Leading with Purpose: The Strategic Plan of Emma Willard School

Academics

Emma Willard School's curriculum focuses on three pillars: Intellectual Flexibility, Purpose & Community, and Equity & Justice. Our academic program offers more than 140 courses, including Emma's own unique Advanced Studies options. Personalized study programs enable students to dive deep into a topic or field of their choosing, and gain hands-on experience.

School Life

Education at Emma isn’t limited to the classroom—it’s woven into the fabric of our community. With students from around the world and across the United States, and faculty and staff with a wide breadth of life experiences, you will broaden your perspective the moment you walk onto campus.

Bonds created in the residence and dining halls, while practicing for an athletics match or arts performance, at one of our many cherished traditions, and all the little moments in between, define the Emma experience.

Overview

Developing a shared vision for Emma Willard School began the day Head of School Jenny Rao arrived on campus. The work culminates in Leading with Purpose, our newly adopted strategic plan, designed to guide our school for the next five years.

What started with careful listening and fresh-eyed examination of every facet of the school quickly grew to include a formalized, inclusive process soliciting input from hundreds of members of the Emma family, on campus and around the world. The result? Inspired initiatives that show how we will recommit to our mission within five broad areas that touch every aspect of the school.

Each of these overarching categories defines an area in which teams are sharpening, refining, and organizing action plans. Together, we will chart a deliberate path forward for our historic institution—one that will ensure not only educational excellence, but also a healthier, more connected community and fiscal strength for years to come.

Approved by the Board of Trustees in May 2021, the strategic plan is a living document that will chart our course moving forward. The details of how we achieve this vision will continue to evolve as concepts are tested and new opportunities emerge.

Leading with Purpose: Priorities

List of 5 items.

Priority 1: Learning

Nurture a learning environment defined by creativity, deep inquiry, and wellbeing.
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Priority 2: Teaching

Cultivate faculty excellence and curricular innovation.
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Priority 3: Belonging

Value and affirm each person in a community that reflects the world.
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Priority 4: Connection

Deepen and expand our local, national, and global networks.
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Priority 5: Capacity

Build a physically, financially, and environmentally sustainable future.
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