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Breck’s strategic initiatives reflect the school’s values of school-wide innovation; integration of current research on mind, brain, and education; equity and inclusion; and financial aid. Philanthropic support will help meet critical needs and ensure transformational growth across the school. Donations may be directed to the following four priorities: 


Innovation and Technology

Teaching and learning is Breck’s core technology. The COVID-19 pandemic, which prompted emergency distance learning in the spring of 2020 and hybrid approaches to teaching and learning in the fall of 2020, has shifted basic assumptions about this core technology, such as when and where teaching and learning happens. 
 

Breck has been responding with flexibility and care to invest in resources for innovation. This investment includes new hardware and software for the hybrid classroom, support for additional professional development, and hiring two Innovation Specialists. Particularly critical to this work has been the organization of a design team, which has expanded the use of a design approach, as evidenced by the emphasis on flexibility, iterative and responsive change, and teacher and student involvement in innovation across all divisions.

Commitment to ongoing innovation sparks the need for a coordinated approach, such as building individual, departmental, and divisional capacities for design thinking, additional resources for program development, articulation of an approach to leadership through forming teams, and alignment of processes and practical measures.

The Design Team is assessing Breck’s  
     Toolset:
  • Modernize a space for academic innovation to formalize and develop the role of innovation at Breck in teaching and learning and across the organization.
  • Evaluate deployments to ensure we have the right device for every user, Pre- through grade 12 student, faculty, and staff.
  • Connect students and faculty with the best digital and analog learning resources.
     Skillset/Mindset: 
  • Personalize faculty opportunities to advance Breck’s teaching and learning.
  • Launch and implementation of Innovation Coaching program.
  • Support faculty in completing Google Educator certifications.
  • Doing this will harness innovation at multiple levels across the school to continue to open up new ways of teaching and learning that promote deeper and more equitable learning for all students.

Peter Clark Center for Mind, Brain, and Education

Since 2016, the Peter Clark Center has been curating research in Mind, Brain, and Education (MBE), investing in professional development for faculty, and helping all Breck students understand how they learn. In four years, it has become clear that students who understand themselves as learners enjoy school more, perform better, and have a growth mindset about themselves as learners for life. 

Beginning in Middle School, each student develops personalized learning strategies, documented in their Dynamic Learner Profile (DLP). The current DLP prototype is in the form of printed worksheets, shared Google documents, and other printed resource materials. This analog DLP has allowed us to model and test the process, develop curriculum, and think about desired functionalities.
Further investment will allow us to capitalize on the power of technology to greatly expand the function of the Dynamic Learner Profile. The digital DLP tools will improve accessibility and use, traveling with students across their years at Breck, supporting ongoing student assessment of skills and strategies with real-time feedback, and collecting and analyzing data. The digital tools will also allow integration with school-wide student information systems.
 
Support for this multi-year initiative will provide further development, scaling up, and measurement of our Dynamic Learner Profile. This is an amazing opportunity for Breck. In collaboration with Johns Hopkins Science of Learning Institute, we will align our programming and professional development with the DLP, hire a technology team to develop a digital platform to better facilitate the DLP process, and measure DLP outcomes.


Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion 

Breck is committing to specific actions that will build a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive community where all Breck students can bring their full selves, feel a strong sense of belonging, and thrive as learners. Investments in this initiative will allow Breck to promote and maintain a culture of social and racial justice throughout the school. Targeted strategies include:

  • Ongoing training for our community members on anti-bias, anti-oppression, and anti-racism.
  • DEI assessment and analysis, and co-creation of cultural change with consulting firm Design Impact, to build a more equitable culture.
  • Review and assess our curriculum, policies and pedagogical practices, working closely with our academic leadership and faculty.
  • Continue to increase faculty diversity and enhance faculty mentorship programs to strengthen retention of BIPOC and LGBTQ+ faculty.
  • Program Directors will collaborate to ensure that DEI work is an integral part of Community Life and Episcopal Identity, the Melrose Center for Servant Leadership, and the Peter Clark Center for MBE.
  • Formalize structures for student affinity groups and faculty/staff affinity groups.

Financial Aid 

Breck has always had a tradition of and commitment to ensuring that the school is accessible to students of all economic backgrounds. Having a strong financial aid program allows us to enroll highly motivated students, who could not otherwise afford a Breck education. The best way to maintain our commitment to socioeconomic diversity is through support of tuition assistance. 
 
To learn more about supporting Breck’s Strategic Initiatives please email Stacy Glaus, Chief Advancement Officer, at stacy.glaus@breckschool.org.