LAB 2030: A New Strategic Plan

By 2030, The Lab School of Washington will set the national standard for specialized education. With thriving students, innovative faculty, an arts-integrated approach, a commitment to financial sustainability, and a culture of belonging, Lab will stand out as a best-in-class institution for students with language-based learning differences.  Lab will empower our students to embrace their differences as advantages by celebrating each student’s strengths and encouraging personalized pathways for success.

Our Strategic Plan

 

Over the past two years, Lab’s Strategic Planning Team has been hard at work defining the strategic priorities that will guide Lab’s mission in the near future. This team, made up of faculty, administration, trustees, and parents, has been actively listening to, learning from, and engaging with the community to understand what makes Lab strong and what we need to develop for success moving forward. After taking all of the input from the surveys, constituent “think tanks”, and Community Design Days, the Strategic Planning Team was able to hone in on four key priorities for Lab’s future and how we will accomplish them:  

  1. Launch and execute a comprehensive capital campaign. 
    1. Renovate and modernize Lab’s Middle and Lower School facilities.
    2. Cultivate a culture of philanthropy across the Lab community, including an endowment campaign for teacher salaries and financial assistance.
  2. Expand auxiliary revenue streams through new and enhanced programming and partnerships.
  3. Create a long-term financial model and a risk-management system to support institutional resilience and longevity.
  1. Reframe the Upper School program to capitalize on its potential to provide personalized student pathways that celebrate individual student strengths.
  2. Expand interdisciplinary and experiential learning opportunities across all divisions.
  1. Develop a tiered, schoolwide professional development system that promotes continuous learning and growth.
  2. Formalize teacher leadership roles through recognition and compensation.
  3. Leverage Lab’s expertise to enhance the School’s national influence and faculty engagement.
  1. Launch a strategic communications campaign to promote internal and external understanding of Lab’s identity as a leader in specialized, individualized education that recognizes differences as advantages.
  2. Build a unified, strengths-based, and mission-aligned marketing approach that supports admissions and retention across all three divisions.