Our new Head of School looked at Boulder Country Day School specifically because of our values. Thank you for helping us lay the foundation that brought her to us.
Boulder Country Day School
Through an inclusive planning process, Boulder Country Day School emerged with renewed trust, a clear identity, and a unified culture that attracted a visionary new Head of School.
Sector
Independent Schools
Deliverables
Brand Strategy
Strategic Planning
Strategic Planning
The post-pandemic recovery.
Challenge
Boulder Country Day School (BCD) needed a strategic plan after enduring the challenges of COVID-19 together as a community. The pandemic had left the school’s culture fragmented and unclear, and BCD required a process and plan that would unify and focus their work moving forward. Previous research indicated a morale issue within the professional community, which further underscored the need for a strategic planning process that could help align and inspire the faculty and staff around shared goals for the future.
Establishing an identity that breaks through the confusion.
Insight
BCD’s mission and pedagogy created confusion about its identity and future direction. The term “Country Day School” evokes a tradition of fostering an inspirational, community-centered learning environment, while the adoption of the International Baccalaureate program, a globally recognized and rigorous academic framework, signaled a different educational focus.
Mission Minded helped BCD recognize that the strategic planning process was not just about creating a plan—it was an opportunity to clarify their identity, align it with the school’s unique strengths, and craft a vision that would resonate with their community. The lack of clarity surrounding these elements may have contributed to the pre-existing disconnect and distrust between faculty and staff, further impacting morale and trust within the school community.
Susan Boyle
Chief Enrollment & Strategy Officer
, Boulder Country Day School
Inclusion across all aspects.
Journey
Mission Minded custom-designed a highly collaborative and inclusive methodology that brought together faculty, staff, administrators, and the board. We worked in partnership with BCD’s leadership to identify many opportunities for involving faculty in the process, ensuring their engagement. We were firm in our belief that if the faculty wasn’t deeply involved, the divide would grow deeper.
We also partnered with BCD to shift away from vague, contradictory language like “classical” and “contemporary” in their vision and mission and instead embrace ideas that truly reflected the school’s identity. Some of the ideas that emerged, which were later adopted by the school, included a mission centered around adaptability, empathy, and global citizenship, as well as a vision that emphasized empowered minds sparking global change.
The shift that attracted the perfect leader.
Impact
Through the strategic planning process, BCD experienced a successful culture change, bridging gaps between faculty and administration. This shift in culture, combined with a clarified vision and set of values, helped the school move forward with a unified sense of purpose.
BCD’s new values—focused on care, exploration, challenge, inclusion, and belonging—became foundational to the school’s culture. These values are the organizing structure for BCD’s programmatic, professional development, facilities, fundraising, and community engagement priorities, and were also crucial in helping communicate to the new Head of School that BCD was a place where the vision and culture were aligned, setting the stage for a successful transition and future growth.
