Defining Crescent’s Next Steps
For those who follow this blog, you will know the importance I have placed on personal history. My mother has been one consistent presence in my life always ready to offer me sound advice at key moments in time. Whether selecting my high school, choosing my career path, or discerning a parenting direction, my mother has routinely provided sage wisdom while affording me the ability to choose for myself. Often her perspective is given through parable, story, or quotation. I vividly recall one such time when I was weighing two professional pathways. In describing to her the opportunities and challenges of each, she simply said, “In order to know where to go, you must first remember who you are.”
In preparing for our school’s next strategy, Crescent embarked on a process of institutional reflection referred to as accreditation. As a proud member of CAIS, part of our membership agreement is to conduct such a review every five years. It starts with an 18-month self-study (we chose to engage every member of our faculty and staff at this stage). Following this, a visiting committee from CAIS completes a peer review divided across the areas of strategic direction, education program, and school operations. The final report reflecting commendations and recommendations is submitted to the Head of School and Board Chair in order to complete a 3-year implementation plan. In addition, we chose to conduct school-wide Challenge Success surveys in January 2024 to capture the student experience for an even more comprehensive review of the school’s current state.
As we complete our 2020–2024 strategic priorities, there is reason to celebrate the work done to advance the school’s mission, including launching the Crescent Diploma, purchasing the Rumball property, starting the Crescent Centre for Boys’ Education, commencing phase one of the master campus plan and more than doubling the school’s endowment—all while managing the challenges of a global pandemic. Before we identify our next set of strategic priorities, it is important to pause and reflect on what has been accomplished.
In the words of Col. Francis Parker, “The work of schools is defined by the needs of society.” Today, many are wondering, “What is going on with boys and men?” The data is clear, boys are failing behind girls across every statistical measure of school and many men are now lagging professionally, emotionally, and socially. There’s never been a more important time for Crescent to be visionary and strategic. To this end, the Board of Governors is collaborating with school leadership to embark on a process of strategic design. This work commenced this summer and most recently a multi-stakeholder (staff, students, parents, Board, and alumni) visioning workshop was held to ponder what is sacred to Crescent while imagining the school’s future in a world that is dramatically different from when our previous plan was written five years ago.
While our mission, Men of Character from Boys of Promise, and values of respect, responsibility, honesty, and compassion, are firmly intact, our vision and strategy are dynamic. If a school’s mission defines its purpose, a vision orients the direction of the mission for the future. A vision is the publicly expressed aspiration of where the school is going and why. Strategy, on the other hand, is ultimately about how vision is implemented in order to be unique from other schools. Real strategy work begins with an inward examination of the current reality. In the coming months, a strategic planning committee will be seeking to crystallize our vision and decide on a strategy so as to set the direction for our path to 2030.
Our promise as a boys’ school is limitless and our future requires us to think carefully about what’s next. As my very wise mother says, knowing where to go starts with knowing who you are. The good news is that we know exactly who we are: a school for boys.
