Strategic plan: True to Tomorrow
The Board of Trustees of Aspen Country Day School has formally endorsed the following strategic priorities, which now become the focus of our shared endeavor in the coming years:
PRIORITY: AN EXCELLENT FACULTY AND STAFF
Retain, renew, reward, and recruit outstanding teachers to ensure that Aspen Country Day School students experience confidence, resilience, and joy in learning. (read more)
Inspirational teachers are at the heart of the success of Aspen Country Day School graduates. It takes an exceptional faculty to design and deliver an outstanding program. Just as teachers challenge and nurture students to become their best, the school must uphold teachers as they reaffirm excellence in their professional practice.
Our vision is of a school community that leads in learning — a place where teachers at any stage of their career experience fulfillment and growth. As the school reaffirms its commitment to excellence, teachers renew their commitment to being both mentors and students themselves. An enhanced professional development program will demonstrate that ACDS is a place where students are not the only passionate learners — teachers are as well.
Commitments
- Enhance ACDS as a premier employer, starting with a holistic audit of the workplace and striving to be a national leader among PreK-8 schools in compensation
- Engage in more outreach to build a pipeline of talented faculty who excel in their craft and are also a strong fit for the school’s culture and program
- Establish a comprehensive housing program with a variety of solutions and policies to best meet the needs of our faculty over the long term
- Partner with faculty to develop individualized professional development plans that promote continuous growth and enrichment throughout the arc of a career
PrioritY: A VIBRANT, ENGAGING EDUCATION
Strengthen the program in academics, arts, and outdoor education to ensure that Aspen Country Day School students are prepared for the journey ahead. (read more)
The school seeks to become the first-choice educational program for families throughout the Roaring Fork Valley. A key promise that Aspen Country Day School teachers make to families is that they will guide children to become the best students they can be. Aspen Country Day School teachers want to ensure that doors are opening for our graduates, allowing each to succeed at the high school of their choice.
Commitments
- In concert with the Association of Colorado Independent Schools reaccreditation process, complete a thorough evaluation of the school’s academic program and implement recommendations
- Protect and continue to elevate the school’s landmark outdoor education and arts programs
- Ensure that students are looking outward and preparing for the wider world via service learning, travel, and classroom curriculum
- Deepen students’ social-emotional skills and understanding of the school’s core values of character, respect, responsibility, community, and perseverance
Priority: A THRIVING COMMUNITY
Preserve and deepen the distinctive Aspen Country Day School culture to ensure that all children and their families feel they belong and are participating fully. (read more)
The promise of an independent school is that children will be “known and loved.” In a strong community, children, parents, and teachers all experience a feeling of belonging, and this helps create better outcomes for students. A community becomes healthier through diversity, and the school benefits when families are coming from a variety of socio-economic backgrounds, geographic locations within the valley, traditions, cultures, and points of view.
Commitments
- Improve campus security and safety in the context of our culture and place
- Actively recruit mission-appropriate families valleywide, making the school accessible to everyone through a robust financial aid program, transportation, and commitment to inclusion
- Strengthen the fabric of our community, reweaving connections that may have become frayed, with a special focus on cross-grade experiences and beloved traditions
- Strengthen the partnership between households and the school, so students experience consistency of messaging, expectations, and behavior
Priority: A STRONG FINANCIAL FUTURE
Build long-term financial vibrancy for Aspen Country Day School to ensure that students of today and tomorrow benefit from this life-changing opportunity. (read more)
Over the past decades, Aspen Country Day School has come a long way, and many factors have contributed to its financial success: campus redevelopment, robust enrollment, generous philanthropy, wise investment, and careful stewardship of resources. As a more mature organization, the school is now in a more stable financial position, allowing for longer-term planning and forecasting. Attention can now turn towards managing risk, finding ways to extend and deepen our mission, and ensuring that future generations benefit from the full experience of a Country Day journey.
Commitments
- Focus on investment in faculty, facilities, housing, and financial aid
- Maintain the strong culture of philanthropy within the ACDS community, looking at ways to expand participation by constituencies beyond current parents
- Continue to grow the endowment for improved financial stability
- Actively manage recruiting and enrollment to ensure a full, healthy school that is a national leader among PreK-Eighth Grade programs
How this plan came to be
"This school graduates well adjusted, engaged, energetic learners who bring the light of their Aspen Country Day School experience into their next communities, careers, families, and adult lives."
Read more about the context for our new plan True to Tomorrow
Many thanks to the school community for your participation!
Teachers, parents, alumni, past parents: so many voices contributed to True to Tomorrow! This participation is so greatly appreciated.
Many thanks also to the Strategic Planning Steering Committee that guided the project over many months. Meet them here.