2013-2020STRATEGIC PLAN

AN INTRODUCTION TO USM’S STRATEGIC PLAN

In October of 2013, University School of Milwaukee introduced its 2013-2020 Strategic Plan to our community. Ours is not a “traditional” operational strategic plan; rather, it is more of an education-focused plan. With a successful first year of this implementation process behind us, we are pleased to share an update on the progress we have made in these past 12 months, as well as a preview of some of what is to come in the near future.

There is no question that our Strategic Plan contains many ambitious goals for the School, and our faculty, staff, and administration have spent much of the past year further researching and refining many of the specific objectives included in the Plan. This work has been managed by our Strategic Plan Implementation Team, and the entire process has been and will continue to be overseen by our Strategic Innovation Committee, which includes trustees, administrators, and community members

These first steps help to show USM’s determination to continue to provide the exceptional academic experience that our School is known for, while embedding a culture of leadership for our students and faculty and maintaining a financially sustainable structure that provides us with the ability to “think big.” As a result of our work, it is our expectation that USM will earn a reputation as a thought leader and resource for primary and secondary education in the greater Milwaukee community and on a national level. Most importantly, USM will continue to provide the best education possible for our students to prepare them for the future.

Laura J. Fuller Head of School

Strategic Plan ApprovalUniversity School of Milwaukee’s 2013-2020 Strategic Plan was formally approved by its 2013-2014 Board of Trustees at its Tuesday, September 17, 2013 meeting. The full Plan is available online at www.usmk12.org/strategicplan.

2014-2015 Strategic Innovation Committee of the Board of TrusteesCHAIR: Karen Huffman | TRUSTEES: Deanna Doerr | Patricia Juranitch | Sangeeta Khanna | Tamora Martin | Gregory Smith | Erskine Tucker Jr. ’79 | Edie Turnbull | Sarah Zimmerman ’92 | ADMINISTRATORS: Laura J. Fuller | Pamela Nosbusch | COMMUNITY MEMBERS: Jackie Darr | Michael Sheppard | Marian Singer

GuidinG StrateGic PrinciPleS

GuidinG StrateGic PrinciPle #1:

Maintain USM’s focus on academic excellence and achievement, while also updating and enhancing the School’s curriculum and pedagogy.

WHAT WE’VE DONE IN YEAR ONE

A revised academic schedule was implemented in all three divisions.

• Additional opportunities for methods and types of learning introduced through this Strategic Plan

• Increased support for 21st-century education best practices in experiential learning, collaboration, leadership, service, and external community partnerships

A cross-divisional USM curriculum team was established.

• Consistency in integration of new curricular concepts across divisions

• Progressive classroom, global, and experiential learning throughout students’ entire USM education

GuidinG StrateGic PrinciPle #2:

Embed a culture of leadership at USM among students, faculty, and staff.

WHAT WE’VE DONE IN YEAR ONE

A revised Mission Statement and Guiding Principles were developed and approved. (These are available online at www.usmk12.org/mission.)

• Several previous philosophy statements tied together in a more cohesive manner

• Leadership called out as one core component (along with learning and service) necessary for student success and for living a life of purpose

• Affirmation that Common Trust continues to remain central to USM’s Guiding Principles

GuidinG StrateGic PrinciPle #3:

Focus on financial sustainability and resource stewardship, including management of costs, tuition, fees, and other revenue sources.

WHAT WE’VE DONE IN YEAR ONE

The majority of first-year implementation expenses were focused around professional development opportunities.

• Funding primarily from USM’s existing “Think Big” grant money

An operational budget for year two of implementation was created and reviewed, and ultimately approved by the Board of Trustees and its Finance Committee.

A new Auxiliary Revenue Committee of the Board was created.

• Exploration of additional revenue streams and income sources to partially offset future Strategic Plan implementation and School expenses

Important progress has been made in the first year of implementation of University School of Milwaukee’s 2013-2020 Strategic Plan. While much of the work has focused on the three Centers created by the Strategic Plan (presented in more detail on the following pages), the progress to date detailed below is related to each of the Plan’s three Guiding Strategic Principles.

centerfor global education & engagement center forinnovative teaching &

professional

leadership

center for experiential learning

center for innovative teachinG and ProfeSSional leaderShiP

WHAT WE’VE DONE IN YEAR ONE

Our faculty has been one of our greatest strengths throughout our 50 years as a school, with a foundation of exceptional teaching dating all the way back to USM’s predecessor schools. The first year of implementation for this Center focused on further research and faculty development; faculty and administrators successfully revised the academic schedule and developed the cross-divisional curriculum team mentioned on the previous page.

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Faculty in all three divisions participated in professional development opportunities in support of specific Strategic Plan goals. Some examples are listed below, with additional examples on the following pages.

• Independent Schools Association of the Central States (ISACS) online learning work shop: discussion of balance with classroom learning; web-enhanced and blended learning; online consortiums

• Europe trip focused on World War I museums, monuments, and historical sites: development of first Project-Based Learning project in Sophomore Humanities

• Reggio Emilia conference (Italy): best practices learning in world-renowned early childhood learning programs

• Bridges 2014 Conference (South Korea): interdisciplinary teaching in art, math, technology, and science

Faculty and administrators explored best practices learning from 20 peer and aspirational schools in eight cities across the country. Some examples are listed below.

• High Tech High (San Diego)

• Francis Parker School (San Diego)

• Mary Institute and St. Louis Country Day School (St. Louis)

• Hawken School (Cleveland)

• Collegiate School (Richmond, Va.)

• Blue School (Manhattan, N.Y.)

A common definition of “leadership” across all three divisions was written and accepted.

• Leadership committee integrated into Center for Experiential Learning for further work

Develop a leading center for best practices in 21st-century teaching and learning with a focus on connecting and collaborating with the broader community of professional educators.

The purpose of this Center is to strengthen the existing USM teaching and learning experience through professional development, to broaden leadership skills for our faculty, and to serve as a catalyst and resource for best practices in our region and beyond.

centerfor global education & engagement center forinnovative teaching &

professional

leadership

center for experiential learning

center for Global education and enGaGement

WHAT WE’VE DONE IN YEAR ONE

USM has a long tradition of global awareness, including the Global Scholars Program in the Upper School and the strong world language program in all three divisions. The work done by this Center’s committees over this past year has focused on developing students who are global citizens, researching capstone experiences and international travel as complementary elements to the curriculum, and examining the School’s world language program.

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Faculty and administrators participated in the Global Education Benchmark Group’s Global Educators Conference.

Faculty participated in an Independent Schools Association of the Central States (ISACS) international student workshop.

Research of top world language programs, as measured by student proficiency, was conducted.

Faculty participated in the Thatcher School Capstone Consortium Conference.

• Creation of global education and engagement capstone experiences in each division

A survey regarding interest in various world language options for students in all grades was sent to parents.

Enhance a globally-integrated and diploma-designated academic experience that brings our diverse world into the USM classroom and sends USM out into the world.

The purpose of this Center is to foster a global perspective among USM students, expand local and global learning alliances, and enhance the learning opportunities for students at USM.

centerfor global education & engagement center forinnovative teaching &

professional

leadership

center for experiential learning

center for exPeriential learninG

WHAT WE’VE DONE IN YEAR ONE

USM has made it a priority to expand the experiential learning offerings for students in all grades in order to ensure that they are provided with significant and meaningful opportunities for the hands-on application of classroom learning to the real world. Existing opportunities and programs have been enhanced, and new partnerships are actively being pursued.

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Common definitions of “experiential learning” and “partnership” across all three divisions were written and accepted.

Faculty participated in the Thatcher School Capstone Consortium Conference.• Creation of experiential learning capstone experiences in each division

The Internship and Job Shadowing Program, previously a stand-alone parent initiative, was moved into the Parents’ Association.• Program work better aligned with Strategic Plan goals• Provision for additional resources

Meetings were conducted with local colleges and universities, as well as other organizations.• Potential partnership opportunities for students and faculty

Additional potential partnership opportunities were documented for review and consideration.

Develop a center focused on the application of classroom learning that builds on the professional relationships that USM has engendered in the region. This Center will provide real-world learning and diploma-designated experiences in selected academic areas.

The purpose of this Center is to leverage the collective human capital among the USM parent, trustee, alumni, and other stakeholder communities for the benefit of our students. Interaction with community leaders will provide students with opportunities to problem-solve and discover pragmatic solutions.

University School of Milwaukee’s Strategic Plan Implementation Team is proud of the work completed by our various committees during this first year of the implementation process. Faculty, staff, and administrators are part of the 15 different committees that are currently working on specific areas of Strategic Plan implementation. In addition, several members of the Board of Trustees, along with many USM parents and other leaders in the greater Milwaukee community, are actively contributing to this process to ensure its success. This level of participation plays an important role in USM’s ability to continually adapt to the evolving needs of our students and to remain such an excellent school.

Our original 18 committees have been strategically combined and realigned to form the 15 working committees for this school year, and further progress and strategy will likely allow us to refine even further in the months and years ahead. The success of our Strategic Plan is dependent on the continued hard work and dedication of our committee members, especially our faculty who work daily to make our Plan come alive in their classrooms; their expertise and passion will serve USM well as we continue the implementation of our Plan.

Pamela Nosbusch Head of Middle School; Strategic Plan Implementation Team Chair

Strategic Plan Implementation TeamCHAIR: Pamela Nosbusch | ADMINISTRATORS: Gregg Bach | Kathy Choren | Stuart Cushman | Laura Fuller | TRUSTEES: Sangeeta Khanna | Sarah Zimmerman ’92

What’S to come in Year tWo?

The Strategic Plan committees will be addressing the additional topics listed below during this second year of Plan implementation, and more information about each of these items will be shared as their work progresses.

CENTER fOR INNOVATIVE TEACHINg AND PROfEssIONAl lEADERsHIP

• Mentoring program

• Faculty hiring and evaluation processes

• Faculty professional development

• Inaugural “innovation in education” Summer Symposium

• New educational partnerships

• Space needs for innovation

CENTER fOR glObAl EDuCATION AND ENgAgEmENT

• Common definition for “global education and engagement” across divisions

• Global education curriculum review

• Division capstone experiences and guidelines

• Diploma-designated program

• World language offerings

• International student opportunities

• National/international student travel coordinator

CENTER fOR ExPERIENTIAl lEARNINg

• Service learning projects in all divisions

• Division capstone experiences and guidelines

• Diploma-designated program

• Water curricular thread in all divisions

• Internship and Job Shadowing Program enhancements

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