An independent private school in Birmingham, Alabama
serving infants through 8th grade
Strategic Plan 2022-2027
Setting the Bar for Excellence and Innovation
The process of creating “Setting the Bar for Excellence and Innovation” revealed to us that Highlands is ready to face the future boldly. Time and time again, members of our community not only expressed gratitude for the role this school has played in the past, but also faith and determination to move it forward assertively to the benefit of all of the children who laugh in our hallways, face challenge and success in our classrooms, and play on our playgrounds and fields. It is a great time to be at Highlands…and it is getting better!
Highlands School has the opportunity to do what we ask students to do–be bold, try new things, learn from others, and lead with the knowledge that we are part of something greater than ourselves alone. No school is more prepared to dream big and to roll up our sleeves to do everything necessary to serve our students in extraordinary ways.
The Process
Many thanks to everyone who lent their voice to the strategic planning process–a great deal of the specific language within it came directly from listening sessions with parents, faculty, and board members. It was evident at every step just how much people know the unique power of a Highlands education, and they fervently believe in the role it can play in the future. A particular thanks for the Strategic Planning Committee, led by Board Member Connie Hill. Their thoughtfulness and vision for Highlands will leave an essential mark on our school for generations of students to come.
Our Center of Gravity
As you review “Setting the Bar,” please pay close attention to what we call “Our Center of Gravity” (pp. 4-5). These two statements are the core ideas of our plan. They don’t simply represent hopes or wishes–they are commitments to “be resolute in discovering and delivering the best instructional models” and “to set the bar for excellence and innovation in Alabama and beyond.” To rise to the full aspiration of these commitments will require much of all of us.
2022-2027 Strategic Plan
Both the beginning and end of all our efforts are the continuous improvements of a school where all students flourish in their years here and in all the places that come next in their lives. In order to be this school means Highlands must be zealous to meet the challenges of the moment while holding tightly to what has always centered a Highlands education–The Highlands Way. This is no easy task, yet Highlands is ready to meet it. There is no better schooling environment than a pre-kindergarten through eighth-grade school, and Highlands is determined to make the most of it.