Third Year of Strategic Plan Includes "I Am a Spartan"

 As The Steward School enters the third year of our strategic plan, Compass 2028, the community is celebrating significant progress and introducing a new framework to guide daily life and reinforce our core values.

Last school year, a key initiative of the strategic plan was to finalize definitions for Steward's six core values: academic achievement, care & respect, civil discourse, individuality, innovation, and inspiration. These definitions, which represent our long-held priorities, were developed with input from students, faculty, and staff. They are now part of the school's canon.

Building on this, a cross-functional strategic plan committee created a new, complementary document called "I Am a Spartan." This framework provides simple, actionable language to help students and the entire school community live out our core values every day.

"Many independent schools have a 'portrait of a graduate' document," Head of School Dan Frank shared. "At Steward, we know that the beauty of our community is that we are a caring, inspired collection of individuals who don’t fit one mold. However, we do have shared values, and it’s important that we rally around them, across divisions and within our broader community."

"I Am a Spartan" is posted throughout classrooms and hallways. It will also be integrated into student, faculty, and family conversations. The framework will be used in planning and assessing all aspects of school life, from curriculum and discipline to events and budget. In the coming months, divisional versions will be created to make the language actionable and applicable to all community members, including our youngest Spartans.

"I Am a Spartan" will serve as a daily reminder of who Spartans aspire to be and a compass for when the community needs redirection. It is designed to be the lens through which every Spartan sees themselves—who they are and who they hope to become.