Strategic Plan

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Clarksville Academy 2016-2021 Strategic Plan

Clarksville Academy’s Core Values

  • Scholarship: Rigorous, comprehensive curriculum
  • Honor: Code of conduct applicable to students and staff
  • Character: Personality traits that enhance the reputation of students and staff
  • Respect: Respect for self and others
  • Success: Ultimate achievement of students’ goals and aspirations

Mission
Clarksville Academy promotes academic excellence, personal integrity, and physical and
civic responsibility.
Vision
Clarksville Academy assists students in identifying student interests and goals and
provides the academic tools to ensure student success in college and beyond.
School Objectives

  • Assist and guide students in achieving their fullest potential.
  • Strengthen and encourage students to discover their passions and interests
    through opportunities in academics, arts, athletics, and community service.
  • Prepare and equip students to be leaders guided by the core values of the school.

Profile and Overview

  • Clarksville Academy is located near the Cumberland River in historic downtown
    Clarksville, 45 miles northwest of Nashville, Tennessee.
  • Founded in 1970, it is the oldest and largest private school in the Clarksville area.
  • The student population is 650 students in grades PK-12.
  • The school offers the most comprehensive college preparatory program in
    Clarksville-Montgomery County area.
  • Clarksville Academy’s campus models that of a small university and consists of
    a distinctive mix of nine freestanding structures.
  • The Clarksville Academy Sports Complex, a multi-sport facility on 27 acres, has
    five athletic fields, a field house, a covered pavilion, and indoor pitching and
    batting facility.

Stakeholders

Clarksville Academy’s stakeholders include students, faculty, parents, alumni, and
members of the Board of Trustees. Stakeholders are asked annually to share valuable
feedback that is compiled in a SWOT (strength, weakness, opportunity, and threat) format
for analysis. This information assists school leaders in regularly updating the strategic
plan to ensure that it remains current and relevant.
Clarksville Academy Strengths

  • Innovative Education combined with a Challenging Curriculum: The
    combination of 1:1 technology with a rigorous, top quality college preparatory
    education is a significant asset of the school. An emphasis on arts, language,
    cultural enrichment, athletics, and community service add to the rich educational
    experience.
  • Diverse Student Body: The student population is varied and diverse. Students are
    a unique blend consisting of domestic, international, military, and first-generation
    independent school and alumni legacies. The percentage of students with military
    connections fluctuates between 25 to 30 percent each year. All eight ethnicities
    recognized by the Federal government are represented at the school. The gender
    mix in 2016 is 332 males and 313 females.
  • Safe and Nurturing Environment: The small campus design encourages
    independence. Small class size and a low teacher to student ratio create an
    environment that is one where relationships flourish and students are comfortable.
  • Athletic Opportunities: The school offers a full slate of athletic team offerings for
    students in grades 6-12. Boys and girls are strongly encouraged to participate in
    one or more sports each of their intermediate and high school years.
  • A Culture of Community Service: Lower school students are afforded class-based
    opportunities to assist others in our community who are in need. Intermediate
    school students transition to volunteer-based service while all upper school
    students participate in Clarksville Academy’s Challenge Based Learning Service
    Program (CBL). CBL is a yearlong program where students create teams and
    provide solutions for community needs. Students receive service credit hours for
    their CBL work during their upper school years.
  • Leadership: The Clarksville Academy Board of Trustees and an experienced
    school administration provide strong leadership and wise planning for the school.
    School growth, academic and athletic success, and strong accountability evidence
    this successful collaboration.

CA Opportunities

  • Facilities Improvement: Consistent, adequate renovation, and maintenance of
    existing facilities is a top priority, as is continual land and facilities planning to
    accommodate future growth. Future planned capital projects include a Fine Arts
    renovation with theater addition, a free-standing classroom building on North
    Second St., and a redesign of play areas and traffic circulation as shown on the
    campus master plan design.
  • Athletic Unity by Value Enriched Training: Adopt as a regular practice infusion
    of school values into athlete and coach training. Stress to parents and students the
    importance of appropriate personal conduct and behavior when representing
    school and family. Perform an annual review of the entire school athletic
    community’s adherence to the sports conduct policy.
  • Strengthen Financials: Manage school finances through a budget-based model
    that increases the school’s cash reserves and provides for competitive teacher and
    other employee salaries. Provide accurate financial data to management and
    trustees in a timely manner.
  • Reorganize school fundraising: Revamp and reorganize the existing fundraising
    structure to differentiate between annual, capital, and endowment giving. Make
    those both inside and outside of the Clarksville Academy community aware of the
    needs of the school. Create policies and procedures to ensure that the fundraising
    process is robust, systematic, and transparent.
  • Provide More Comprehensive Security: Explore new opportunities for increased
    campus and sports complex safety. Provide educational opportunities for campus
    security leaders such as workshops and conferences. Review and update the
    school safety plan as necessary.
  • Improve School Marketing: Share “good happenings” at Clarksville Academy
    more often and through more outlets, using the most current and relevant media
    platforms. Examples of “good news” are affordable tuition, lower student-teacher
    ratios, the Senior-Kindergarten Buddy Program, higher ACT scores, college
    acceptances and awards, sports victories, student elections, and other student-centered
    success.
  • Broaden and Improve Parent Involvement: Provide more opportunities for
    parents to become involved with the school and to have a regular parent contact throughout the calendar year, not just at the beginning of school.
  • Regularly Update the Strategic Plan: Update and revise the plan annually to ensure that is relevant to the school’s current situation.

A Strategic Vision for 2016 and Beyond

Clarksville Academy will provide an education that consistently achieves superior
student outcomes. The academic offerings must be current, challenging, and provide a
foundation for success in college and the years beyond. Renovation and expansion of the
current campus facilities and increasing the present program offerings are necessary for
the continued success of the school. The school will foster increased giving in annual,
capital, and capital campaigns through an organized, systematic plan. The school will
maintain SACS accreditation. These actions will build upon and improve the quality and
student outcomes of Clarksville Academy’s excellent college preparatory, 21st-century
education.
Distinctive Educational Experience Goals: Academic, athletic, and service programs
should produce global-minded students equipped to solve problems and collaborate
effectively. Experiences in the classroom, on stage, on athletic fields, and in the
community, within our state and internationally, should be rich and varied. School values
of character, respect, scholarship, and honor should integrate with all programming to
produce confident, successful graduates who use integrity and compassion as guideposts.
Recommendations:

  • Continue to expand and strengthen curricular offerings.
  • Retain and recruit faculty members who are educational professionals committed
    to supporting the school’s mission, vision, and goals.
  • Ensure availability of funding to support professional development opportunities,
    teacher programing, and instructional supply support.
  • Continue to utilize the ASPIRE assessment tool for the collection of school-wide
    academic performance data to evaluate subject mastery, progress, and scope and
    sequence alignment.
  • Continue to provide time in teacher and students’ schedules for participation in
    solution/project-based learning in our community and beyond.
  • Ensure that students have opportunities to enhance their language and cultural
    studies abroad.
  • Continue to meet and maintain the high level of standards set by the Southern
    Association of Colleges and Schools.
  • Encourage students to matriculate to competitive colleges and universities that
    best match their goals, abilities, and ambitions.
  • Provide additional guidance to parents regarding expected coursework relative to
    college acceptance and the college selection and application process.

Athletic Program Goals: Clarksville Academy believes that our core values are
important components of a successful educational experience. Athletic coaches and staff
should lead using these same core values. Value-based training and coaching that places
emphasis on honor, respect, and integrity helps students grow into strong, confident, and
caring leaders.
Recommendations:

  • Align all student programs and experiences, athletic and non-athletic, with the
    school’s core values to foster a mindset where students naturally use those values
    in their daily activities and decision-making.
  • Hire faculty and coaches who exemplify the school’s core values in their personal
    and professional lives.
  • Incorporate the Athletic Code of Conduct Policy and core school values into all
    athletic programs.
  • Ensure that Clarksville Academy maintains a welcoming and safe environment
    where student-athletes can flourish as they respect, honor, and support each other.

Campus Facilities, Technology, and Security Goals: Maintain campus facilities through
continuous maintenance, renovations, and restoration according to a systematic, budget-based
process. Share plans for additional expansion needs in a manner that seamlessly
integrates with fundraising initiatives. Place a high priority on blending technology with
the Clarksville Academy educational experience. Improve safety and security on campus
and the sports complex.
Recommendations:

  • Revise and utilize the campus master plan as a guide for all future renovation and expansion.
  • Refine plans as possible for the addition of a theater and performance space adjacent to the Fine Arts building.
  • Develop a master plan of action for the expansion of the main campus and sports complex.
  • Explore new opportunities for increased campus and sports complex safety and security, and continue the practice of security officials’ attendance at conferences and workshops.

Sustainability Goals: Clarksville Academy must have a strong financial position to
support the school in the decades ahead. Prudent financial management by the leadership
team and the Board of Trustees members is very important in achieving this goal. The
school must maintain its strong student retention rate and continue to build a strong
applicant pool that allows for smart growth with students and families who share the
school’s mission.
Recommendations:

  • Manage school finances through a budget-based process that continually
    improves the school’s economic position.
  • Increase participation in annual giving and concentrate efforts on raising levels of giving.
  • Formalize Clarksville Academy’s giving structure.
  • Grow the CA endowment.
  • Grow working capital.
  • Concentrate efforts to maintain a strong retention rate.
  • Focus admissions efforts on smart growth and the development of a strong student
    applicant pool.
  • Research the use of financial aid to provide access to students at all grade levels.
  • Maintain a current and relevant campus and facilities plan to accommodate future growth.

Governance Goals: Clarksville Academy recognizes the importance of a diverse and
unified governance structure. The school’s governance structure should continue to
include an accountable leadership team that promotes, maintains, and advances the
school’s mission. Past and present parents, alumni, and community and professional
leaders should be utilized as much as possible to further the goals of the school.
Recommendations:

  • Evaluate the size and structure of the Board of Trustees and the board committees
    to make adjustments as necessary.
  • Constitute the board with a blend of experienced trustees, past and present
    parents, alumni, and community and professional leaders as defined in the best
    practices of the National Association of Independent Schools.
  • Ensure the governance team is united and driven to advance Clarksville Academy
    in accordance with the strategic plan.

Summary

This strategic plan has five major goals that will have an associated timeline for its
implementation. Timelines may shift depending on circumstances. Flexibility during
implementation is very important, and failure to adapt can lead to unrealized goals.
Continuous, regular review of progress is very important to the execution and success of
the strategic plan.
Necessary support for plan implementation from organizational stakeholders will be
planned and well defined. Organizational stakeholders for Clarksville Academy are
varied and sometimes overlap. Trustees members and the Head of School are classified as
the implementation process sponsors. The implementation committee consists of the
Lower, Intermediate and Upper School heads and other key personnel. Faculty and staff
form the subgroups needed to facilitate the adoption of the changes and are the
implementation/action team. There is a planned overlap of people, time, and attention to
ensure that support will be available for any unexpected occurrences. Approval,
acceptance, and support from the parents and students are also crucial for the success of the
strategic plan. Clarksville Academy alumni and influential community leaders are
additional stakeholders as well as a crucial part of the puzzle in financial underwriting.
In summary, this strategic plan is designed to drive continuous, responsible, and
measured improvement in all areas of Clarksville Academy for the foreseeable future.

Begin Your Journey.