Strategic Plan

To the St. Cyprian’s Episcopal School Community:

When Father Caskey established St. Cyprian’s Episcopal School in 1955, he knew the task of educating children demanded an innovative academic and spiritual program to meet the challenges of his modern world. He honored these students by building a school for the future.

Today St. Cyprian’s confronts challenges in our modern world. In a rapidly transforming environment where the solutions to problems require moral insight as well as analytical and technical skills, St. Cyprian’s must prepare students for a daunting set of life’s challenges. The school need not change but instead renew its commitment to its timeless values of educating students for lives of consequence, motivated by a desire to serve others.

St. Cyprian’s strategic plan outlines an early childhood development and elementary education for the 21st century. It will be a distinctively St. Cyprian’s education—one that brings dedicated faculty and staff together with students who demonstrate exceptional personal promise. The plan embraces our long-standing principles of unequaled academics, unsurpassed values and unlimited potential. It also recognizes that students learn differently. All this places faculty members in a more demanding role. St. Cyprian’s teachers must convey an excitement for learning and an enthusiasm for Christian living.

The St. Cyprian’s Board of Directors and Head of School are mindful that parents have a range of choices for their children’s education. We strive to deliver a strong return on the tuition investment by building strong moral and academic foundations. We recognize the faith our parents place on the school and appreciate the opportunity to serve.

We honor Father Caskey’s vision by building for the future.

Jake Squiers
President, St. Cyprian’s School Board and
Co-Chair of the Strategic Planning Committee

Brinn Williford
St. Cyprian’s Head of School

The mission of St. Cyprian’s Episcopal School is to be a community of learners where students are challenged to achieve their highest academic, spiritual and physical potentials in a Christian setting.

Planning Principle 1: Academics

St. Cyprians Episcopal School will maintain and enhance a student-centered curricular program that is ambitious and balanced, rooted in the mission and philosophy of the school, and staffed according to the same high standards applied to all educational programs.

ACTIONS:

  • Establish an accelerated curriculum with a goal for all students to be learning course material that is a grade ahead of their respective public school classmates.
  • Refine and strengthen curriculum integration and continuity across disciplines and grade levels, utilizing the best educational research while maintaining proven traditional concepts.
  • Place a priority on faculty professional development to guarantee effective integration of various technologies into the educational program.
  • Continue to define and measure academic excellence by benchmarking and comparing scores to other area publics schools and national private schools.
  • Incorporate educational and extracurricular programs that promote development of leadership, decision-making skills and ethical values.
  • Complete and publish a PK-5 curriculum scope and sequence of skills and content.

Planning Principle 2: Students

St. Cyprian’s strives to build student’s character. The School will endeavor to give every St. Cyprian student the opportunity to develop their God-given skills and talents, maximizing them to their fullest potential.

ACTIONS:

  • Expand current Gifted and Talented certifications for all teachers by initially providing 30-hour G/T certification along with 6 hours needed per year to maintain certification. Training will be provided for each classroom teacher so that every child is provided the best available learning experience.
  • Continue with specialty instruction such as Spanish, art, technology, music, and physical education, which are essential enrichment to children’s education. St. Cyprian’s will provide the best possible curriculum, equipment, and schedule in order to produce happy, well-rounded students.
  • Maintain participation in community service by encouraging a minimum number of service hours per student in grades 1-5. Qualifying areas could include preparing shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child, writing letters to servicemen overseas, or physically volunteering time and energy at the Lufkin Zoo or the Animal Shelter.
  • Expand fine arts projects and student participation.
  • Continue extra-curricular opportunities such as Destination Imagination participation, PSIA participation, Angelina County Spelling Bee, etc.
  • Maintain spiritual development to teach our children about God and Jesus in school-wide chapel services, classroom chapel, prayer, and through the witness of parents, staff, and fellow students.
  • Enhance current training for dyslexia therapists and core content teachers to continue best practices in teaching a growing and successful dyslexia population.

Planning Principle 3: Faculty

St. Cyprian’s Episcopal School will attract and retain quality, dedicated faculty with exceptional educational experience and dedicated love of children.

ACTIONS:

  • Continue to provide a caring and supportive teaching environment with attractive student/teacher ratios and class sizes.
  • Increase opportunities for teachers to seek effective instructional resources and ideas.
  • Expand opportunities for teachers to attend beneficial internal and external workshops that are relevant to their teaching areas.
  • Increase the operating budget to provide the best possible compensation and benefit package in order to attract and retain the best faculty available.

Planning Principle 4: Parents, Grandparents and Alumni

St. Cyprian’s values its “family atmosphere” by including parents, grandparents and alumni as part of the extended school community. Their input is essential in maintaining a responsive academic, social and spiritual environment.

ACTIONS:

  • Support an expanded role of the Parent Teacher Organization and Head of School Committees as active forums for parental input and volunteerism.
  • Establish an active Alumni Association for graduates to maintain strong connection with St. Cyprian’s campus life.
  • Create more occasions for parents, grandparents and alumni to participate in special school functions.
  • Continue excellent communication between school and parents/alumni through “News Paws”, website content and annual reports.
  • Develop an aggressive, high profile, public relations campaign to effectively communicate St. Cyprian’s core values and achievements.

Planning Principle 5: Buildings and Grounds

St. Cyprian’s strives to provide attractive and well-maintained classrooms, buildings, grounds, and equipment to facilitate excellence in every program.

ACTIONS:

  • Establish a Campus Master Plan to identify and prioritize long-term maintenance and replacement objectives for existing facilities.
  • Seek funding to invest in large capital improvement projects such as gym roof replacement.
  • Make regular equipment and playground enhancements to provide students with safe and healthy activity.
  • Replace dilapidated portable storage buildings with a larger permanent storage structure. 
  • Establish a Grounds Beautification Committee to expand and maintain Dena’s Garden and other landscape features.

Planning Principle 6: Marketing/Public Relations

St. Cyprian’s Episcopal School will maintain an active marketing-public relations program in order to sustain and enhance student enrollment.

ACTIONS:

  • Develop and implement a directed public relations campaign featuring our new advertising motto: Unequaled Academics, Unsurpassed Values and Unlimited Potential.
  • Produce a promotional video to be used for local advertising, school website content and DVD distribution.
  • Create and maintain interactive website incorporating St. Cyprian’s RenWeb classroom software.
  • Develop activities and plans to bolster student retention rates.
  • Establish partnerships with local companies, Chamber of Commerce and area real estate companies by offering tours and providing school promotional materials.
  • Make contact with area Churches without schools to actively recruit church families with young children.
  • Pursue St. Cyprian’s alumni for testimonials on the importance of their St. Cyprian’s Education.

Planning Principle 7: Governance

The final responsibility for St. Cyprian’s excellence rests with a strong Board of Trustees composed of Christian leaders who share energy, ideas, authority, and talents as they seek God’s will for the school.

ACTIONS:

  • Continue to evaluate the governance and management structure of St. Cyprian’s, including board committee structure, school policies, and board planning.
  • Ensure St. Cyprian’s has a diverse Board composed of professionals who have the skills and talents necessary to implement the strategic plan.
  • Establish a Head of School evaluation system to clearly define the role of Head as chief executive of St. Cyprian’s, and provide guidelines for their professional growth and development.

Planning Principle 8: Spiritual Life

St. Cyprian’s Episcopal School will vigorously promote unsurpassed values of the Christian Faith, the spiritual growth of students, and the Episcopal nature of the school.

ACTIONS:

  • A daily Chapel curriculum will be employed to reinforce the core values of the Christian Faith.
  • Students and Faculty will observe the liturgy daily in Chapel.
  • The Rector and his associate will conduct twice weekly Chapel services for the entire student school.
  • The Head of School will work closely with the Rector of St. Cyprian’s Church to ensure that the spiritual climate of the school is maintained.
  • The Head of School will support the spiritual life of the school by daily participation in the Chapel Liturgy.
  • The Head of School will seek to promote Core Christian values such as honesty, kindness, mercy, and service to others through word and example to students and faculty.
  • The Head of School will maintain close communication with the Rector, Vestry, and parishioners through monthly Vestry reports, regular meetings with the Rector, and other means as requested.
  • Upper grade students will be encouraged to provide student leadership in Chapel.
  • Continue the practice of allowing the Gideons to pass out Bibles to the 5th Grade class yearly.