Forward: A Strategic Framework

List of 4 items.

• Who: The Committee

  In summer 2023, the Board of Trustees created an ad hoc committee to lead USN through its strategic planning process. The Board contracted Mission & Data, a firm that has worked extensively with independent schools and educational institutions across the United States because this group of consultants prides itself on being mission-driven, community-centered, and data-informed.

  
  

  The Strategic Planning Committee

  Shanna Singh Hughey, Committee Chair, Trustee, Parent ’29, ’31

  Mimi Bliss, Past Trustee, Parent of Alumnus ’22

  Marcya Carter-Sheats, Trustee, Parent ’34

  Reagan Farr, Trustee, Parent ’26, ’30

  Lauren Gage, Fifth Grade English Teacher, Parent ’34, ’37

  Benjamin Goldberg, Alumnus ’98, Board Vice President, Parent ’32, ’36

  Amy R. Huffman, Trustee, Parent ’29, ’33
  Alex Jahangir, Board President-Elect, Parent ’29, ’31, ’32

  Eric Kopstain, Board President, Parent ’25

  Robbie McKay, HS English Teacher, Parent ’25, Parent of Alumni ’20, ’23

  Tina Modi, Board Past President, Parent ’25, ’26

  Jennifer Russell, Trustee, Parent ’29

  Stephen Schleicher, Alumnus ’01, Parent ’32, ’34, ’37

  Kyleen Shyer, Fourth Grade Teacher, Parent ’37

  Anne Westfall, Director of Development, Parent ’27

  Kristin Wilson, Board Secretary, Parent ’29, ’32

  Matthew Wolf, Alumnus ’99, Trustee, Parent ’31, ’33
  
  

  Mission & Data is a firm dedicated to the effectiveness, health, and vitality of educational institutions and other organizations that make the world a better place. We are committed to enhancing mission-driven, data-informed leadership and governance by:

  • Integrated strategy consulting to promote financial sustainability, improve organizational effectiveness, and facilitate organizational transformation.
  • Developing custom data products, visualizations, and dashboards to highlight progress, identify trends, and leverage actionable insights.
  • Auditing current practice and analyzing organizational data to recommend process efficiencies and strategic improvements.
  • Coaching leaders and boards of trustees to enact institutional vision and build a culture of inquiry-based decision-making practices.

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• What: The Process

  Input from members of the PDS/USN community is essential and was gathered through surveys, focus groups, and individual conversations. The strategic planning process has been inclusive of the entire USN community and data-informed, using an unprecedented amount of feedback from our enthusiastic families, educators, students, and even alumni and parents of alumni. Three surveys and multiple focus groups have yielded nearly 4,000 comments, which the Strategic Planning Committee analyzed and used to shape priorities and goals. 

  
  

  The Strategic Planning Committee presented a draft of the strategic planning document to the Board of Trustees in late April. The Board approved the plan in late May. The Administrative Team is working to implement, determine desired outcomes, and define success metrics. This strategic framework was shared with the entire USN community in March 2025.

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• When: The Timeline

  March 2025

  • The USN community learns the details of the strategic framework through this brief video and this document.

  
  

  September 2024

  • Tracking begins with the design of new data collection as needed.

  
  

  August 2024

  • The Director and Administrative Team collect initial action plans for the year to create dashboards.

  
  

  July 2024

  • The Director and Administrative Team begin accountability and action planning to define metrics and appropriate measurements.
    
    

  May 2024

  • The Board of Trustees votes on the strategic plan.
    
    

  April 2024

  • The committee presents the plan to the Board of Trustees for additional feedback.
  • Plan revisions continue.
    
    

  March 2024

  • Mission & Data conducts a 90-minute focus group with faculty, staff, and administrators during an afternoon inservice meeting.
  • Plan revisions continue.
    
    

  February 2024

  • The committee forms a working subgroup to begin writing the plan, sharing multiple revisions with the committee over the ensuing months.
  • The committee invites USN parents and families to share additional feedback through another survey.
  • Plan revisions continue.
    
    

  January 2024

  • The Strategic Planning Committee analyzes information from the survey and focus groups into categories, which are used to establish USN's priorities and goals. 
  • The committee shares initial goals with trustees, administrators, faculty, and staff and solicits their input through another survey.
    
    

  December 2023

  • The committee begins reading and analyzing nearly 2,500 comments from the initial survey.
    
    

  November 2023

  • Mission & Data conducts focus groups with donors and alumni.
    
    

  October 2023

  • Three faculty from Lower, Middle, and High Schools are added to the Strategic Planning Committee.
  • The Strategic Planning Committee invites the parents, families, alumni, parents of alumni, faculty, staff, and administrators to share their thoughts on the school’s strengths, challenges, aspirations, and opportunities through a survey.
  • Mission & Data conducts an all-day retreat with the Board of Trustees and Strategic Planning Committee and focus groups with students.
    
    

  August 2023

  • Mission & Data meets virtually with faculty and staff during a back-to-school inservice meeting.
  • Two administrators are added to the Strategic Planning Committee.
  • The committee researches the strategic plans of other independent schools.
    
    

  Summer 2023

  • The Board of Trustees convenes an ad hoc committee of trustees, parents, alumni, and the Director to create the Strategic Planning Committee.
  • The Strategic Planning Committee interviews three consulting firms and hires Mission & Data.

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• How: The Input

  The PDS/USN community has been invited to participate and kept informed throughout this process by email and through the Friday division publications. 
  
  Forward: A Strategic Framework for the Future of USN (March 17, 2025)
  
  

  Share Your Input to Move USN Forward (October 23, 2023)
  
  

  Reminder: Share Your Input to Move USN Forward  (October 31, 2023)

   

  Forward: We Hear Your Resounding Voices (November 29, 2023)

  
  Forward: Building Our Strategic Pillars (January 26, 2024)
  Only to trustees, administrators, faculty, and staff 

  
  Forward: An Update on Strategic Planning (February 15, 2024)
  Only to parents and families 

  
  Strategic Planning Focus Groups on March 18 (March 8, 2024)
  Only to administrators, faculty, and staff 

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