A message from Hillbrook Head Of School Mark Silver. Follow his official blog, ReMarks & Reflections.
I’m writing to invite you to join a conversation that will lay the foundation for Hillbrook School in the next five years and beyond. We have launched a strategic planning process that will set a direction for Hillbrook that will guide us past 2020 and toward our 100th anniversary in 2035. A Strategic Planning Committee, made up of members from all constituent groups – parents, faculty, staff, Board members – has been convened to lead the process, with a goal of having the Board approve a new strategic plan by the start of the 2016-17 school year.
A key part of the process will be a series of community conversations held in the coming weeks in people’s homes, where parents and other members of our community will have an opportunity to talk about the school’s strengths and areas of concern, and also help us understand how different people prioritize the needs of the school in the years ahead. It will be an exciting and engaging evening.
Five years ago we created an ambitious strategic plan, Vision 2015, that promised to deepen our connections to our past while charting an ambitious path toward the future. The goals focused on four areas – program, operations, community, innovation – and challenged us to take a good school and make it even better.
Five years later, visible signs of the impact of Vision 2015 are everywhere. Program audits have led to dramatic improvements in our core programs – a full restructuring of Middle School English and math, consistent implementation of Readers & Writers Workshop across the Lower School, engineering and making integrated in both Lower and Middle school science, and a revised Social Studies program centered around essential questions. Perhaps just as importantly, our professional development program has never been stronger. Led by Aimee Giles, our Director of Teaching & Learning, with strong support from a program admin team that includes both division heads, the director of technology, and a group of coaches and teacher leaders, we are approaching professional development in a way that is collaborative, integrated, and inspiring. The Resident Teacher Program provides the foundation for our co-teaching model, a model that has significantly improved our ability to individualize our program and meet each child where they are. In addition, it has established us as a leader in elementary education, a school where early career educators and experienced professionals work together to create an extraordinary educational experience for all children.
Across campus, the results of our campus master plan are increasingly visible. Nearly every classroom on campus has been reimagined, with flexible classroom furniture and expansive white board space creating an environment that supports choice, engagement, and purposeful learning. Remodeled science classrooms provide an inspiring space for children to engage in a broad range of problem-based scientific experiences, while also creating a highly collaborative space for the science teachers. The outdoor stage is nearly complete, and it will soon be the central space on campus for community gatherings and celebrations. Soon after, we will be breaking ground on the new JK-2 playground, a space that supports a range of play – dramatic, physical, creative, exploratory – for our youngest students. As a school, we are increasingly creating learning spaces and environments that support and shape teaching and learning in profound ways.
Supporting these efforts has been a transformed advancement program. Over the past six years, we have seen our annual fund increase from just over $400,000 to more than $1 million. Philanthropy has not only allowed us to strengthen and expand our programs, but it has also served as a catalyst for innovation, allowing us to initiatethings like one of the first iPad programs in the world, our Resident Teacher program, and a campus-full of reimagined classrooms across campus. Capital fundraising has enabled us to initiate our campus renovation projects, as well as pushing our endowment above $1 million.
Today, we have the opportunity to create the next plan for Hillbrook’s future. As we have shown the past five years, the creation of our vision leads to real and tangible change that impacts each child’s experience, each day at school.
I invite you to join us for one of our community conversations. For 80 years, we have been committed to a central idea – to inspire students to achieve their dreams and reach beyond themselves to make a difference in the world. As we look toward the next 80 years and beyond, we are excited about how we can continue to strengthen our connection to our roots while creating a school that is at the leading edge of education in the Bay Area and beyond.
Warmly,
Mark Silver
To R.S.V.P. for a strategic plan conversation, check out the links in the latest Hillbrook Happenings. Space is limited to 25 attendees per evening, so sign up today! Each session happens from 6:30-8:30 PM.