Strategic Visioning: This is our Moment - SF Edits

Where we Begin
We developed this strategic plan in a pivotal moment in our local and national history. Locally, over the past decade, Los Angeles has seen an increasingly competitive school market with many new and notable private secular, Jewish, and public charter options. Simultaneously, enrollment in Jewish elementary schools has declined and demand for tuition assistance has grown exponentially, a combination that stands in stark contrast to the rising numbers of Jewish families choosing private secular schools.  Additionally, this plan was drafted in the depths of a pandemic that both accelerated these trends and changed education as we know it irrevocably.   It was also drafted at arguably one of the most politically polarizing societal contexts and with the shadow of anti-Semitism and anti-Israel sentiment looming large. Milken Community School drafted this strategic plan as local and communal agencies are scrambling to figure out how the Jewish community will look when it emerges from this crisis and against the backdrop of Jewish day school closures and organizational mergers.    

We developed this strategic plan in a crucial moment in the trajectory of our institution. Milken has had its eye on several critical strategic issues that have accelerated due to the pandemic and the struggle in Jewish education.  Percentages of tuition assistance have steadily increased over the past decade, more than $1.5 million dollars last year alone, and we have a fledgling endowment that cannot keep pace.  Additionally, many schools have invested heavily in their facilities over the past five years, and we need to invest in ours to stay competitive in the Los Angeles independent school landscape.  Nonetheless, key external markers indicate tremendous success--our enrollment, fundraising, and engagement numbers are strong and getting stronger. Overwhelmingly positive parent and student surveys, impressive college acceptances, and competitive AP scores, all attest to the strength of our academic program.  

We developed this strategic plan as Milken is growing and evolving exponentially. Over the past year, Milken has drafted a new mission, core values, and educational philosophy.  To meet our ambitious goals, we restructured our school into three divisions, added a house system, and launched a comprehensive student services department to create both grade-level and multi-age community.  In 2019-2020, we welcomed a new Head of School and grew our Tiferet endowment to 2.6 million dollars.  In 2020-2021, we launched an alumni hub reengaging over 500 alumni, and we successfully pivoted to robust virtual learning amidst a pandemic. Beginning in 2021-2022, Milken will launch its new 6th grade to address shifting trends in public and independent school feeders. 
We developed this strategic plan because we believe this is our moment. We heard this from you--in every conversation, in every dream for the future, in every reflection on Milken’s role in your life and that of your families--we heard loud and clear that Milken is poised to lead the Jewish community and rectify a Jewish education system in crisis.  We heard against the backdrop of a pandemic, of civil unrest, of an affordability crisis, against all of this, Milken has emerged strong. You believe--from our youngest student to our oldest board member--that Milken Community School can be the place that attracts the greatest talent, provides a life-changing experience, broadens and deepens our impact, leads innovation, and catalyzes the transformation of Jewish education and the community at large.

Where we are Going
In a competitive private school educational landscape Milken needs new and renovated facilities and expanded programming in order to grow and solidify our place as a leading educational institution and an important communal resource. Now is our time to create facilities that allow us to optimize our current program, grow to keep pace with research and trends in education, and achieve our ambitious strategic educational goals.  Milken needs to continue to build innovative, well-funded programming and flexible, state-of-the-art, curricular and extracurricular spaces that inspire learning,  create community, and propel Milken’s overall excellence. This is our moment.

Process
Milken’s Board of Trustees launched the strategic visioning process at our summer retreat with key themes to explore and the explicit mandate to engage the entire community in the process.  For three months, ten different constituent groups--current students, current parents, alumni, alumni parents, faculty, school leaders, and board members-- met to refine the priorities, strategic goals, programmatic and facilities needs.   Milken’s strategic plan detailed below is the result of extraordinary collaboration: it is a stunning accumulation of the hopes and dreams of more than 150 members of our extended Milken community.

Purpose of the Strategic Plan
The purpose of the strategic plan was to engage all constituents in the Milken community--past, present and future to vision our future together based on the unique societal and institutional context.  The strategic plan, adopted by Milken’s Board of Trustees, determines our priorities and our communal roadmap for strengthening our institution.  From this strategic plan, we will pull out our programmatic goals, master facilities plan, and our comprehensive fundraising campaign.