Strategic Plan
Jones College Prep Strategic Plan
Jones for the Future Plan 2010
Jones College Prep has developed a strategic plan that will guide the school's priorities and energies for the next six years. This plan will serve to integrate all school improvement processes including School Improvement Planning for Advancing Academic Achievement (SIPAAA), North Central Accreditation (NCA), and the Consortium on Chicago School Research's Models of Essential Supports for Student Learning school assessments. These six strategic trajectories will influence the future of Jones and will serve as a blueprint for our continual efforts at improvement and excellence as the premier college prep school in Chicago's educational and cultural corridor:
Area 1: Build Instructional Capacity
- Create and empower the teacher-led Teaching & Learning Committee (TLC) in their goal to see to it that Students will be intellectually engaged and will take an interest in and enjoy success with rigorous academic content from the 5 Conceptual Roots of Teaching & Learning at Jones College Prep.
- Develop and implement a strategic hiring initiative to recruit a diverse and talented faculty whose professional values and priorities match those of the school's mission and outcomes explicated in the Grad at Grad.
- Create a comprehensive new teacher induction and mentoring program to ensure support and retention.
- Implement the 5 Conceptual Roots of Teaching & Learning as a foundation for curriculum and instruction.
- Create opportunities to integrate the expertise present among special educators into school-wide teaching and learning through staff development. Ensure that students of all abilities and learning styles are able to thrive.
- Focus staff development activities around academic rigor and student engagement to a level befitting a nationally renowned college prep school. Encourage teacher membership in reputable regional and national associations.
- Nurture the "inner scholar" of faculty by encouraging academic writing, action research, presentations at national refereed conferences, and by supporting the acquisition of advanced degrees and National Board certification.
- Partner with teacher-led committees to make the teacher evaluation process meaningful, helpful for improving instruction, and aligned with the school's mission and outcomes explicated in the Grad at Grad.
- Foster integrated thematic instruction and interdisciplinary work by creating more opportunities and structures for interdisciplinary exchange and curriculum development such as building a staff lounge and creating 9th grade writing, communication, and technology course that integrates the 9th grade experience.
- Create a teacher exchange program with other high quality college prep schools to encourage exchange of ideas.
- Implement a cluster hiring / staffing initiative to help dissolve fabricated boundaries between academic disciplines.
Area 2: Build & Empower Staff Leadership Capacity
- Create and empower the teacher-led Staff Leadership Academy (SLA) in their mission to "Co-create and empower shared leadership of and responsibility for the school by helping to build leadership skills among faculty / staff, a climate of common purpose within a constantly changing environment, and by planning and executing high-quality programming throughout the year."
- Ensure that faculty / staff have an important voice in the directions and leadership of the school.
- Help faculty and staff develop themselves as leaders by establishing informal and formal mentoring opportunities.
- Encourage dialogue with and partnerships between faculty / staff, students, and parents.
Area 3: Build & Empower Student Leadership Capacity
- Assess the quality of and improve student activities / organizations and athletic programs. Identify and support the programs that best serve the mission of the school and the outcomes explicated in the Grad at Grad.
- Build formation programs to help students develop their leadership skills.
- Ensure that students and their families have an important voice in the directions of the school and leadership of student activities.
- Create more opportunities for students to lead other students including the creation of school-wide retreat, mentoring, tutoring, and student activities programs.
- Train and encourage faculty, staff, and parents to mentor students through leading their own organizations.
Area 4: Implement & Nurture Standards of Behavioral & Academic Excellence
- Develop and implement a school-wide discipline program that focuses on teaching students life-long social skills and positions students, faculty / staff, parents, and community members as partners in the process.
- Reorganize the Student Services Office to ensure accuracy of discipline and attendance information, dialogue / partnership with parents, and helpful interactions with students who struggle with challenging behaviors.
- Create a student exchange program with other high quality college prep schools to encourage exchange of ideas, exposure to other school climates, and reflection opportunities to internalize attitudes of excellence.
- Create opportunities for faculty / staff, parents, students, and friends of Jones to dialogue about, reflect upon, and develop a commonly used language for the characteristics of environments of behavioral and academic excellence.
Area 5: Enhance School Climate
- Create and empower the teacher-led and student inclusive Diversity Roundtable Committee (DRC) as a "think-tank" for issues of ability, socio-economic status, gender, sexual orientation, race, spirituality, and background. Support the DRC in its mission to "analyze, reflect upon, shape policy about, and design programming around issues of ability, socio-economic status, gender, sexual orientation, race, spirituality, and background."
- Create and empower the teacher-led Student Support Committee (SSC) in their mission "to provide a comprehensive safety net for any student who needs emotional, social, or academic support through a case management model that integrates the services of the Student Services Office, Counseling Department, Home Court Advisors, parents, Student Union, and other helpers. To act as an integrator of services to ensure that every student who struggles is given seamless support."
- Create and support a student / staff group composed of members of each diversity club at Jones to design and implement a climate survey and to create policies and programs for improvement based upon the survey's findings.
- Ensure that faculty / staff enjoy coming to work by placing emphasis on healthy workplace dynamics, a sense of empowerment, and a true desire to co-create an environment conducive to high quality teaching and learning.
- Provide support for communication processes that bring about a healthy work environment.
- Create a school environment in which students feel a sense of belonging and enjoyment regardless of ability, socio-economic status, gender, sexual orientation, race, spirituality, or background.
- Create opportunities for social and communal engagement between students and faculty / staff, among students, and among faculty / staff.
- Create and empower the staff-led Support Staff Senate (SSS) to provide a forum for voicing concerns, making recommendations for changes, and improving work conditions.
- Ensure that the physical plant reflects the mission of the school and its high quality standards of excellence.
- Create a Physical Plant Planning Committee (PPPC) with new construction to ensure adequate representation of all members of the school community in the new design.
- Enhance the Home Court program to reflect the school's mission of integrating and educating the whole person by training faculty / staff to be effective advisors who serve as liaisons with parents and mentors, and by planning curricula that combine academics with community building.
- Create a Student Union with a student advisory committee that seeks to attract students for educational and communal programming, mentoring, tutoring, and leadership development opportunities.
Area 6: Create and Build an Institutional Development Program
- Hire a full-time and experienced Director of Institutional Development to build a comprehensive program.
- Create new and nurture existing relationships with the Jones College Prep Advisory Council (JCPAC), the Jones College Prep Local School Council (LSC), city government, neighbors, community organizations, universities, corporations, foundations, parents, alumni, and individual donors / friends of Jones.
- Support and strengthen the Friends of Jones non-profit organization and partner with them in their work to provide financial support for the strategic priorities of the school.
- Create and nurture an Alumni Relations plan that will reconnect graduates to the mission of the school.
- Develop and implement strategic fundraising, volunteering, and marketing plans.
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