The Westridge Board of Trustees approved the following updated Centennial Vision in August 2006.
The Goals (click on goal to view text)
I. Westridge School will strengthen and support a strong, diverse student body that reflects the cultural and socio-economic diversity of the greater San Gabriel Valley.
II. Westridge School will recruit and retain a diverse faculty and staff that provide an educational experience that is second to none.
III. Westridge School’s academic program maintains high standards and will be grounded in emerging research about how girls learn.
IV. Westridge School will balance the academic program with a student life experience that supports intellectual, social, artistic, physical, ethical and emotional growth.
V. Westridge School will look for meaningful ways to engage alumnae and parents as important resources for the school.
VI. Westridge School will continue to preserve, renew and adapt its campus and facilities to meet changing and emerging program needs.
VII. Westridge will develop and sustain the human and technological resources to realize the full creative and transformative potential of technology for teaching and learning.
VIII. Westridge School will provide the financial resources and facilities to match its goals and aspirations.
IX. Westridge believes that courageous, enlightened leadership is essential to the vitality and well-being of the school and will sustain a culture that fosters leadership and actively involves every member of the community in the success of the institution.
I. Westridge School will strengthen and support a strong, diverse student body that reflects the cultural and socio-economic diversity of the greater San Gabriel Valley.
Students should be admitted to Westridge based solely on their aptitude, motivation to succeed, achievement, strength of character and their potential to be contributing members of the community. No student who qualifies for admission should be turned away because of her family’s economic circumstances. This goal will require additional endowment to ensure affordability, as well as active recruitment that targets underserved populations.
II. Westridge School will recruit and retain a diverse faculty and staff that provide an educational experience that is second to none.
Essential to realizing the school’s goals for student learning is retaining a faculty that models the habits and satisfactions of an intellectual life. Westridge School is rightly proud of the quality of its teachers and its staff and must provide the resources to sustain such a faculty. In addition to compensation levels, the school will remain competitive both in the areas of benefits and more intangible quality-of-life issues. It is critical that Westridge remain competitive in hiring excellent new teachers and staff as well as providing incentives for teachers to remain at the school. The Westridge faculty, staff and administration should reflect the diversity we seek in our student body.
III. Westridge School’s academic program maintains high standards and will be grounded in emerging research about how girls learn.
College preparation remains an essential component of the school’s purpose and identity, but it should not exclusively define a Westridge education. The school’s academic program reflects the fundamental conviction that the humanities, mathematics and sciences, fine and performing arts, technology, and athletics are all essential to the full intellectual, academic, physical, and cognitive development of students. In all three divisions, students have integrated, in-depth learning experiences that allow them to immerse themselves in specific intellectual pursuits and to think deeply and meaningfully about their roles in the world.
In an increasingly interdependent and global community, the school will promote the understanding of cultures and countries as an essential component of becoming an educated person. In addition, Westridge is committed to developing environmental awareness and to instilling in students a sense of personal stewardship for the natural world.
Westridge supports programs that enable students to pursue their interests
and learning outside the campus. Partnerships with institutions of higher
education, professional settings, community resources and agencies are
part of a Westridge education.
IV. Westridge School will balance the academic program with a student life experience that supports intellectual, social, artistic, physical, ethical and emotional growth.
Educational excellence occurs in an environment that engages the heart, intellect, body and soul. Westridge provides resources to support student leadership, health and wellness, ethical education and service learning.
V. Westridge School will look for meaningful ways to engage alumnae and parents as important resources for the school.
Alumnae
Just as alumnae are the school’s past, they are also its future. No single constituency more completely embodies and carries the institution’s values. In addition, the alumnae represent resources of friendship and connection for one another. The school will look for ways to strengthen all of those connections and to create new ones.
Parents
Similarly, parents are important stakeholders in the success of the school and they are important resources of talent and wisdom. Westridge will provide support and encouragement for parents to serve as partners in their daughters’ education and as volunteers who serve the school in important ways.
VI. Westridge School will continue to preserve, renew and adapt its campus and facilities to meet changing and emerging program needs.
The Westridge campus is an elegant, unique collection of buildings and spaces that date from as far back as 1902 to the present. The campus is essential to support the program, and because it is a distinctive asset, the care and preservation of the campus will be one of the highest priorities for the future. The physical plant and the technology infrastructure must be adapted and updated to meet the school’s growth over the past decade and the changing needs of the programs. Priorities must be set for the renewal or replacement of aging buildings. To support these objectives, the school will vigorously pursue a capital campaign to endow the campus with sufficient funds to meet the cost of depreciation.
VII. Westridge will develop and sustain the human and technological resources to realize the full creative and transformative potential of technology for teaching and learning.
Applications of technology are an integral part of social, commercial and professional interaction. Technology is still a rapidly evolving domain which requires educators to be aware of trends, new uses and applications, as well as the impact of technology on young people. Our commitments in the area of technology include:
• To make technology accessible to students, faculty and staff;
• To ensure that all use of technology aligns with high ethical standards;
• To use technology to enhance communication with all of our constituents
and to extend the reach of our school community;
• To ensure that our technology is appropriately current for an educational
setting and that our goals are tied to annual evaluations of our infrastructure;
• To provide students with instruction and opportunities for use that will
enable them to leave Westridge well-prepared to use technology intelligently
and productively;
• To provide incentives for ongoing professional development in the area
of technology;
• To encourage creativity and innovation through technology;
• To be an educational leader in technology—not to acquire the newest
and best, but through application of our core values to our decisions about the
use of technology.
VIII. Westridge School will provide the financial resources and facilities to match its goals and aspirations.
Excellence has a price. The implication is clear: Westridge must increase its endowment. Competition for students and faculty require this. As a top-tier school in all of the areas identified in this Plan, Westridge must also be a top-tier school in its endowment per student. Effective fundraising, efficient asset management and stewardship of resources will enable Westridge to have generative options as the school approaches its Centennial.
IX. Westridge believes that courageous, enlightened leadership is essential to the vitality and well-being of the school and will sustain a culture that fosters leadership and actively involves every member of the community in the success of the institution.
Westridge must have the courage to examine old assumptions and, when necessary, take steps to create new approaches and new definitions. A strong Board of Trustees is the keystone of a leadership culture that will permeate all other parts of the organization. An organization that reflects on its definitions of leadership redefines itself and paves the way for generative renewal. Particularly in a time of leadership transition, the school must approach the task of renewing leadership with honesty, candor and commitment.
