The Strategic Plan for Fairfield Prep
Contents
Welcome from the President
Dear Friends,
Nearly eighty years ago, in the middle of a world war, Fairfield College Preparatory School graduated its inaugural class of 12 young men. Since that day, Fairfield Prep and our distinctive Jesuit, Catholic education, has set the standard for preparing young men for the many challenges of a changing world.
In spring of 2022, we celebrated the anniversary of our founding, and we renewed our commitment to educating our sons in the Jesuit, Catholic tradition with the announcement of our strategic plan and a preview of its five pillars. Today, I am pleased to share with you in full Be Ignited: The Strategic Plan for Fairfield Prep.
Be Ignited is a comprehensive framework for growth and Jesuit excellence over the next five years. These pillars will guide the investments we make in the young men of Prep – informed and inspired by the call of St. Ignatius Loyola to go forth and “set the world on fire” with lives of passionate faith and service.
We are motivated each day by the greater glory of God, and the support of our Prep community. I invite you to explore the pillars, learn more about some of the early investments in our strategic plan, and reflect on how you might Be Ignited for Prep.
May God bless you and your families. +AMDG
With gratitude,
Christian J. Cashman P ’15, ‘23
President
Our Five Strategic Pillars
Sustain Our Jesuit, Catholic Mission and Commitment to Justice
Our Five Strategic Pillars
Sustain Our Jesuit, Catholic Mission and Commitment to Justice
With a clearly defined sense of justice, rooted in Catholic social teaching, and an emphasis on ensuring a diverse cross-section of students, faculty, staff, and board leadership for years to come, we aim to:
- Fully fund our merit scholarships and need-based financial aid
- Develop a sustainable long-range plan for all-boys Jesuit, Catholic education
- Actively pursue opportunities to recruit and retain a talented, diverse staff
- Enhance formation programming for the greater Prep community that strengthens our Jeusuit Catholic identity
- Promote the Universal Apostolic Preferences promulgated by the Society of Jesus in all mission related retreat and service programs, academic curriculum, and community outreach within and outside of Fairfield Prep.
“The days of relying on Jesuits in the classroom to embody Prep's mission have long passed. I am deeply moved to see that mission centered in Prep's strategic plan and to know that we will nevertheless form men in the Jesuit tradition for years to come.”
Ensure Jesuit Educator Formation and Excellence
In light of profound societal challenges and the educational disruption of a pandemic, our region needs Fairfield Prep and our transformational Jesuit, Catholic education more than ever. The ingenuity and creativity of our dedicated faculty allows us to embrace the challenges of the these times with their signature passion which is integral to a Prep education.
Our Five Strategic Pillars
Ensure Jesuit Educator Formation and Excellence
At Fairfield Prep, boys are taught by faculty who love what they do, and whose results speak for themselves: 99% of our graduates are annually accepted to the nation’s top colleges and universities. More importantly, they leave Prep well prepared to succeed. It is our responsibility to the dedicated faculty of Fairfield Prep and our boys to invest back in them and their development through:
- Relevant and accessible professional development programming that provides continuous feedback and evaluation, with targeted programming for veteran faculty to continue Ignatian formation and continue to hone best practices for innovative technology and pedagogy in the classroom.
- Assessing and redesigning the signature Jesuit Educators Academy to include faculty, staff, and administrators in formation.
- Ensure a fair, competitive compensation structures that support excellence, effectiveness, and strong commitment to Jesuit mission and identity inside and outside of the office and classroom.
- Providing Ignatian formation opportunities for coaches and moderators who, while not full-time employees of Fairfield Prep, exercise decisive, formative influence on our students.
- Determine leadership development pathways for evolving talent, and expand discernment and reflection opportunities for adult faculty, staff, and administrators.
“Our faculty members are the key to the student experience. They provide the conditions of context, experience, action, reflection, and evaluation in classrooms that form our student’s development and way of thinking critically. As our world changes and our students grow, we must ensure that we are providing our faculty with the most current pedagogical training so they can continue to offer our students the very best in the classroom.”
“You will find your education here over these next four years goes beyond the accumulation of knowledge. Here at Prep, you’ll find the deep Jesuit commitment to the development of character. It will penetrate past any assignment or grade into a joy of learning and a way of living. Cura Personalis. Not just care of the mind, but of the soul. And one day, you will have the chance to stand in front of your teachers, look out, and say, ‘thank you.”
Deepen Ignatian Engagement of the Whole Person
Our Five Strategic Pillars
Deepen Ignatian Engagement of the Whole Person
Core to our Jesuit, Catholic tradition, Fairfield Prep strives to help young men grow in their faith and understand of the teachings of the Church, and to learn to put their faith into action in the service of others. As we continue working to form our students in the Ignatian tradition, we seek to:
- Explore an interdisciplinary approach to the teaching of the social justice curriculum and implementation of our service requirement, so students may see the lived connection between justice and service.
- Regularly evaluate our Ignatian formation, service, and retreat programs, ensuring all students wishing a retreat or immersion experience have an opportunity to participate.
- Establish gathering spaces that allow for the entire Prep community to gather for worship and important community events.
- Develop an Ignatian leadership curriculum for adult and student leaders that is rooted in the Jesuit, Catholic principles: reflection and service in action.
- Strategically review all athletic, co-curricular, and student activity offerings, with the goal of growing opportunities and broadening student life engagement.
“Attention to the development of the whole person is a hallmark of Jesuit education. Our service and retreat programs help students make the connection between faith and action, discerning how the Spirit of Christ calls us to live in the world.”
Expand Academic Success and Support
Our Five Strategic Pillars
Expand Academic Success and Support
Our approach to rigorous academic, spiritual, moral, and physical development is foundational and distinctive for 14-to-18-year-old boys. To ensure students’ academic success and wellness support, Prep plans to:
- Evaluate academic offerings that continue to be college preparatory, while also expanding programs and positions in support of learning difference and specific academic supports
- Create a deeper culture of mental and spiritual wellness through an expansion of our social work and wellness programs
- Develop a strong qualitative and quantitative data analysis approach to holistically assessing the academic and wellness needs for all students, while also implementing continual evaluation and review of academic support and wellness programs
- Establish a research-based, professional development program for faculty that integrates academic supports, differentiated instructional models, and Ignatian programming for self-regulation, reflection, and student growth.
“Our Jesuit Mission begins in the classroom. It is the common experience that all our boys share. Therefore, we must provide outstanding state of the art instruction and expect our boys to grow academically because of a rigorous curriculum and thoughtful instruction. Expanding Academic Success and Support is vitally important as it helps support our boys so that they can engage with the curriculum, overcome the academic challenges they may face and thrive.”
Invigorate Prep Alumni Network/Brotherhood
Prep men are formed for excellence in college and in life. They become community leaders of conscience, intellectual competence, and compassion in a challenging world.
Our Five Strategic Pillars
Invigorate Prep Alumni Network/Brotherhood
- Explore comprehensive integration of alumni into school life.
- Study the longitudinal success of our graduates and better understand their work as men for others post-graduation.
- Evaluate and implement post-graduate Ignatian formation, including the development of Alumni Ignatian Ministry and formation opportunities mirroring those provided to students.
- Expand the SEED (Students for Educational Excellence through Diversity) alumni network.
“My Jesuit education gave me the tools to engage with the real world, in all the messy nuance that entails, based on a deep foundation of honest introspection and outward love for my fellow men and women.”
Ignited for Prep
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