2019-20 Update

We're pleased to say great progress was made in this first year of implementation. Among newly completed items, achieving our target of securing $2 million in pledges to the endowment toward a goal of $10 million by 2022, and raising more than $562,000 in unrestricted Annual Fund giving, exceeding our goal of $500,000.

Elevate Learning & Teaching Excellence

  • Define the SDS educational philosophy
  • Complete "Portrait of a Graduate" and communicate broadly
  • Support educational philosophy and curricular alignment with dedicated professional development resources.
  • Conduct a needs analysis for a curriculum coordinator and department chairs, including structure and costs
  • Research and adopt digital citizenship curriculum
  • Review current cycle for technology replacement and make recommendations for future needs
  • Create Middle School after school program ✔️
  • Create athletic program mission statement/philosophy ✔️
  • Explore new opportunities to enrich fine arts programming
  • Add the German language as a course offering in the Upper School ✔️

Support Faculty Quality & Engagement

  • Reorganize the business office to create Human Resources expertise for school wide support ✔️
  • Evaluation process documented for all faculty.
  • Increase outreach to cultivate prospective faculty
  • Complete and present a faculty salary study to include competitor and industry information for salaries and benefits
  • Redesign on-boarding of new faculty with goals of informing and supporting ✔️
  • Create a comprehensive hiring process for all faculty
  • Develop a system to support ongoing professional growth and development for all faculty
  • Define the value proposition for faculty
     

Strengthen Culture & Community

  • Develop a process for annual survey implementation and feedback
  • Be more intentional in all aspects of the Griffin experience for every faculty member, student and parent.
  • Leadership Team to enhance internal communications
  • Parents' Community to focus programs on community building and parent connections
  • Increase social opportunities, educational programming and school spirit through athletics and other school events
  • Study the student experience by collecting data relating to wellness
  • Gather data through surveys and feedback opportunities to study school culture and inclusion

Achieve Financial Sustainability

  • Secure pledges of $2 million toward a $10 million goal by 2022 ✔️
  • Raise $500,000 in unrestricted Annual Fund giving ✔️
  • Explore partnerships to support new student enrollments through endowed funding
  • Solicit two donor restricted funds of up to $25,000 for funding new programs and ideas
  • Build relationships with community partners to enroll new students
  • Increase international student enrollment
  • Foster and improve relationships with college partners for admission of new college partnership students. 
  • Reintroduce the planned giving program with a goal of $3 million in planned gifts by 2022
  • Study the impact of $2,000 - $4,000 grants to build enrollment
  • Update master plan for facilities renewal and replacement
     

* ✔️ completed