Before and after the implementation of this Strategic Plan, we will remain what Sherman Day Thacher created:

 

•  An intimate residential community firmly rooted in the Ojai Valley

•  An educational program bolstered by lessons learned in the outdoors and on horseback that shapes and inspires leaders for the greatest good

•  A community governed by the core values of Honor, Fairness, Kindness, and Truth

 

This plan seeks to synthesize and concretize the aspirations and wisdom of the thousands of voices who contributed to its creation. We propose it with humility, recognizing that we are among the current stewards of an institution whose impact and importance extend geographically and chronologically far beyond the extent of any human’s lifetime. We also propose it with joyful optimism, celebrating that the School’s strength also lies in its ability to adapt, grow, and evolve in intentional ways to meet the changing needs of its constituents.

 

Fundamentally, the plan must affirm and expand the School’s ability to be meaningful, in the lives of its constituents and in the broader world. 

 

•  Producing graduates equipped to add disproportionately to the measure of good in the world. 

•  Welcoming deserving students from disparate backgrounds and serving as a springboard for social                mobility and an incubator for principled leadership. 

•  Partnering with neighbors to help solve local challenges here in the Ojai Valley. 

•  Expanding the number of lives impacted by the extraordinary program and place that we’ve developed          over 135 years. 

 

We also embrace the responsibility to enhance the School’s viability. 

 

•  Attracting talented students who believe in our mission, embrace our values, and experience and contribute to a culture of belonging. 

•  Partnering with families who believe in our mission enough to invest significant resources and trust us with their children.

•  Recruiting and retaining adults who embrace our intensive and rewarding relationship based

educational model.

•  Offering students a compelling set of choices that challenge, inspire, and nurture them in both their              academic and co-curricular lives. 

•  Ensuring access for families from across the socioeconomic spectrum.

 

Finally, we recognize that this plan must also address the imperative of sustainability. 

 

•  Preparing our campus for the current and future ecological challenges we face.

•  Safeguarding the future of the two programs that are at the core of our identity as an institution: the Horse Program and the Outdoor Program. 

•  Embracing a values-based approach to incorporating and leveraging new technologies.

•  Reinforcing a financial model that allows us to innovate and realize our ambitions.

 

As we co-author Thacher’s next chapter, we celebrate and hold fast the countercultural, inefficient, and sometimes uncomfortable lessons learned on horseback and in the wilderness. We reaffirm our commitment to caring for the whole student in a nurturing, supportive environment that proactively and intentionally fosters a sense of belonging in every student. We also face a changing future with confidence and optimism. We recognize the mandate to discern what is sacred and perpetual, and to safeguard and secure it for future generations. With equal avidity, we embrace the responsibility to identify how the School can capitalize on this historical moment by remaining nimble and dynamic in changing times. This bold and inspiring plan provides the vision for Thacher’s

next chapter.