Strategic Plan

We must invest in the relationships that define the St. Paul’s School experience: attracting and welcoming an extraordinary community of learners, living our values of kindness and respect, and embracing equity, inclusion, and diversity as essential elements of a strong, resilient, and Beloved Community. We will:

• Sculpt an outstanding community of learners, creating ever-better access and promoting belonging for everyone at St. Paul’s … through an emphasis on financial aid, geographically and internationally diverse recruitment, and initiatives in equity, inclusion, and diversity.
• Bring greater intention to the holistic social/emotional experience of school life … by emphasizing relationships with and modeling by faculty and staff, and through direct instruction and clear expectations setting in support of positive cultural and social practices and patterns.
• Cultivate our pro-social, pro-relational culture on the grounds … through the creation of spaces, traditions, and shared experiences that inspire enduring friendships and build respectful, joyful community, starting with a warm welcome at the main gate.

St. Paul’s is strongest when we attract faculty and staff who love working with teens, who bring expertise that enriches our program, who value the rich diversity of our community, and who instinctively work to address challenges and strengthen the organization. To ensure that all of our employees can deliver their best, we must provide an attractive workplace, continuous professional development, and an evergreen program that promotes social and intellectual vitality. We will:

• Cultivate a caring, equitable, collegial workplace for all employees … through structures that better support today’s residential teachers, by staffing the School appropriately, by improving on-campus communication, and by promoting a team-oriented employee culture.
• Promote healthy boundaries and work/life balance … through training and by clarifying roles, accountabilities, and decision-making processes.
• Update methods, practices, and pedagogy to meet the academic and intellectual needs of today’s SPS students … with an emphasis on 21st century teaching, advanced studies, and new centers of excellence in writing and ethics.
• Ensure excellence and promote continuous improvement in our academic program and across our entire portfolio of programs … through investments in academic leadership and professional development.

In classrooms and common rooms, on the field and on the stage, St. Paul’s invites students to pursue excellence, take positive risks, find belonging, forge identity, establish healthy patterns, learn teamwork, practice leadership, and exercise good decision-making skills. These activities provide inspiration and joy, forming the basis of the lasting friendships that define the St. Paul’s experience. We will:

• Improve our understanding of adolescence in an era of global and constant connectedness … by investing in research, discussion, and collaboration with experts in adolescent development.
• Balance students’ desire to specialize with an invitation to explore broadly … by helping parents and students see value in the SPS journey, not just its destination.
• Ensure that arts, athletics, engagement, and wellness programs have the staffing, space, and structures required for success … through investments in people, facilities, and programs.
• Translate SPS’s model and traditions to ensure relevance to today’s world and today’s students … by maintaining focus on our core values as we update our School in response to contemporary and competitive realities.

The rich history and beauty of our Millville home provides common ground for our shared experience and must continue evolving to support our distinctive nature as a fully residential school. Master planning must prioritize student and faculty needs, programmatic support, safety and security, peer and competitor benchmarks, and long-term plans for climate change and environmental sustainability. Lastly, the grounds must connect students with a growing understanding of national and global systems, helping them understand how their ethics and actions affect others and the world. We will:

• Orient institutional decisions around the student experience … in part by considering student experience and programmatic innovation as primary priorities in master planning and capital investments.
• Leverage the unique power of our 24/7 fully residential model and vast grounds to promote formative educational experiences for students … through an examination of how we use time and space at St. Paul’s, and by more actively teaching the skills, perspective, and cultural competency required to build community.
• Increase our students’ understanding of their role as global citizens … by demonstrating how the SPS grounds can serve as a model of the world, emphasizing interconnectedness and interdependency, and bringing insight into global systems.
• Enhance the School’s connection with the city of Concord and the state of New Hampshire … through investments in the Advanced Studies Program, community engagement, and service.
• Set climate action and environmental sustainability goals … through enhancements in outdoor education and by incorporating environmental sustainability into the fabric of our learning, campus, and community.

The shared experience of a St. Paul’s School education links current students with graduates. This connection positions alumni as powerful models of service to the greater good. SPS will prioritize renewed engagement with our alumni and parents to reinvigorate pride in the School and our mission. In strengthening those structures that support the lifelong value and meaning of the SPS experience, we will ensure that alumni and parents understand the dynamics of today’s educational, social, and economic landscape. We will:

• Foster appropriate alumni and parent engagement … by developing programs and structures that involve, support, and connect alumni and parents to the School, and to each other, throughout their lives.
• Connect the global community of SPS alumni and parents to the experiences of students today … through enhanced service, usability, hospitality, and communication.
• Support and communicate the pride, promise, and distinctiveness of SPS … by connecting alumni, student, employee, and parent support of the SPS community through shared and meaningful experiences, and by celebrating alumni contributions to the greater good.