Strategic Plan

What is Strategic Planning?
Simply put, strategic planning determines where an organization is going over the next year or more, how it's going to get there and how it'll know if it got there or not. Strategic planning can be used to determine mission, vision, values, goals, objectives, roles and responsibilities, timelines, etc

Below you will find the Executive Summary for the 2004-2009 Hill Center Strategic Plan.

Executive Summary

A great deal of thought and energy went into the creation of this strategic plan.  During the planning process, board members, parents, faculty, staff, and other professional stakeholders had productive conversations about the direction of The Hill Center.

The purpose of this strategic plan is to set a clear and compelling direction for the future of The Hill Center (“THC”). It is a guide for decision-making, answering the following questions:

• How will the Board and administration choose to focus THC’s time, talents, and money? In what priority order?
• What should not be done?

The following is an overview of the recommendations provided by subcommittees:

The strategic plan defines priorities over the next three to five years that will enhance The Hill Center’s effectiveness in achieving its mission.  The primary programmatic vehicles utilized to pursue the mission will remain the Academic Program and Outreach.

Student Programs:
The strategic plan recognizes the four-to-one student-teacher ratio as a core characteristic of the educational effectiveness of The Hill Center and its methodology. It reaffirms the effectiveness of the academic program in achieving THC’s mission.  First, the plan recommends continued growth of the student population that is manageable and consistent with the space available in existing facilities.  Second, enrichment programs will be enhanced through a greater focus on THC’s mission and methodology.

Leadership and Faculty:
Although faculty/staff recruitment and retention have not historically been an operational challenge for The Hill Center, the planning process highlighted changes in mandated educational policies that are likely to increase the competitiveness for attracting and keeping a ‘best practices’ faculty and staff.  As a result, the plan includes a strategic initiative to raise awareness of THC among potential applicants and develop a deeper pool of qualified teachers and administrators for recruitment.  In addition, the plan emphasizes the need to define clearly and communicate effectively the value proposition attracting – and keeping – faculty and staff at THC.

Technology:
The strategic plan recognizes the opportunity to broaden The Hill Center’s effectiveness in meeting its mission through the economic implementation of technological initiatives.  In the Academic Program, these initiatives focus on enhancing the educational effectiveness of teachers in the classroom and better utilization of existing physical spaces.  Although technology initiatives within Outreach have the potential to expand dramatically THC’s impact, they carry significantly greater financial risk.  As a result, the plan recommends a tiered approach that includes third-party confirmation of these initiatives in the form of financial support.

Outreach:
The planning process has not only confirmed the successful growth and maturation of the outreach initiative begun five years ago but also highlighted the need to refocus this area. Through the planning process, the various activities falling under the broad term of Outreach have been defined and categorized. The strategic plan recommends professional development & training and replication as the priority outreach initiatives.

Financial Support:
As the four-to-one student-teacher ratio is critical to the educational mission and methodology, it also creates a financial challenge for The Hill Center. The current operating model relies on outreach initiatives to ease the financial limitations of the present student-teacher ratio.  The planning process highlighted the economic risk of this model and recommends a long-term strategic initiative to create a substantial endowment campaign.