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BA Vision, Brookfield Academy Strategic Plan
Reaching for the Stars in the 21st Century Adopted by the Board of Directors, June 11, 2002
Mission Statement School Goals Students will learn:
This year we celebrate our 40th anniversary with great pride and appreciation for the many achievements and outstanding people of the past 40 years. Our tradition of excellence enables us to look to the future with a confidence and enthusiasm that strengthens our resolve to grow ever stronger in the 21st century-to always be a special place. A Strategic Plan was commissioned by the Board of Directors in the spring of 2001. In January of 2002, Board members and representatives of Brookfield Academy's major constituencies-parents, faculty, students, staff-participated in a three, day strategic planning workshop. Facilitated by Susan C. Stone, a leading strategic planning consultant who has worked with many independent schools, the workshop examined internal and external school issues, created scenarios for the Brookfield Academy of the future, and drafted relevant policy goals and guidelines for implementation of those goals. The attached document reflects the goals and strategies considered by the workshop participants to be most important for the future of Brookfield Academy. Issues in seven areas were identified:
A special thank you to the following for their willingness to participate in the three, day workshop.
Faculty And Staff Brookfield Academy will recruit, retain, and reward the highest quality faculty and staff committed to the implementation of the Brookfield Academy mission. Rationale: Inspirational teachers are at the heart of Brookfield Academy. The climate and culture of the school is forged by their enthusiasm for teaching, passion for their subject, love of children, high expectations, and commitment to the mission. They are the single most important reason why parents and students select Brookfield Academy. Brookfield Academy's highest priority must be to attract and retain teachers committed to the mission and to the children and families they serve. Attracting the finest and best teachers will be more difficult in the years ahead due to a projected nationwide teacher shortage which may worsen as the school, age population grows. To compete for a shrinking pool of outstanding teachers, Brookfield Academy's salary and benefit package should be structured to be competitive with comparable schools. Objectives:
Programs Brookfield Academy will prepare graduates to be responsible,- contributing, critical thinkers in a "hi-tech, global society." This will be accomplished through a fully integrated, dynamic learning experience that pursues excellence from pre-K through Level 12, consisting of academics, arts, athletics and activities emphasizing stimulation, intellectual curiosity, creativity, and the development of personal character, leadership and confidence. Rationale: We are living at a time when information is multiplying exponentially, when technology is advancing at an incredible pace. In this context, the Academy offers a classical education committed to a liberal or general curriculum. Its territory is all human knowledge, from the arts to the sciences, to history and mathematics. As a result, students learn to think broadly, deeply, and creatively. They learn to live up to their responsibilities and recognize the possibility of greatness within themselves. They are given the tools of learning through the trivium that encourages openness to truth, nourishes wonder, and provokes a curiosity and inquisitiveness that leads to scientific discovery. Such essential knowledge and necessary skills permit the student to become successful after leaving the Academy for an ever, changing world. The purpose of a liberal education is to educate citizens for a free society. Objectives:
Students Brookfield Academy will grow to an enrollment of 807 students who are motivated to excel, show leadership potential, display responsibility, qualify academically, and are from diverse backgrounds. School Size
Rationale: Brookfield Academy's enrollment has steadily increased during its 40- year journey. To insure a vibrant and competitive future for the Upper School community, growth must continue. Retaining a high number of students from the Middle School into the Upper School and offering a program distinctly different and superior to the competition will accomplish that growth. Objectives:
Brookfield Academy will properly maintain the current physical plant and facilities while acquiring property and renovating, expanding, and building the facilities necessary to fulfill its mission. Rationale: A well- maintained and adequate physical plant is necessary to meet the educational, physical, technological, social, and safety needs of the school community. Brookfield Academy has experienced significant growth in campus size and buildings over the last several years. It is essential for the continued success of the Academy that the campus and facilities be well maintained and improved according to evolving school needs necessary to implement its mission. Objectives: Develop a Master Facilities Plan to meet the short- term- mid- term- and long- term needs of the School with a financial and fundraising plan to support it.
Brookfield Academy will operate in a fiscally responsible manner consistent with its philosophy. Rationale: Brookfield Academy operates the school in a sound financial manner by maintaining a philosophy of covering all operating costs through tuition income. Financial stresses and strains surface, however, as a result of our efforts to be an outstanding school. In order to complete all current capital projects (athletic fields, Lower and Upper school improvements) the Academy incurred some debt that needs to be retired. The Academy plans to continue with various capital improvements that will require future capital campaigns. To attract and retain quality faculty, a fiscally sound plan is necessary to maximize the school's financial resources. Recently, Brookfield Academy launched the Five Star Legacy, an endowment designed to support the Academy's mission. On a per-student basis, this endowment is significantly lower than the national average for independent schools. It will need to increase in value to accomplish its intended goals. Objectives: Short- Term
Brookfield Academy will promote the understanding and implementation of the Philosophy, Mission, and the Five Stars to its own community of parents, students- and staff. Brookfield Academy will strengthen its commitment to the Academy Triangle by developing an efficient and effective system of communication that informs all members of the community (board, administration, faculty, staff, parents, alumni, and students). Rationale: Independent schools exist for one reason and one reason only: To be different. Independent schools do not want to, nor can they, be all things to all people. Brookfield Academy chose a uniquely different mission that has attracted a disparate number of individuals to the school for a common purpose. In order to retain our unique culture now and in the future, Brookfield Academy must continue to communicate its mission and philosophy to align every member of the Academy community with its reasons for existing. Objectives:
Brookfield Academy seeks to broaden its local and national recognition as a center of excellence in education. Rationale: Brookfield Academy has established itself as an outstanding school that has gained both local and national recognition for its program and achievements. A few local and national schools have used Brookfield Academy's program as a guide for their own schools. As most independent schools do, we challenge students to make the most of an academically rigorous program that produces students who will make a difference with their lives. However, we are different from most independent schools. With our emphasis and reverence for certain curricula and the classical approach of the trivium, we provide students with the necessary learning tools of grammar, logic, and rhetoric to remain successful in the 21st Century. Brookfield Academy, as a member of a local and national educational community, should actively contribute to the ongoing discussion of excellence in education. Its unique mission, curriculum, pedagogy, and program should be presented as a model for others to consider. Clearly, in education one size does not fit all and for that reason the Academy will present itself as a viable choice for those seeking a school that fosters the intellectual and creative powers of children and prepares them to be responsible, constructive, free people.
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