Strategic Plan

We are proud to share the Morristown Beard School 2021–2026 Strategic Plan, a roadmap shaped by our community and grounded in our shared vision for the future of MBS.

The Plan is the result of more than a year of asking questions, listening, and working together to identify the priorities that will guide our School in the years ahead. The Steering Committee brought together perspectives from alumni, parents, students, faculty, administrators, staff, and consultants to help shape a plan that reflects who we are and who we aspire to be.

The 2021–2026 Strategic Plan outlines important areas of growth while remaining rooted in the values and aspirations that make an MBS education distinctive. Across each of its pillars, the Plan emphasizes an education that extends far beyond the classroom and continues to shape our students long after their time at MBS.

The Plan was finalized during a year unlike any other in the School’s history. The challenges of that time reinforced the importance of community, reflection, wellbeing, and understanding the complexities of the world around us. At the same time, those challenges reminded us of the tremendous possibilities ahead and of our students’ ability to make a meaningful difference in the world.

Over the next five years, this Plan will help guide our decisions, our growth, and our continued commitment to providing a transformative MBS experience for every student.

We look forward to bringing these ambitions to life, together.

Academic Program

Objective

Develop academic programs to empower intellectually curious learners to ethically and responsibly meet the challenges of a world undergoing a technological revolution

Implementation
  • Enhance the academic programs through ongoing appraisal of curricular initiatives, grading and assessment practices, and essential skills
  • Create and fund professional development that supports curricular initiatives, fosters faculty growth, enhances each student’s experience
  • Audit and revise the curriculum for all grades to incorporate more diverse, equitable, and inclusive perspectives
  • Cultivate the habits of mind and skills students will need to face the challenges of an increasingly complex world

Wellness

Objective

Expand the range and reach of our initiatives to support the mental, emotional, and physical wellbeing of all members of the MBS community

Implementation
  • Revise the wellness curriculum and rethink the place of wellness throughout the curriculum in light of the widening understanding of what constitutes “health” and “wellness”
  • Build a professional development program for faculty and staff to learn about the latest research in mental health, inclusivity, self-care, and social/emotional learning and how it pertains to the learning of students
  • Update and expand the MBS facilities to meet the demands of a robust cross-community commitment to wellness
  • Establish clearer, and more, lines of communication between student-led wellness initiatives, the administration and faculty, and parents
  • Update MBS crisis plan in light of recent national and regional pandemic

Community Belonging

Objective

Foster a culture of inclusion, belonging, and understanding.

Implementation
  • Boldly invest the resources needed to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion
  • Ensure the school environment and policies are respectful, free of bias, safe, and empowering for every student
  • Strengthen the connection to BIPOC parents and alumni by creating opportunities for them to engage with each other and the school community
  • Expand cultural competency training for all faculty and staff while also providing educational opportunities for the entire MBS community
  • Prioritize and broaden our recruitment and retention strategies to increase the number of BIPOC faculty/staff

Experiential Learning

Objective

Engage our community in meaningful, hands-on challenges to foster empathy, resilience, and the courage to reconsider what is possible

Implementation
  • Make the distinct strengths of Performing Arts, Visual Arts, and Design Studies reasons to come to MBS 
  • Map out clearer pathways for students committed to the Arts at MBS 
  • Expand the force and scope of “Global Studies” at MBS
  • Challenge the MBS community to recognize and confront global and local interconnectedness with humility, respect, and a sense of responsibility
  • Guide and support the MBS community in meaningful service opportunities
  • Extend the reach of academic programs into communities of real-world professionals

Enrollment Management

Objective

Expand MBS’s reputation as a school of choice that focuses on each student’s individual educational experience

Implementation
  • Increase alignment of the admission process and strategies with the school’s curricular philosophy through more sophisticated use of data
  • Implement new recruitment efforts to expand applicant pool with a concentration on key entry points
  • Maximize accessibility for all students who seek the MBS experience
  • Ensure long term sustainability of School to support these initiatives, including growth
    of the endowment
  • Continue to provide opportunities that make the MBS experience exceptional