Notre Dame Preparatory School’s Strategic Plan

Validating the Vision

Introduction

In 2001, Notre Dame Prep embarked upon Validating the Vision (VTV), a multi-year, strategic planning process. Included in this endeavor were the review and revision of the school’s Mission Statement, Philosophy and Belief Statements; development of a Graduate Profile and Parameters; and the creation of a Strategic Plan which lays out the roadmap into the school’s future. More than 100 members of various stakeholder groups participated in the creation and implementation of the plan.

What is VTV?

VTV is an acronym referring to a method of strategic planning for Catholic schools, and it is the method which NDP uses to apply for re-accreditation with the Commission on Secondary Schools of the Middle States Association. This process provides NDP with the opportunity to conduct self-studies and evaluations; and it serves as a guide to faculty and staff as they create and execute a Strategic Plan, a roadmap into the school’s future. (For more information about this commission, go to http://www.css-msa.org/, and for more information about Validating the Vision, go to http://www.ncea.org/services/Strat_lan-VTV.asp.)

Objectives

Five objectives comprise Notre Dame Preparatory School’s Strategic Plan, which guides decision-making both in and out of the classroom: Faith Development, Academic Achievement, Student Leadership, Diversity and Communication. All strategies and objectives of the plan derive from the school mission. The success of the first four objectives is measured by student responses to activities and surveys. The success of the fifth objective is measured by responses from each of the NDP constituencies: students, faculty, staff, parents and guardians, trustees, alumnae, and Hampton community members.

Participants

Each objective has an Action Plan which was written by Action Plan Committees prior to the Fall 2004 visit of the Middle States Team. Since that time, the Action Plans have been carried out by various committees and sub-committees. The Internal Long Range Planning Committee is a group of people who represent all of Notre Dame’s constituencies. During the designing stage of the Strategic Plan, it surveyed stakeholder groups and wrote the five objectives. It now meets twice a year, and serves as an oversight body when it conducts a formal Annual Review of the Strategic Plan each summer. The Steering Committee meets monthly to problem-solve and to guide the daily work of the Plan. The Survey Committee supports the work of the Internal Long Range Planning Committee by collecting, collating, and archiving data which measures the success of the Strategic Plan.

MS Standards of Success

In the spring of 2007, the Commission on Secondary Schools of the Middle States Association published a document describing the twelve standards which secondary schools use to measure their success in the education of young people. These standards are: Philosophy and Mission, Governance and Leadership, School Improvement Planning, Finances, Facilities, School Climate and Organization, Health and Safety, Educational Program, Assessment and Evidence of Student Learning, Student Services, Student Life and Student Activities, and Information Resources and Technology. (For more information regarding these standards and how they are used, go to http://www.css-msa.org/pdfs/2007SchoolStds.pdf.)