Strategic Plan
The Strategic Plan includes 8 key areas the School Board and KDS Administration are currently focusing on that involve short term goals, with the potential for realization in the 2023/2024 school year, along with long term strategic goals. The board began formulating this plan following an accreditation visit in March of 2020, and are hoping to focus on these 8 core areas prior to the start of our next accreditation cycle. Additionally, the board attends an annual strategic retreat to prayerfully revisit the current strategic plan and identify actionable initiatives to enhance the school.
1. Develop a master plan with Kirk of the Hills Church
In recent years, both Kirk Day School and Kirk of the Hills Church have grown and explored opportunities to improve our shared campus at the current location. In partnership as well as prudence, a master plan for the facility will allow both parties to engage one another fairly and with accountability.
2. Board membership planning
The board will work to have a plan of regular turnover, using a matrix to identify needed areas of board member expertise and make up, including a better system for determining board membership tenure. This process will increase the regular revisiting of board best practices.
3. Develop a new plan to increase faculty salaries and a professional development budget
The board will strategically plan to increase faculty salaries to be more competitive. The board will also look to increase the professional development budget to improve faculty learning and educational opportunities. This will allow KDS to not only attract but retain mission-fit faculty of the highest caliber.
4. Re-work our Faculty Mentoring program to include more aggressive faculty coaching and teacher support
The KDS Administration will improve the new faculty mentoring program as new teachers on-board. The formalization of this process should result in greater curricular accountability for all faculty, increased pedagogical and instructional coaching, and a richer structure for ensuring biblical integration across all subjects and grade levels.
5. Regularly review core objectives for the Educational Support Services and Enrichment Opportunities
The KDS board will regularly review the core objectives as they should clearly align with the school’s overall mission statement and hold the school accountable for the students it can serve to allow for academic growth, spiritual development, and future success.
6. CESA membership
Kirk Day School has been a provisional member of the Council for Educational Standards and Accountability (CESA) for five years. In the past, the school was unable to apply for full membership due to the high standards CESA requires. In an effort to better our institution for the future, the school will work to obtain full CESA membership by successfully engaging in the institutional review process by the conclusion of the 2022-2023 academic school year.
7. Continue to develop and execute a robust communication and media plan.
Kirk Day School will continue to develop a robust communication plan that highlights different uses of media. The school will focus on written, audio, and visual communications to strategically communicate core objectives of the school. This process will include a refresh of the school’s website.
8. The KDS board will take a comprehensive review of the board’s committee structures
During a recent self-study, the KDS board discovered that the current committee structure may not be following what is described in the school's by-laws. The KDS board will undertake a review and evaluation of the purpose, scope, structure, composition and future role of the board committees. The board will research national best practices including, but not limited to, CESA schools. The goal is to determine the best committee structure to support the administration and serve the school community.