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Strategic Plan (2022-2027)

With Cape Henry Collegiate's 2022-2027 Strategic Plan, we have a direction and a focus for the coming five years. This focus will allow for thoughtful and intentional work around improving the experience at Cape Henry. Combined with our Mission, the Strategic Plan challenges us to be ambitious and aspirational. It excites us about our future and about the work that we will do together. ”

Dr. Chris Garran, Head of School

Connecting Our Community to the World

We understand the importance of connecting our students to, and communicating effectively with, the local community and the wider world.  To strengthen our connection and communication, we will:

  • develop and implement a communication plan that allows us to better inform our internal and external community about the work being done at, and opportunities afforded by, Cape Henry Collegiate;
  • create more schoolwide service learning opportunities that connect our students with their community;
  • forge local, national, and international partnerships that support our mission of graduating globally aware citizens; and 
  • onboard and strengthen relationships with new families so that they feel a stronger sense of belonging in our community.

Elevating Academic Excellence

We are committed to creating an academic environment that challenges students to think in innovative ways and that helps them develop the skills they will need to succeed in college and beyond.  To that end, we will:

  • build a Center for Innovation and the Performing Arts and design the curriculum and experiences that will make that center transformational for students; 

  • review our PK-12 curriculum and incorporate technology in ways that allow our students to develop critical thinking and problem solving skills;

  • increase the number of innovative learning opportunities available to our students by exploring new course offerings and alternate uses of time;

  • adapt, where appropriate, our homework, summer work, and exam policies to ensure that the work we give students is challenging, meaningful, and necessary;

  • provide professional growth opportunities for faculty that support rigor and innovation in the classroom; and

  • develop and implement systematic means of collecting student feedback to ensure that student voices are heard.

Fostering Diversity and Inclusivity

We are a community that values diversity and is committed to respecting and honoring all people, no matter their ethnicity, gender, national origin, race, religion, sexual orientation, or socioeconomic status.  We will develop and implement a diversity and inclusion plan that will:

  • review the curriculum across all grade levels to ensure multiculturalism and diversity are an integral part of our course offerings and classroom resources and provide professional development for faculty on how to best incorporate these concepts into instruction;  

  • examine our recruitment, hiring, and admissions processes in order to find ways to increase the diversity of our student body, faculty, and staff; 

  • identify strategies to improve the retention of diverse students, faculty, and staff; and 

  • create and implement meaningful professional development opportunities on diversity, inclusion, equity, and belonging that help us grow as an organization.

Promoting Wellness

We are committed to creating a healthy environment that balances academic achievement, extracurricular fulfillment, and personal well-being.  To that end, we will: 

  • improve student wellness by adapting, if necessary, our homework, summer work, and exam policies to ensure that the work we give students is challenging, meaningful, and considerate of our students’ time and well-being; 

  • design and implement a PK-12 social emotional learning plan so that counseling is provided and wellness is taught consistently across all three divisions; 

  • promote healthy lifestyle and nutrition habits to our students and other members of the Cape Henry Collegiate community; 

  • partner with our local community to expand the number of available resources for educational testing, mental health, and student support services; and

  • explore ways to improve faculty and staff wellness.

Highlights of the 2016–2021 Strategic Plan

Academic Excellence

  • Released Upper School English Department Chair from teaching two bells in order to provide instructional coaching and created C.A.P.E. Institute classes such as Promoting Hands-On Reading Strategies to support reading and writing strategies 

  • Implemented Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling (TPRS), a new pedagogical approach to teaching world languages that focuses on conversational fluency

  • Audited the math curriculum in Lower School and switched to Math-in-Focus, a proven Singapore based math program, where students accomplish mastery through a three-step approach from concrete to pictorial to abstract concepts

Connecting our Community to the World

  • Established a satellite campus in Spain

  • Developed a dual enrollment mathematics program and a Nexus trip to Morocco with Virginia Wesleyan University

  • Created a Job Shadow Day for Grade 11 students

Fostering a Diverse and Inclusive Community

  • Hired a Director of Diversity and Inclusion

  • Created a Special Board Committee on Diversity and Inclusion

  • Provided C.A.P.E Institute courses on Microaggressions and Cultural Competencies and all school professional development on diversity and inclusivity issues

Professional Excellence

  • Created C.A.P.E. Institute, a professional learning community for faculty, staff, and leadership, with 8-10 course offerings per year that provide in-house professional development on topics that are strategically aligned. 

  • Developed a Professional Growth System which includes S.M.A.R.T. goal-setting meetings, formal observations, and evaluations where written feedback is provided.

  • Formed an Employee Engagement Committee which implements an annual Gallup Q12 Survey on employee engagement

Shaping Our Future

  • Explored the feasibility of a major capital campaign to build a new 49,000 square foot Center for Innovation and Performing Arts and launched it in 2022   

  • Completed mini-campaigns to redesign and build a new playground, a new Fitness Center, a new Cafe Dolphin, a new state of the art Digital Media Library in the Lower School, and new outdoor education spaces

  • Increased the endowment by 50% under the stewardship of the Board of Trustees

Mission Statement

We know, value, and challenge each student. 
We commit to building a diverse and inclusive community.
We graduate independent thinkers and globally aware citizens.

Strategic Plan Committee

Thank you to the following individuals for their countless hours devoted to establishing Cape Henry Collegiate's latest Strategic Plan:

  • Dr. Chris Garran, Head of School
  • Leesa Hannah, Co-Chair
  • Scott McGraw, Co-Chair
  • Tyler Brooks '05
  • Ali Bugg
  • Nico Cruz '22
  • Willy Fluharty
  • Dr. Elsie Harold Lans
  • Amanda Hayes
  • Paul Horgan
  • Brooke Hummel
  • Lori Nye
  • Zelda Patrick
  • Jill Qualters
  • Kim Shepherd
  • Casey Spurr
  • Taria Sutton
  • Deanna Thompson
  • Jonathan Torch
  • Ross Winfield
  • Ling Xie