2026 Strategic Plan

Introduction

All Souls School is excited to share its 2026 Strategic Plan, which will serve as a roadmap to capitalize on recent changes, while preserving and enhancing what makes our school special.

All Souls is proud to be one of very few early childhood schools accredited by the New York State Association of Independent Schools (NYSAIS). After All Souls completed our NYSAIS accreditation in 2013, the Board developed our first-ever strategic plan, which was finalized in 2015. In 2023, in preparation for the next decennial NYSAIS accreditation, All Souls engaged in a year of self-study, led by school administrators Susan Hess and Susan Malone and supported by consultants Martha Haakmat and Dr. Kelly Bird. This self-study incorporated the feedback of parents, faculty, administration, alumni, and trustees.

The Strategic Plan presented here builds upon the work done in preparation for that NYSAIS accreditation, as well as the commendations and recommendations from the NYSAIS visiting team. Additionally, this plan was developed immediately after celebrating All Souls’ 60th Birthday, which provided an opportunity to reflect on our history and thoughtfully consider what aspects of All Souls we want to prioritize and enhance in the future.

All Souls is grateful to everyone who helped develop the 2026 Strategic Plan. Particular thanks go to the members of the Steering Committee: Dr. Jennifer Vest, Lita Tandon, Amy Malone, Ellen Birnbaum, Dr. Antonia Kofinas, Dr. Kelly Grimmett, Anneka Kamel, Matt Little, and Dr. Kavita Vyas Dharmarajan. All Souls thanks Susan Malone and Susan Hess for their thoughtful input.

Vision

Over the last ten years, many exciting changes have occurred at All Souls. We successfully enriched and expanded our facilities. We completed a full renovation, updating each classroom and adding dedicated spaces for an Atelier, an administrative office, a library, a multi-purpose meeting room, and an Infant-Toddler space. All Souls also increased its programming and now offers dedicated art classes, early arrival, afterschool programming, Parent-Infant Guidance Classes, and a NIDO Toddler Program. To fund this work, All Souls completed a Capital Campaign, called the 60th Birthday Fund, which the community responded to with enthusiasm and generosity. These changes were outlined as goals in the prior strategic plan and we are proud to have successfully accomplished them.

What has remained constant for All Souls is our focus on the growth and development of the individual child, our commitment to a play-based emergent curriculum, the excellence of our faculty, and our remarkable community. With this Strategic Plan, we aim to carry forward our sixty-year legacy of joyful learning and cohesive community, while thoughtfully building upon our strengths to make our beloved school even better.

Mission and DEIB Statements

Mission Statement
All Souls School, an early childhood day school founded in 1965, celebrates and builds upon each child’s strengths, interests, and experiences in an intentional, diverse, and nurturing community that fosters experimentation, a love of learning, and respect for others.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) Statement
All Souls School is a welcoming and increasingly diverse early childhood community that affirms and cherishes each child, family, and colleague. We represent an ever-widening range of identities, perspectives, and experiences and celebrate difference as a source of strength and means of growth. Our whole community collaborates to nurture and empower every child, honoring their unique and developing expression of self. Children learn how to practice curiosity and empathy and to use their voices to create fairer, kinder relationships. Through reflection and intentional work, in all areas of our school, we strive to foster an equitable environment where children and adults can thrive. In a world where inequities abound, we work together to protect dignity, pursue compassion, and promote justice for all.

All Souls School 2026 Strategic Plan

The Strategic Plan has five key pillars, reflecting our areas of focus:

Community

A consistent source of All Souls School’s strength over the last 60 years has been its incredible community of students, parents, teachers, administrators, trustees, and alumni. We aim to further strengthen that community by fostering inclusion and belonging through thoughtful engagement and transparent communications.

Further strengthen All Souls School’s community by nurturing relationships within the School community, increasing family engagement with the School, and fostering connections with the broader community
Partner with families to maintain clear and transparent communication
Ensure a community of belonging for students and their families, faculty, staff, and the Board that reflects the mission of the School by celebrating diversity, protecting dignity, and fostering equity
Continue to cultivate a robust alumni network of both former students and their families by implementing targeted events and outreach

Program

While maintaining the School’s focus on the primacy of play, we will ensure our play-based curriculum prepares children for ongoing school and supports a range of learners. The key to our programming success is our faculty, and we will continue to build and support our faculty through increased professional development.

Build and message All Souls School’s pedagogy as the premier infant through five-year-old program in NYC, ensuring all internal and external communications clearly reinforce the School’s mission and enhance its reputation
Continue to ensure the curriculum reflects the School’s pedagogical values, including the primacy of play, and effectively prepares children for ongoing school
Clearly articulate how academic skills are acquired in a play-based, emergent curriculum to prospective and current families
Review and enhance learning support structures so that a range of students can thrive at the School
Recruit, retain, and support teachers and provide them with consistent, intentional, and relevant professional development

Governance

We will keep strengthening how the Board, teachers, and administrators partner to support the School’s mission by streamlining roles and responsibilities, providing consistent training, and identifying any areas where additional support is needed.

Conduct an administrative audit to ensure a robust and streamlined administrative team with clear mandates and to guide whether to hire any additional faculty
Establish and update committee charters and goals for all Board subcommittees and the Parents Association (“PA”), ensuring alignment with the Strategic Plan and DEIB Statement
Deliver consistent onboarding and continuing education for Trustees and PA officers
Create clear succession plan for Board and PA leadership
Strengthen relationship with the School’s landlord, the Unitarian Church of All Souls, to solidify partnership between School and Church leaders

Facilities

We will continue to optimize spaces to meet the community’s needs. We will further evaluate how to best use our newly renovated spaces to suit the needs of the evolving curriculum and community.

Ensure physical school space is a “third teacher” that embodies our values, inspires wonder, and meets learners’ needs
Maintain and optimize all School facilities, including developing a comprehensive medium-to-longterm maintenance plan
Continue to build a collaborative Church-School model for shared facilities
Evaluate expanding the School’s footprint to best suit the needs of the evolving curriculum and community
Evaluate how to best use renovated spaces to strengthen community involvement, including optimizing remote attendance to foster inclusivity

Financial Sustainability

We will focus on maintaining the School’s financial health by maximizing revenue sources and fundraising, while continuing to offer financial aid and competitive teacher compensation.

Operate on a balanced budget that reflects the Strategic Plan priorities and avoids reliance on the endowment for funding
Develop a 5-year financial plan that clearly articulates expected sources of revenue and comprehensively projects ongoing expenses
Maximize current revenue sources, including tuition and philanthropy, and identify ancillary revenue streams
Ensure alignment of investment strategy with long-term strategic plan
Create and execute a comprehensive fundraising plan that includes alignment with the PA, benchmarking against peer schools, and the potential addition of a Development Director
Establish a strategic Financial Aid plan
Ensure salaries and staffing structure allow the School to attract and retain the best talent, including by reflecting the cost of living in New York City in determining salary scale

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