School News
Strategizing Success
As a board, our role is threefold - stewardship of the mission, management and support of the head of school, and maintaining financial sustainability - but at the center of the role is the idea of continuance. There's nothing more important to our board than ensuring Fayerweather continues to meet its mission and upholds its values long into the future.
One of the ways we do that is by making sure we're responding - appropriately and thoughtfully - to changes in the education landscape. In the post-pandemic world, there have been a lot of them! Schools that thrive amid these changes are schools that know how to be nimble, adaptive and strategic while also holding true to our values and the core of our mission.
That's why we engaged in a strategic planning process this past year. A strategic plan is an opportunity for a governing board - in partnership with school leadership and with the engagement of the entire community - to take a step back, look thoughtfully at the environment in which we're operating, and set some priorities that will help us better meet our mission within the set of social, economic and cultural conditions in which we find ourselves.
Our process for this work was intentional and inclusive. We assembled a steering committee of board members, staff and members of the broader Fayerweather community to lead the process. We worked with our consultant to create opportunities for meaningful participation from our community - both virtually and in person - and took particular care to make sure we were hearing the perspective and voices of Fayerweather experienced teachers. We appreciate and value tremendously every person who took time to be part of this process.
In the new year, we'll share more with our community about the priorities we're setting as a result of our steering committee's work - priorities focused on situating our academic program in community and place, more deeply understanding the needs of our students now and in the future, and ensuring that our space, schedule and financial model are attuned to the requirements of the program and the community. We envision through these priorities a Fayerweather that is recognized as a beacon of progressive education, making the lives of our students and families richer with curiosity, creativity and social responsibility.
The priorities we set through this plan are long-term, school-wide efforts that require special attention, time and resources from the board and our community. That we're putting significant investment of energy into these priorities does not mean, however, that these will be the only work happening at Fayerweather over the next five years! School leadership will continue to make improvements to our curriculum and program and partner with the board on thoughtful policy making around technology, security and other important issues. The life of the school - quotidian, magical, and complex - continues, even as we set ambitious goals for how we would like to see ourselves in five years' time.
We're excited to be launching this new strategic plan in 2025 - and confident that both the good work that went into our planning and the good work to come will position Fayerweather as a leader in the transformative work of education.
Fayerweather Street School | 765 Concord Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138 | 617-876-4746
Fayerweather is a private PreK, kindergarten, elementary and middle school. We engage each child’s intellect.