Crafting Our Tomorrow, Together

Princeton Day School stands at the threshold of transformation. Over the next 18 months, from September 2024 to January 2026, we are embarking on a comprehensive strategic planning process to guide us into a new era of growth and achievement. This journey invites our entire community to join us in shaping our future — one that honors our rich history while crystallizing our identity and uniting us around a shared, inspiring vision. By bringing together a diversity of voices, perspectives and lived experiences, we can craft a tomorrow for PDS that exceeds even our boldest aspirations.

Our Roadmap

This thoughtfully designed process will unfold in seven key phases, each building upon the last to create a comprehensive and visionary strategic plan.

1. Laying the Groundwork (Late Summer 2024)

We begin by assembling our dedicated design teams, defining our goals and establishing the collaborative workflows to guide us throughout this process. During this crucial phase, we'll build a shared understanding of what makes effective mission, vision and values statements, setting the stage for the work ahead. This foundation will ensure we're all aligned and ready to embark on this important journey together.

2. Unearthing Our Roots (Fall 2024)

As the 2024-2025 academic year begins, we'll delve deep into PDS's rich history and founding principles. This exploration period will include an evening salon with key figures from our past and present, conducting campus visits and class observations and engaging in stakeholder listening sessions. By collecting stories and artifacts that embody the PDS spirit, we'll gain invaluable insights into our school's essence, helping us to honor our legacy as we look to the future.

3. Composing Our Narrative (Winter 2024/Early 2025)

With a wealth of historical context, we'll synthesize the key themes that emerged from our exploration, drafting initial language for a refined mission, vision and values. This iterative process will involve gathering community feedback on draft statements and refining our guiding principles. Through thoughtful collaboration, we'll ensure our narrative truly captures the heart of PDS and inspires our path forward.

4. Bridging Vision and Action (Winter 2025)

As we transition into 2025, we'll review existing data to identify additional research needs, create a detailed schedule of key meetings and develop a communications plan. This phase bridges our articulated vision with the actionable steps needed to bring it to life, setting the stage for the strategic planning process.

5. Charting Our Course (February 2025)

February marks the beginning of our focused strategic planning. We'll kick off with a Board of Trustees meeting to overview the process, conduct empathy interviews and stakeholder listening sessions and identify preliminary areas of inquiry for our strategic plan. Deeper research into these key areas will be conducted, ensuring we have a comprehensive understanding of our challenges and opportunities.

6. Imagining the Possible (Fall 2025)

In the Fall of 2025, we'll enter an exciting period of creative thinking and bold visioning. We'll host a Community Design Day to generate innovative ideas for our future, develop concept maps for proposed initiatives and refine our strategic goals. This phase culminates in drafting our initial strategic plan, a document that will reflect our community's aspirations and a direction for the future of PDS.

7. Launching Our Future (January 2026)

In our final phase, we'll solidify the strategic plan and present it to the Board of Trustees for review and approval. We'll work closely with the Leadership Team to develop implementation strategies and integrate the plan into Board and school operations. This phase ensures that our shared vision becomes a tangible reality, setting Princeton Day School on a path of continued excellence and innovation.

Design Teams

Our strategic design teams bring together a diverse array of passionate individuals — trustees, administrators, employees and parents — all united by their love for PDS and deep commitment to the school’s bright future.

Mission, Vision and Values Committee

Christopher B. Bobbitt P’22 ’26, Chair of the PDS Board of Trustees
Kelley Nicholson-Flynn P’26, Head of School
Beth Geter-Douglass ’82 P’20, Trustee
Amanda Maher P’28 ’30 ’34, Trustee
Teddy Brown ’08, Director of Lower School Admissions
Deanna Harkel P’38, Director of Communications
Jon Ostendorf P’17, Chief Information Officer
Renée C. Price P’27 ’29, Head of Middle School, Assistant Head of School
Tara Quigley P’12 ’14, Director of Miss Fine’s Center, MS Technology Coordinator & Humanities Faculty
Angharad Rebholz, MS Dean and Humanities Faculty
Stefanie Santangelo, Chair of Upper School History
Ashley Stenger, Director of Publications
Lisa Surace P’22, Associate Head of School
Sandy Wang, Head of Lower School

Strategic Planning Committee

Christopher B. Bobbitt P’22 ’26, Chair of the PDS Board of Trustees
Kelley Nicholson-Flynn P’26, Head of School
Jixin Dai P’26 ’33, Trustee
Amanda Maher P’28 ’30 ’34, Trustee
Wesley D. Markham, Trustee
Shefali Shah P’30, Trustee
Robert Clemens, Director of Facility Operations
Jon Cormier P’29 ’31 ’34, Director of Advancement
Katie Fay, Director of Athletics
Sarah Graham P’33 ’38, Director of College Counseling
Amanda Gregory P’37, US Foreign Language Faculty
Deanna Harkel P’38, Director of Communications
Katie Jamieson ’96 P'27 '30 '34, LS Language Arts Chair
Lauren Ledley, Director of Academic Technology and Institutional Research
Caroline Lee, Academic Dean
Jonathan Martin, MS Dean and Performing Arts Faculty
Anthony McKinley, Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Katie O’Shaughnessey P’27, Head of Upper School
Anita Shah P’22’25, Former Head of Parents Association
Matt Trowbridge ’98 P'34 '36, MS Humanities Faculty & Director of Squash

Strategic Planning Steering Committee

Partners in Innovation

In Leadership + Design, we've found partners who share our passion for educational excellence and transformative change. We are thrilled to work alongside Shu Shu Costa and Antonio Viva, whose wealth of experience will help catalyze our transformation. Their approach goes beyond traditional strategic planning, infusing our process with cutting-edge design thinking methodologies, inclusive and engaging practices and tools to nurture and strengthen our unique PDS culture. Guided by their mission to cultivate reflective change makers, optimistic futurists and human-centered design thinkers, Leadership + Design will help us craft and execute a plan for PDS that is dynamic, adaptive and compelling.

Be Part of the Journey

This is more than a planning process — it's an invitation to dream, to innovate and to shape the future of Princeton Day School. Every member of our community has a vital role to play, and we invite you to stay tuned for numerous opportunities to lend your voice, share your ideas and help craft the next brilliant chapter in the PDS story. For more information, please contact Deanna Harkel, director of communications.

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