode 52: Vision 2030 – An Introduction
At the end of the day, my main job as Head of School is to ensure that Hillbrook is meeting its mission and vision as a school today, tomorrow, and long after I am here. In other words, my job is to steward the school through this moment in time and to work with the Board and the community to set a compelling direction for the future.
As a school, we have a long history of effective strategic planning. So much of who we are today – our robust Flexible Tuition program, the Hub, the amphitheater, our program audit process, our leading edge approach to technology and recognition year after year as an Apple Distinguished School, the Resident Teacher program, the Scott Center for Social Entrepreneurship – emerged from past strategic plans.
I strongly believe that a piece of our success is tied to our historical roots. From our beginning in 1935, we were a school that dreamt big and that understood that all children are capable of achieving extraordinary things if provided the right environment. And, we were a school that knew how to take a vision and turn it into reality.
I never tire of telling the story of the Village of Friendly Relations, the small houses that sit at the heart of our campus, ringing our amphitheater. Amidst a period of economic deprivation and growing uncertainty and violence in the world in the late 1930s, Mary Orem had a vision for a working village – with a general store, a newspaper, a bank, a garden, a henhouse – that would teach students how to work together. Students designed and built the village – finding the funding, securing the building supplies, laying the foundation and hammering the nails – and then spent a number of years operating the village as part of their day-to-day school experience. It was one of the earliest examples of learning by doing or real world learning, and it provided a powerful model for what we do today, as exemplified by experiences like Reach Beyond Block and Reach Beyond Week. And, of course, we still have chickens and a garden!
Mary’s ability to turn this vision into a reality set the stage for nearly 90 years of big picture thinking and execution. Which brings us to today, and this year’s launch of Vision 2030. Created under the guidance of Associate Head of School Colleen Schilly and Board member Coy Ross last year, Vision 2030 builds upon a long tradition of compelling visions. In the months ahead I will share more about the plan, including its creation and the details of our three major planks – prioritize balanced excellence, make Hillbrook a community hub, and broaden our institutional reach and impact.
We are at the most transformative moment since the school’s founding in 1935, as we transition from a JK-8 into a JK-12. I will share more in future episodes about how we are, building on the work and inspiration of generations of Hillbrookians before us, ready to meet this moment.