During the August 25th strategic planning status report meeting, Dr. Jones shared an update with parents regarding progress for “Vision 2020”, the strategic plan for SCCS. This vital plan will detail clear vision and tactics to achieve that vision for the next three to five years.
“When we started this process a year ago, the goal was to roll out a well-articulated, long-range strategic plan in January 2020,” shared Dr. Jones. “I am grateful to say we are on target to do that. Ultimately, our goal is to provide a better future for our children. As we build this plan, we must not only think about us but also those who come after us as we build a plan, an actionable dream.”
During the end of the 2018-19 school year, work was accomplished to finish up the environmental scan to further understand the landscape and gauge perceptions. Several focus groups were conducted including parents, students, staff and faculty. Questions such as, ‘What are your big dreams for SCCS?’, ‘What are the challenges you see for the school?’, ‘What do you love most about the school?’ and more were considered.
“The mission of SCCS is ‘Teaching minds and training hearts for God’ – but what does that mean and how do we define that into an actionable sentence or two that everyone here knows?” continued Dr. Jones. “When we have these actionable statements that clearly communicate our mission, we can look through this lens for each decision we make as a school.”
Considerations included spiritual formation and questions such as, ‘How does the school partner with families beyond chapel, Bible class and service projects?’ Regarding the academic program, Dr. Jones discussed the importance of tailoring the academic experience and ensuring there is an emphasis on academic rigor and college readiness.
“Another element we are working on is a strong security plan,” shared Dr. Jones. “I know we often think we don’t want to live in a world where security needs to be such a focus, but this is the world in which God has placed us. When finished, the security plan will not be widely communicated so we aren’t handing over our security playbook.”
