Strategic Plan

A MESSAGE TO THE COMMUNITY

From the Strategic Plan Task Force Co-Chairs
January 2017

To the Community of The King’s Academy,

In March of 2016, The King’s Academy Board launched a task force to develop a five-year Strategic Plan for 2017-2021. Over the ensuing months, the team clarified our Mission, articulated our Core Values, and defined our Vision. With that foundational work completed, and utilizing feedback from a broad range of focus groups, the task force created three committees comprised of staff, administration, board members, and parents. These committees (Institutional Identity, Facilities, and Advancement) applied their collective wisdom and experience to address the specific strategic questions posed to them.

Subsequently, each committee collaborated to develop a comprehensive set of goals and action steps designed to advance The King’s Academy mission and to realize our vision. This Strategic Plan is a summary of that work and was adopted by the Board on January 19, 2017.

We invite you to read the following plan, and especially note our focus on Academic Excellence, Servant Leadership, and Relational Ministry.  The goals outlined in this Strategic Plan reflect our hopes and dreams for The King’s Academy, and we are excited to see these come to fruition.

Being a Christ-centered school, we like to say that the most important part of our name is the apostrophe. To that end, we dedicate this Strategic Plan to the King, Jesus Christ.

Sincerely,

 

 

 

Laura French            Emily Cabot
Board Members and Strategic Planning Co-Chairs

The first step in the Strategic Planning Process was to form a committee of stakeholders to review the mission of the school. The goal of this team was to create a statement that reflected the same core mission of TKA’s Founders but would be more concise, easier to remember, and thus, more readily applied as a litmus test for decisions.

While reviewing the mission, the team also created the core values which are foundational to the mission, a statement explaining who we are as a school, and the vision for our graduates. The wording reflected above was finalized after receiving input from the entire TKA staff.

Academic Excellence

GOAL 1:  Recruit, hire, develop, and retain excellent teachers and school leaders.

Why This Is Important:  TKA will recruit and hire teachers who are highly qualified to teach the classes they are assigned at TKA. Additionally, the school will provide the professional support and leadership necessary for teachers to continuously improve in their craft. Teachers will be encouraged to demonstrate innovation in their approaches to teaching and learning. TKA will promote effective collaboration within and across academic departments, strengthening the overall academic program and student/teacher experience. Personnel will be available to mentor and coach new teachers as well as veteran teachers who may need coaching.

GOAL 2:  Optimize the classroom environment for learning, with a focus on technology.

Why This Is Important: All teachers and students should have access to the technology necessary for students to be digitally literate and media savvy. The school will have adequate personnel resources to support and educate teachers in education technology and to maintain the hardware and software for a 1:1 school. The classroom configurations and furnishings will be 21st century learning spaces.

GOAL 3:  Ensure that all students will consistently be held to high expectations.   

Why This Is Important:  Teachers will implement best practices in establishing high expectations for all students in their learning environments.  Professional development will be focused on this objective. Beginning in high school, students will have access to general, honors, and Advanced Placement (AP) level courses in core subjects.

GOAL 4:  Offer a curriculum that reflects high learning standards.

Why This Is Important: All courses will be aligned to state or national learning standards. Curriculum will be vertically aligned. Teachers will collaborate within departments to ensure vertical alignment of curricula is planned, implemented, and continuously reviewed and updated.

GOAL 5:  Demonstrate TKA’s achievement of academic excellence with a variety of external measures.

Why This Is Important: TKA will make changes to school programs in order to increase chances for students to become National Merit Scholars and be recognized as Advanced Placement (AP) Scholars. Additionally, TKA will strive to achieve recognition as an excellent school through validation by an external agency.

Relational Ministry

GOAL 1:  Train all staff in relational ministry skills and practices.

Why This Is Important: It is imperative that TKA continue to hire staff who view ministry as their highest calling. Additionally, it is essential that the administration support such staff by allowing them adequate time and resources to be able to provide quality relational ministry. TKA will also strive to maintain manageable student-to-teacher ratios within classes in order to provide a more personal learning experience, thereby leading to more interactions between any one student and his/her teachers.

GOAL 2:  Identify, hire, and train new staff who understand, value, and demonstrate relational ministry.

Why This Is Important:  At TKA, relational ministry is critical to the school mission in two specific, intentional ways. The first is to bring those students who already know Jesus Christ as Savior into a deeper, more meaningful relationship with Him. The second purpose is to help those students who do not know Jesus to encounter Christ for the first time.

Intentional and honest relational ministry builds accountability and trust as students see Christ-like qualities modeled by teachers and staff. Within the classroom, relational ministry by teachers reinforces TKA’s mission of providing academic excellence. Receiving positive encouragement and sacrificial love from teachers and staff builds student leaders who will then relate to their peers in a similar manner, thereby building impactful student-to-student ministry. This spreads outward, ultimately affecting those who go into student government and leadership positions, as well as those who choose to cultivate more “behind the scenes” supportive peer-to-peer relationships while at TKA. After graduating and entering college and/or the workplace, these students then go out into the world, modeling Christ’s love to others. When relational ministry is done well, it results in a community of staff and students who are interconnected as the living body of Christ.

Learning Differences

GOAL 1:  Clarify what support services for learning differences will be offered.

Why This Is Important: The acceptance of students with learning differences aligns with the value of having a diverse student population and the desire to see each student reach his/her full potential. Students with learning differences can contribute greatly to the entire student body, giving students opportunities to learn empathy, inclusion, and diversity. TKA is a college-prep school, and we expect our students to be successful and reach their highest potential in a mainstream environment with limited or no support services. Current practice ideally limits students with learning differences in each grade. Additional quantities of students with learning differences would significantly impact the quality of education that TKA can provide to mainstream students, given resources and staffing available.

GOAL 2:  Improve professional development and training for teachers.

Why This is Important:  To better serve students with learning differences, teachers need to be taught specific strategies to support these students.

Broad Demographics

GOAL 1:  Ensure a broad socio-economic mix within our student population.

Why This Is Important: A broad social and economic mix of families in TKA’s school community aligns with the mission, vision, and core values of The King’s Academy. A quality Christian education is not a commodity reserved for one particular stratum of society. Rather, it should be available to all interested and qualified students regardless of socio-economic status. Christ commanded His followers to go into all the world and proclaim the Gospel to all nations (Matthew 28:20). Ministering to a broad social and economic mix of students enables TKA to abide by Christ’s command. A more exclusive school community would deprive students of the opportunity to learn from, and directly influence, peers from varying backgrounds and life experiences.

Advancement

GOAL 1:  Increase TKA’s Annual Fund income. 

Why This Is Important: Like any organization, TKA needs a sustainable financial model to fulfill its mission. It is the Board's goal to generate sufficient tuition income to fund the normal operational needs of the school.  However, certain aspects of TKA’s institutional identity necessitate a funding model that goes beyond that which is generated by tuition.  

GOAL 2:  Increase broad-based participation in giving to The Knights Annual Fund.

Why This Is Important: It is desirable that TKA’s community be known for its generosity.  The school’s missional goal of inspiring servant leadership compels TKA’s community to sacrificial giving of time and talents for both local and global service. Similarly, TKA aspires to be a community that models financial generosity, including giving that enables TKA to better fulfill its mission and vision.  

GOAL 3:  Create and grow an endowment. 

Why This Is Important: Creating a substantive endowment will make TKA less dependent on Knights Annual Fund donations.  An endowment can also increase overall donations to TKA by sourcing legacy gifts (from wills, charitable trusts, etc.) Long-term, the Board would like the income generated by the endowment to become the primary funding source for need-based tuition assistance, teacher development, and programs. Creating an endowment will also provide a potential source of funds for TKA to build/buy its own campus.  

GOAL 4:  Inspire all programs and departments to serve the local community.

Why This Is Important: This is a very exciting and winsome initiative because it is an extension of the mission of The King's Academy to be servant leaders and influence the world for Christ. By approaching this strategically and intentionally, TKA will create a sustainable and cohesively-branded set of activities that build relationships and visibility within the local community. Service may include sending performance groups out into the community, assembling care packages for nearby shelters, recognizing and thanking local city service workers, and inviting neighbors to a prayer night and BBQ on campus.

GOAL 5:  Increase TKA’s visibility and goodwill within the community.

Why This Is Important: Besides fulfilling the mission of the school, other potential blessings of local service may include drawing more families to TKA, engendering support in the community to keep TKA in Sunnyvale, and of course, honoring God by reflecting the light and love of Christ to the community.

Facilities

GOAL 1:  Renegotiate critical aspects of TKA's lease to increase the confidence of remaining at the current site.

Why This Is Important: The Strategic Task Force committee has commissioned the current principal to begin renegotiations with the superintendent of Fremont Union High School District (FUHSD) to extend the school's lease to a longer term, remove the current five-year out clause or, at the least, extend the out clause beyond ten years. The ultimate goal would be to find a way to purchase the current site; however, a long-term lease with an improved out clause is a significant step in the right direction. The goals of The King’s Academy can be realized by creating a culture of permanence that comes from having ownership of one’s own destiny

GOAL 2:  Execute capital investment projects that improve the function and appearance of TKA's current campus.

Why This Is Important: TKA is dedicated to continually improving the physical facilities in order to enhance the academic, extra-curricular, and spiritual experience of the students. This includes regular maintenance and upkeep of the existing facilities as well as capital investment projects that enhance the TKA campus.

GOAL 3:  Cultivate pride in TKA's campus.

Why This Is Important: The condition of TKA's facility has an impact on the work and study environment.  A well-cared-for campus aligns well with TKA's mission to inspire academic excellence and enduring relationships. Excellence is inspired by an attitude that both faculty and students are providing the best environment for advancing academics and relationships.  An attitude of excellence is enhanced by the pride in ownership that starts with the Facilities staff and extends from the administration, faculty, and staff all the way to the youngest of students. A culture of caring for the facilities that God has entrusted to TKA enhances the academic, spiritual, and social environment on campus.  

GOAL 4:  Investigate what it would take to realize TKA's dream of securing a long-term campus location.

Why This Is Important: The current lease agreement is a challenging agreement because of the five-year out clause that is available to both The King’s Academy (TKA) and Fremont Union High School District (FUHSD). Five years is an inadequate amount of time to study, finance, secure, and build a potential new campus if the FUHSD did give TKA a five-year notice.  For this reason, it is important to understand the options that are available to TKA in securing a long-term location. 

 This Task Force was formed specifically to create the 2017-2021 Strategic Plan. They met beginning in February 2016 and completed the work in March 2017.

Co- Chairs
Emily Cabot and Laura French 

Institutional Identity
Jerry Bruce, Chair
Ben Davis, Jack Ferrante, Martin Gates, Mauren Ghiossi, Kristine Lui, Joe Maemone, George Parsons, Julia Taylor

Advancement 
Kooper Frame, Chair
Betsy Atler, Michele Duncan, Kriss Hayward, Michael "MJ" Johnson, Sanford Kenyon, Josephine Loy, Rob Starke

Facilities
Frank Kmak, Chair
Rhonda Irwin, Kevin Johnson, Scott Meadows, Matt Nisbet, Lincoln Wescott, John Yandle, Heather Yandle

Finance
Greg Niven

Administrative Support
Glee Balvanz

Credits
Special thanks to Paideia, Inc. and Lead Consultant, Bruce Lockerbie

I. Academic Excellence

Completed

• Adjusted teacher pay scale 
• Increased retirement % and timing
• Introduced incentive for Google certifications
• Added AP classes including French & Mandarin
• Increased # of AP classes allowed
• Opened grade viewing
• Added Ed Tech Coach
• Added High School Principal
• Introduced MasterTeacher platform for teacher evaluation
• Began college fair recruiting
• Completed 1:1 distribution
• Replaced Terra Nova with Iowa Assessments for 6th-8th grades; PSAT 8/9 for 9th and PSAT for 10th-11th grades
• Introduced French National Honor Society
• Provided all teachers with laptops

• All classrooms have projectors and Apple TVs

• Received Common Sense School Designation

• Obtained 3 units for teacher housing
• Provided office space for lactation
• Created one-portal viewing
• Established Spanish National Honor Society
• Reviewed English department curriculum with consultant
• Received US approval for ASL-3
• Implemented 100% online & hybrid learning

• Installed Cisco’s Presenter Track in each classroom

• Implemented new School Information System (SIS) 

• Added homework expectations to course catalog

Ongoing

• Recruiting at Christian colleges
• Using Carney Sandoe hiring firm
• Funding professional development 
• Full-time IT staff
• Teacher observations with immediate feedback
• Teacher training
• New teacher onboarding
• Releasing teachers who don’t grow after coaching
• Grading practices that uphold high expectations
• Updating scope and sequence
• Vertical alignment by department
• Aligning courses to learning standards
• Training for supervisors
• Evaluating AP classes for relevance
• Use grade, survey and test data to identify growth areas
• National testing for French, Mandarin and Spanish students

• Investigating /training best practices for online learning

• Added homework load question to student surveys

• Global seal of biliteracy certification

In Process

• Add STEM classes

• Addition of Project Lead the Way for Engineering partnership

• Providing childcare room in Bldg B

• Use of 7 Star online curriculum

• 6 Yr Accreditation renewal

• Implement Centralized platform for daily instructional plans

• Research and implement best practices for teacher / Admin recruiting and hiring
• Examine communications methods/strategies to provide a more balanced student workload
• Implement selective concepts from Challenge Success
• Add Intro to Law class

Future

• Create a Technology Master Plan
• Introduce TKA STEM certification for students
• Investigate new schedule to increase instructional time
• Investigate higher level ACSI accreditation
• National Blue Ribbon to achieve recognition as an excellent school
• Get Apple Distinguished School certification

• Add instructional coach

• Introduce classroom configurations that reflect modern learning spaces
• Investigate Mandarin National Honor Society
• Add cybersecurity material to curriculum

II. Relational Ministry & Servant Leadership

Completed

• Increased number of local service trips
• Restructured Spiritual Life department to have all full-time personnel
• Introduced “Projects with Principals”
• Introduced new 12^th grade Bible class
• Changed chapel time and added Home Group after chapel
• Modified senior survey 
• Implemented alumni survey

• Introduced ambassador program for new students and parents

• SL department updated its mission statement

• Changed Bible 6-9 grades to pass/fail

• Expanded Bible class survey

• Modified Bible 9-10 curriculum

Ongoing

• Retreats
• Service trips
• Chapels
• Lunches out
• Training in relational ministry during teacher work week
• Relational ministry component at each staff meeting
• Principals & Curriculum Director mentoring new staff
• Screening for Relational Ministry during every interview
• Big Sister/Little Sister and Big Brother/Little Brother clubs
• Shadowing of hundreds of prospective students
• Service trip expansion
• Service opportunities at local schools and churches

In Process

• Creating infrastructure for coordinating service initiatives

• Evaluating assessment tool for student spiritual formation

Future

• Introduce personality/styles assessment in new staff training
• Introduce staff self-evaluation on Relational Ministry
• Compose Relational Ministry document
• Reintroduce Big Brother - Little Brother club
• Create ambassador program for international students

III. Learning Differences

Completed

• Hired assistant in Academic Support Services
• Hired full-time test monitor
• Expanded Academic Support Center classroom and testing space in new D-wing
• Split administration between Jr. High & High School

Ongoing

• Making specific accommodations for LD (learning difference) students, e.g. longer testing in quiet space
• Screening all LD files by ACS
• Incoming LD families sign LD contract
• Requiring outside testing of prospective LD students
• Pre-screening protocol before testing
• Reviewing percent of LD students at each grade level meeting and admissions meetings

In Process

• None

Future

• LD training for teachers

IV. Broad Demographics

Completed

• Funded endowment for financial aid

• Created scholarship for socio-economically challenged students

• Created Valuing Diversity webpage with action plan

Ongoing

• Evaluating curriculum to ensure cultural sensitivity
• Ensuring marketing materials reflect our diversity
• Evaluating and tracking spiritual maturity/church attendance during admissions screening
• Collecting data on socio-economic mix of new families

In Process

• Fundraising for Endowment

• Recruiting strategies for black and Hispanic staff and students

• Implementing Valuing Diversity action plan

• Diversity and Student Programming Task Force meetings

Future

• Appoint Diversity Task Force

V. Facilities

Completed

• Renegotiated lease to 25 years with 10 year out clause
• Obtained B, D & F buildings
• Renovated teacher’s workroom
• Created new teacher’s lounge
• Added new staff bathroom
• Recarpeted W Building
• Gave facelift to both girls’ and boys' locker rooms 
• Installed Sunnyvale HS sundial and landscaping
• Beautified Boardroom 
• Built 6 tennis courts and shed
• Cleaned up outback; added gazebos
• Added new turf field and softball outfield
• Added new intercom system
• Improved theater with all new: A/C, seating, carpets, exterior painting, interior painting
• Installed new scoreboard in gym
• Rebuilt and resurfaced theater stage
• Installed solar panels over parking lots
• Investigated feasibility of swimming pool
• Completed high-level design and cost for new buildings
• Rebuilt IT Firewall & Switches and added Servers
• Obtained two containers for remote Tecate storage
• Created better locker storage for big items
• Remodeled BDF wings
• Renovated art room
• Relocated and remodeled Engineering & Robotics Room

• Gave A-wing bathroom facelift

• Installed new filtered water fountains

Ongoing

• Five-year carpet and painting plan
• Painting
• Stained ceiling tile replacement
• FUHSD Facilities Manager participates in monthly Facilities meetings

In Process

• Theater aisle lighting

• Baseball fencing along 3^rd baseline

• Portables disposition

Future

• A, C, E Wing HVAC and Sound
• M-wing improvements
• New Science building
• New STEAM building
• New gym and locker rooms
• VPA storage/workshop into vacated portables
• Turf baseball field
• New theater lighting
• Theater sound-proofing
• Sound system in gym
• Live stream capabilities in W

• Administration wing modifications

• Relocate portable bathroom

• E-wing bathroom facelift

• Charging station for cars and lighting in back parking lot

• Key charging pack by back parking lot

• Move data center to new STEAM building

VI. Advancement

Completed

• Hired High School Principal to free up Head of School (HOS) time for fundraising
• Created development calendar for “asks”
• Implemented "Giving Tuesday"
• Created brochure for Knights Annual Fund
• Set specific goals for participation
• Completed feasibility study for new buildings
• Installed Sunnyvale HS commemorative bench and sundial
• Hired part-time CFO
• Created Endowment Fund

• Received grant for 3D printers

• Upgraded donor software

Ongoing

• Tuition assistance
• Sunnyvale High reunion games
• HOS meets with FUHSD leadership regularly
• Knights Annual Fundraiser each fall
• Building database of alumni
• Project with Principals
• Investigation of teacher housing options
• Staff participation in Knights Annual Fund

In Process

• Fundraising for new buildings

Future

• New building campaign
• Annual report on fundraising