Research is Working with Fact

We throw around the concept of research to make informed decision making in our strategic discussions all the time. But, what do we really mean when we use the word research? It is a concept that is discussed widely and broadly but sometimes it is a science that is misunderstood. Let's pull it apart.

There are four phases to research that we believe are really important. The final phase is the most important to formulating strategy.  They are:

Data
Raw or native information gathered for purposes of analysis is called data. 

Information
Data that has been organized into meaningful sets is called information. 

Insight
Information that has been properly analyzed can reveal insight.

Actionable Insight
The nirvana of research is actionable insight, where meaningful insight turns into a strategy or direction.

Research rarely jumps off the page and tells you where to go or what to do. But, actionable insight can provide the needed lens to use research to move forward. Data, information, and even analysis can be useful, but only when they produce actionable insight can you move an organization forward through thoughtful strategies.

Strategy is the Art of Choice and Sacrifice

Strategy is the art of choice and sacrifice.  In other words, if everything is important, then really nothing is important.  But, how do you make sound strategic choices?  And, what factors should you use?  There are actually four essential factors that a non-profit might use to make choice among a series of strategic initiatives.  It is all about sound strategic rationale and criteria.

So, why should one priority show up in your strategic plan, while another was pushed aside by the steering committee?  Creating the proper rationale for doing anything strategic is something that many schools and colleges struggle with during planning processes.  As a result, we have found that focusing on at least one or more critical parameters that a strategic priority must address can help focus your plan on the most important goals.  Here they are in no particular order.

Missional Mandate
A strategic goal must be in the plan because your mission mandates it, regardless of marketplace or revenue opportunities. 

Competitive Imperative
The competitive environment dictates this priority if your school or college wishes to remain competitive.

Revenue Driver
Our school or college can make revenue in this venture.

Element of Distinction
Adding a specific strategic goal will make your school or college more distinctive in the marketplace of sameness.  

Make sure your priorities are grounded in at least one, if not more, than each of these parameters.  Balance is also important.  It is not helpful to have a handful of initiatives that all meet missional mandates, or only a set of initiatives that drive revenue.  Balance across these four priorities helps keep a strategic plan balanced.  

Chesapeake Bay Academy Selects ISA

Chesapeake Bay Academy (CBA) in Virginia Beach, Virginia has selected ISA for research, planning, and consulting services.  We will commence our work this month with information gathering.  We welcome CBA to our client community.  

For 26 years, Chesapeake Bay Academy (CBA) has been transforming the lives of Hampton Roads children and their families. CBA embraces each child’s unique learning style, creating new, specialized pathways to academic and social success. By relieving the stress and frustration that often accompany academic struggle, CBA helps students develop into confident and enthusiastic learners. CBA students flourish in a safe, supportive environment that encourages their intellectual, social, creative, physical and ethical growth.

Chesapeake Bay Academy is an invaluable resource to the Hampton Roads community, filling a critical need and providing essential services to intelligent children who struggle to learn in traditional school settings. CBA’s 6:1 student-to-teacher ratio, multisensory instruction and project-based curriculum offer our students the opportunity to develop a true love of learning. Small classrooms, Individualized Instruction Plans and caring, highly-trained teachers lay the foundation for programs designed to ensure the academic achievement of each student. CBA empowers students with tools for success in school and beyond. Graduates leave CBA with the skills, strategies and confidence necessary to realize their full potential.

Education Matters

On a regular basis, I write and speak about trends and forces in the education industry.  I spend a great deal of time scanning the environment to identify, understand, and place in context different cultural inflection points and their relationship to education.  I bone up on the changing educational landscape and how the great innovators and thought leaders are approaching their work.  But, I've never taken the time to articulate in a blog post why education matters to me, and should matter to all of us.  Today, I thought I would step back from the day to day of our industry and place my work - all of our work - in context.

Time and time again, education has demonstrated to us that it is the gold standard of investment.  From an economic standpoint, there is no better investment.  Whether it is pulling people out of a life of poverty or inspiring new job earnings, education performs like no other investment.  Consider these facts:

Median Earnings of College Graduates Are Nearly Double High School Graduates. The median weekly earning of a person holding a Bachelor's degree is roughly is roughly $1100, compared to just $600 for high school graduates.  And, weekly earnings drop to just over $400 for non high school graduates. 
 
Unemployment is Nearly Double for Non-College Graduates. The unemployment rate nearly doubles - from 4.2% to 8.3% - for people not earning at least a four year degree.  And, it increases to over 12% for those not graduating from high school.
 
A Four Year College Degree More Than Doubles Average Lifetime Earnings. A college graduate can expect to earn just over $1 million in a lifetime of employment, while high school graduates can expect to earn roughly $450K.  
 
Education is a Better Investment Than Stocks, Gold, or Housing. The rate of return on a college investment over a lifetime is roughly 15%, compared to 7% in the stock market, 3% in gold, or 2% in housing. 
 
The Rate of Poverty Dramatically Increases Without a College Degree.  The percentage of Americans living in poverty without a college degree is roughly 18%.  For college graduates, only 4% live in poverty.

The economic implications of education are undeniable.  No currency or investment has performed as well as education over time.  Education is the gold standard from an economic standpoint. 

But, what is the primary purpose of education?  This is the age old question.  Is the primary purpose of education for us to earn a living?  Or, is it to live a life?  Better yet, is it to change lives?  I'm not a fan of dualistic or exclusive thinking and tend to support the idea that it is all of these purposes, from economic, to identity, to transformation of the human race.  Education advances our understanding of ourselves within the context of our community.  It places front and center the age old common life questions of "who am I, why am I here, and what do I have to contribute" and demands us to grapple with these issues.  

What I know to be true is simple and straightforward. There are only two things in my life that I cannot lose.  They are my education and faith.  Collectively, they shape who I am, how I see the world, and how I function within it.  No one can take those two things away from me.  In an increasingly dangerous world of uncertainty, ambiguity, and fear, I can lose everything - my family, house, job, or investments.  But, you can't take away the way I see the world.  My story is unique to me.  It reflects my experiences, orientation, and understanding. And, education and faith are not just central, but they are singular in defining who I am in the world.  With those two sound investments, I can remain competitive and confident in an increasingly dangerous and uncertain world.

That's why education matters.  And, that's why I pour my life into it.  Education matters - in any brand, in any delivery mode, in any context.  

Culture, Context, Change: The Critical Three C's

While I am not a big fan of alliteration, nor silly memory devices, I have found some are very useful to keeping core principles in mind as we think strategically about organizations.  Where would we be without Peter Drucker's Four P's of Marketing, right?  As I think about strategic planning for schools, colleges, universities, and non-profits, my experience tells me that there are three "levers" or controls that are key to the planning process. Understanding and reading them right is everything.

Culture
Culture eats strategy for breakfast, as Drucker said.  And, he was right.  Understanding the good, bad, and otherwise of an organization's culture is everything.  This is getting down deep on the "inside" of a school or college and finding out why it behaves the way it does, and what it's underlying issues reveal.  "Getting the culture" is key, and you can only do it by immersing yourself in it.

Context
Reading the tea leaves of the outside world is really as important as anything else in the planning process. While schools and colleges love to "navel gaze" in their deeply satisfying ways through accreditation self-studies, the outside world is moving at warp speed and industry is innovating and changing.  Reading the context of any school or college gives us an understanding of their relevancy to the future.

Change 
Ah, the dreaded "change" word.  At the end of the day, all great organizations understand the answer to two critical questions:  how much do we need to change to be successful, and what is our capacity to enact that level of change?  Getting the change quotient right is both art and science and can make or break a process.  Read it wrong and you are out of business.

Culture. Context. Change.  
These are the three most important levers to optimize when planning.  Using good data and research that informs the answer to all three is the best best to make sure that you are hitting them head on.  And, making sure that you have sorted all of the issues out with all three ensures that you are balanced in your approach to planning. Try it on for size and see if this recipe sticks in your head.  It might not be the Four P's, but helpful nonetheless. 

The Seven X-Factors of Market Sustainability

As we brave our way through economic uncertainty, a rapidly shifting education industry, and changing consumer mindsets, I have been thinking a lot lately about the characteristics of the most successful private schools and and colleges. In our work with clients throughout the na- tion, what are the attributes of the institutions that are thriving? While there are numerous ex- planations for success, there are seven characteristics that set these schools apart. I'm calling them the Seven X-Factors for Market Sustainability. Use them as a checklist for your school, college, or university and see how you stack up.

Clear Value Proposition 
Sustainable schools and colleges have a clear value proposition. They are client-centered, understanding their students and parents, what they want, and how they define success. They have identified a small number of important consumer benefits that differentiate them from their competitors, focus on them in their program development, and communicate them relentlessly to the consumers.

Strategic Enrollment Management and Marketing
Sustainable schools have learned how to ef- fectively integrate the best practices of recruitment, retention, financial aid, information management, research, and marketing. They have identified funding sources - from the right fit audiences and proper programs - and they know the strategic relationship between price, aid, and their consumer. They are disciplined, hire excellent staff, and have a strategic enrollment and marketing plan in place. They take the guesswork out of enrollment and have effectively leveraged this area of the institution, funding it properly and self-organizing accordingly.

Clear and Established Identity
Sustainable schools and colleges have an institutional identity that is both remarkable and memorable. They understand who they are - and who they are not - and they long ago stopped trying to be all things to all people. They have short, memorable mission, vision, and core values statements, a mature and effective educational philosophy, and they infuse them into their promotional materials. In fact, their promotion is at best merely revelation, not quirky tag lines that sound like other schools.

Distinctive Culture
Culture eats strategy for breakfast. Sustainable schools and colleges have developed a culture that attracts people. They have a "secret sauce" and have learned how to bottle it. They emote a palpable feeling to visitors, demonstrating that there is something different and authentic about them. Visitors can feel that there is something special about the place, and they share that feeling with others.

Excellent Product
Sustainable schools and colleges have an excellent academic program. Whether it is a small collection of flagship or signature programs, a distinctive setting for learning, a best in class educational philosophy, or an unusually gifted faculty, they attract students from further distances and with higher capacity to afford them because they perceive the product is superior. And, it is.

Strategically Oriented
Sustainable schools and colleges are always strategically poised, operating with a three to five year strategic plan in place, but revisiting it year to year. They are culturally agile and externally oriented, reading the tea leaves of culture, and constantly challenging their assumptions about the future. They have set a strategic course of direction, but are nimble enough annually to make adjustments. And, they only focus on five or fewer strategic priorities at any given time. They are focused.

Luck
Call it the ultimate X-Factor, but sustainable schools and colleges have some luck. Something external to them is working in their favor. Perhaps it is a booming city, a stunning setting, or deteriorating alternative choices in their market. They have identified this market opportunity or gap and have exploited it.

While there are many other elements of great schools and colleges, these are the characteristics that we see most often. Use it as a checklist and ask yourself and your colleagues how your institution stacks up. And, share it with others.

The Intersection Between Mission & Market

Strategic planning - or essentially the art of making good plans with clear strategy - is about finding the intersection between mission and market. And, to understand mission and market, you have to first understand that mission is internal to the organization and market generally is external. It is the old SWOT analysis in practice, as the SW of a SWOT stands for strengths and weaknesses (internal) and the OT stands for opportunities and threats (external).

For most of our educational clients, understanding the mission side of the address is easy because they have a solid understanding of internal mission, culture, and the values of the school or college. It is not hard for them to make plans that address concerns of internal stakeholders because they have researched them, asked them questions, and generally have a good idea on how to be responsive to their issues and concerns. Our experience is that most colleges and schools have a real handle on how to create plans that are aligned with mission.

Here is the challenge, though. Most schools and colleges are less adept at reading the tea leaves of the external environment. They are not adept at understanding demographic trends, competitive forces, and large shifts in delivery or business models. These leaves them at a distinct disadvantage in understanding the trends and forces that are likely to shape their industry. As a result, they tend not to be responsive to external trends and forces.

Our experience tells us that the biggest ideas, opportunities, and resulting strategies generally come from the outside. Creating plans that align with mission are important, but if most ideas in the strategic plan generally pander to internal needs rather than external forces, the resulting strategic plan is incremental at best, usually absent of a big idea. More importantly, it fails to find the right intersection between mission and market because external trends were less important in the data collection and planning process.

Finding the intersection is a tough balancing act, because at the end of the day it means managing change and tension between what internal stakeholders believe is sacred to an organization and what the market wants or needs. Our experience tells us that the best plans possess an equal measure of internal and external data and reality, and those research inputs must be carefully synthesized and applied to the unique circumstances of the school or college. And, perhaps most important, best practices would tell us that it is important to revisit the external trends side annually, because that is generally where the dynamic shifts occur.

Great strategy finds the intersection between mission and market. Mission changes little over time, but market opportunity is shifting constantly. The best schools and colleges are constantly challenging their assumptions and reading the external environment to find the right address.

The George Bailey Test

Most of us know the story all too well. In the famed holiday movie, It's a Wonderful Life, we witness a classic battle of good and evil. George Bailey has grown up in Bedford Falls and wants desperately to leave, to start a new life, and get on with living, just like his older brother. But, we learn quickly in the movie that George Bailey is perhaps the only person in Bedford Falls uniquely qualified to save the city from the dreaded Mr. Potter. Foregoing a honeymoon and a fresh start in a new city, George saves the bank - and the community - from collapse on that dreaded day when there was a rush on the bank.

But, what would have happened if George would have left? What if he had not used his honeymoon money to save the bank, keeping it open, and creating true competition in the marketplace against Mr. Potter? Later in the movie we had a chance to see what that would look like, when George had a dream - or a nightmare - of what would have happened if his life had not been lived. And, as the dream unfolded, Bedford Falls had turned into Pottersville - a community of low-life villains. It turns out that George Bailey was perhaps the most uniquely qualified person in a community to bring about transformational change and forward movement. And, without him, there was no catalyst to face Mr. Potter.

If George Bailey did not exist, Bedford Falls would likely not exist.

We can learn a lot from It's a Wonderful Life. What would happen if you drove up to your school, college, or non-profit and it was gone tomorrow? It was a life never lived. It never existed. Who would be the bigger losers - the current faculty and students - or the larger community?

Independent schools and colleges do not have a divine right for existence. They must continue to inspire and be relevant to changing times, making valuable contributions to the outside world through their work. And, an extraordinary and inspiring vision is necessary to do this.

An inspiring vision must be relevant. It cannot be about the organization, but rather about contributing to the greater community a valuable solution to a unsolved problem. Most of the world's greatest organizations are effective because they have extraordinary visions. Consider these examples:

• Google - To organize all the worlds information and do no harm in the process.
• Apple - To constantly challenge the status quo.
• Southwest Airlines - To open the skies. 

There is a lot we can learn about our organizations by applying The George Bailey Test. It gets right down to heart of relevance. And relevance is ingredient number one in creating a great vision.

NCAIS Strategic Enrollment Management Summits a Success

We had a great two days of Strategic Enrollment Management Summits this past week in North Carolina.  The events were part of a professional development series for the North Carolina Association for Independent Schools.  On Tuesday, Ravenscroft School hosted nearly 70 professionals in admission, financial aid, finance, marketing communications, and senior leadership roles to listen and participate in the summit.  On Wednesday, Charlotte Christian School hosted 60 professionals in similar roles.  On both days, Ian spoke on the essential elements of strategic enrollment management, strategy, and demographic trends.  Special thanks goes out to Linda Nelson and her team for organizing the event. 

Sharing as a New Economy

Lately, we have been outlining emerging new economies in both North America and global systems.  We ​discussed the Simplification Economy, as the next generation does more with less and focuses on downsizing.  We also identified the Experience Economy, where young adults are interested in premium experiences over luxury retail goods.  Cleary, there is a new consumer mindset emerging from each of these examples.

The most interesting of the new economies, though, is the Sharing Economy.  Have you noticed how young consumers are more than interested in sharing resources?  Whether it be transportation, living quarters, or workspaces, a new generation of consumer appears more comfortable with sharing over owning.  Interestingly, the outcome of sharing is often a more communal approach to living and working, collaborating with others more closely and reducing expenses at the same time.  

Where did this economy originate?  Our best guess is that the Sharing Economy must have been birthed through technology, and specifically though social media.  Milleniels and their counterparts may have adopted a learned behavior toward sharing content and resources via the internet and social media.  This adoption may have fed their inner need for communalism - my current best guess - which then led to more sharing of what would be otherwise seen as fixed resources.  Since all economies are based upon transactions, the sharing economy is a new paradigm, since sharing is the currency of the transaction.

What are the implications for the education industry?  At this time, I am not sure, but I am guess that it will lend an impact.  I am curious if you see sharing as a new economy and in what ways?  Feel free to share this article with others as a start.  As for me, I am going to go get an Uber to my client, but I am not up for Uber Pool just yet!​

Chasing or Creating Markets?

If the number of associations providing professional development and the number of consultants providing services in enrollment management is a sign of the times, then independent schools will continue to struggle in the new normal.  Nearly every independent school in America is experiencing a softening of demand, challenges to attrition, and a refocusing of their brand.  Sure, the enrollment numbers at many of the more stalwart schools still look fine, but there are signs on the horizon that signal a new normal in strategic enrollment management.  And, for sure, one industry response is to become more sophisticated in how we chase markets. 

But, is that really the question?  Is the best solution for independent school long term sustainability to merely to find better ways to chase the same market?  Is it simply about finding more full pay families that want what we have at our schools? I have been on countless campus visits where the client simply wants to better penetrate the existing well educated, suburban, over $150K gross household income family market that seek a safe and rigorous environment.  Sure, that is one way to skin the cat, but I think we are missing the point. 

I just got done reading "Shoe Dog" by Phil Knight.  Yes, I live in the land of Nike in Portland and would admit that my thinking has been influenced positively by their approach.  But, remember, Nike first invented the industry of "running for health" before they invented the shoe to fill the market.  Running for health and recreation did not exist in the mid 1960's to mid 1970s' until Nike got ahold of it.  Nike created a market then filled it with product.  Now, that is strategic. 

The independent school sector needs to start creating new markets rather than chase the old ones.  The old ones are drying up for a reason.  Independent schools need to create new markets with new products, services, pricing systems, and means of delivery.  Independent colleges and universities already discovered this over a decade or so ago.  We need to start thinking innovatively about our independence and how we can leverage that into creating new customer categories.  

Answering the Age-Old Question: Why Grow?

It is an age-old question:  what's the primary reason for growth?  I am baffled by non-profit organizations that believe growth is the answer to all of their woes.  But, more perplexing to me are the organizations that believe greater revenue is the primary objective of growth.  From their perspective, growth means revenue and more revenue means an absence of financial challenge. 

My experience tells me that great organizations focus on growing not to earn more revenue but because they believe deeply that their mission benefits others.  Keep in mind that we work with non-profits which are, by their nature, designed to transform society.  Remember, we have three broad industry sectors with three distinct missions in America.  

1. The corporate sector has a mission to make money.  
2. The government sector has a mission to create and manage policy.  
3. And, the nonprofit sector has a mission to transform society.  We do that through education in our division of this sector.  

Don't get me wrong; I'm not suggesting that making money is a bad idea.  Not at all.  Actually, I believe it is an outcome of having a relevant mission.  But, having a mission that is contributing to something larger than your organization is where the real growth exists. 

I believe that those organizations that believe so deeply in their mission also truly believe the world would be better if more people bought their product or service.  Far too many organizations create strategic plans for growth to strengthen themselves. We need to use our plans to strengthen our world.  It is more inspiring when you are working toward not just a better organization, but a better world.  When you think of growth in terms of external impact, it places your work in a far more inspired perspective.  

Marburn Academy Selects ISA

Marburn Academy in Columbus, Ohio has selected Ian Symmonds & Associates for strategic planning services.  Our work will commence next month and take place throughout the academic year 2016-17.  We are delighted to welcome Marburn to the ISA client family.

Marburn Academy was founded on the conviction that every child is capable of succeeding.  During the past 35 years, Marburn has been a leader in research-based educational best practices for students with dyslexia, ADHD, and executive function issues. Marburn is one of only 13 school programs in the country that is accredited by the Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators. Their carefully constructed small classes are led by a diagnostic, relationship-focused, data-driven, and multisensory approach. 

For more information to learn more about the distinct program offered at Marburn Academy, please visit their website. 

Catlin Gabel School Selects ISA

Catlin Gabel School in Portland, Oregon has selected Ian Symmonds & Associates Inc for strategic consulting services.  We welcome the school to our national and global client family and look forward to our work together. 

Catlin Gabel is Portland's nationally recognized progressive independent day school where teachers build transforming relationships with each student, honoring each child's innate capacities, encouraging exploration, welcoming questions, and always presenting new intellectual and creative challenges to our young scientists, storytellers, artists, and athletes.  Catlin Gabel supports inspired learning leading to responsible action through dedicated teaching, caring relationships, a challenging curriculum, and community service. 

Calling for an Education Revolution - Part One

This entry is the first in a three part series calling for an education revolution.  It is called "Stating the Problem, because identifying the problem is the beginning to a solution. 

"The work of the school is determined by the needs of society." 
-Francis Parker, educational pioneer

Stating the Problem
I have a theory.  Our current educational system is broken.  It is simply not meeting the needs of our world.  And, it needs a revolution.  Not an incremental adjustment.  

While educators may debate all they want about which is the perfect collaborative learning environment or the best educational philosophy, none of it really matters if we are not preparing our students for a world that is already in steep decline.  We live in dangerous times.  And, it is high time we admit it. The problem is not the classroom.  The problem is the world that we live in and how our educational system is not responsive to it.  

The work of the school is determined by the needs of society.  This simple and profound statement by Colonel Francis Parker is not just a personal favorite, but also has deep implications for today.  The last time I checked, our world has severe problems.  It's been nearly a decade and a half since the publishing of the book High Noon by Jean Francois Rischard in which he outlined major issues of planet, people, and policy for the year 2020.  Here is my simple interpretation of these issues. 

Problems of Planet >  Global warming, biodiversity and ecosystem losses, fisheries depletion, deforestation, water deficits, and maritime safety and pollution.

Problems of People > Poverty, peacekeeping, conflict prevention, combatting terrorism, education for all, global infectuous diseases, digital divide, and natural disaster prevention and mitigation.

Problems of Policy > Reinventing taxation for the 21st century, biotechnology rules, global financial architecture, illegal drugs, trade-investment-competition rules, intellectual property rights, e-commerce rules, and international labor and migration rules.

If these are the issues of our times, and I am sure there are many more, how are we reimagining education to fight against, solve, and move beyond them?  There are so many discussions in our field about how education needs to be rebuilt based upon what educators think is the best model.  I am more interested in what is going to work to transform our world.  

Podcast - Going to Back to Our Roots

A new podcast episode from our SoundCloud Channel called "Going Back to Our Roots" is now online.  You may download it or listen to it here.  ISA publishes our blog and speaking content to our SoundCloud Channel under our podcast "The View from Here". 

Going Back to our Roots

I just returned to my Portland office after spending four days attending a wedding and family events back in St. Louis and Central Illinois.  Some family members joined me as I visited and connected with some important places and people of my past.  I visited my parents, my old high school, the tennis center where I trained as a child, and one of our early family homes. I even got to have breakfast with my very first mentor, Phil Trapani, pictured with this entry.

My first mentor and coach, Phil Trapani

Going back to your roots is an important aspect of growing and maturing.  It is one of the many ways in which we as individuals have an opportunity to witness our influences, how we were shaped, and how much progress we have made.  It ties us to our beginnings and places our current reality into focus, which, I believe, gives us a better ability to shape our preferred future.  There exists both a restorative and visionary quality to my trips down memory lane. 

Organizations can go back to their roots to find that same rejuvenation and vision.  We see rock bands do it all the time as they go into the studio to record their next album.  They remember the sound what made them great and distinctive among their listeners and fans.  I think great schools and colleges do the same thing, spending some reflective time remembering why they were founded as it relates to building a powerful vision for the future.  Pacific University in Oregon where I once served as an administrator was originally founded as Tualatin Academy for orphans that died crossing the Oregon Trail.  Today, they lead the Northwest in programs that are in the service to society realm, such as education, healthcare, and social service.

A thought for schools and colleges; take a stroll down memory lane once in while.  Enjoy a deep dive into your history and heritage.  Take stock of where you have traveled and where you stand currently.  It might just provide your leadership team or board with a vision for the future grounded solidly in your reason for existence. 

Luxury Experience as a New Economy

While a new generation of consumers may be pulling back on luxury goods, our experience tells us that they may be doubling down on luxury experiences.  Join Ian for this episode of the 60 Second Summary where he discusses The Experience Economy and what it means for your college, university, or school. 

Simplification as a New Economy

Check out the most recent episode of our podcast where we launch our new series, 60 Second Summary.  Today, Ian discusses a new shift in the economy where a new generation of consumers seeks to downsize and remove the superfluous from their consumption. 

Saint James School Launches Strategic Plan

Saint James School in Montgomery, Alabama took a major step forward this fall, launching a new strategic plan after spending nine months in a planning mode.  The plan emphasizes bold leadership for central Alabama, connecting this already robust, diverse, and market leading school to the extended community in new and exciting ways.  

Saint James School is an independent, nonsectarian, college preparatory school with a student body broadly representative of college-bound students. The school is committed to challenging and assisting students in realizing their individual potential and preparing them for lives of responsibility, service, and achievement.  The school began in 1955 as a small elementary school committed to developing the individual potential within each child entrusted to their care. Because of our unwavering dedication to doing what is best for our students, that small elementary school has grown to become the premier pre-K through 12th grade school in Central Alabama.

Saint James faculty provide the strongest and most complete college preparatory curriculum within a caring and supportive learning community. Their commitment to caring for and inspiring the best in each Saint James student has guided the for 60 years, and that will continue to illuminate our path as we look ahead to the future.