Strategic Plan
Strategic Plan
Excellence in Learning
Stewardship
Communication
Community Relationships
Renewing Our Vision
Strategic Plan 2020
Launching four strategic initiatives and clarifying our Core Values, the Strategic Plan for 2020-2023 shapes our future together.
The content of this booklet can also be found below:
A Message from the BCS Board Chair
As we celebrate 70 years of blessing as a Christian educational institution, we are reminded of the multiple generations that have shaped our school’s culture and community. The tapestry of individuals that has made up the enduring identity of Bellevue Christian has, in so many ways, lived out Paul’s encouragement in Titus to us as followers of Jesus: “show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity and dignity.” At our core, Bellevue Christian School has remained committed to our central mission of Preparing Young People to Live Faithfully for Christ, and this is a responsibility each of us, whether we are a parent, student or faculty member, have in stewardship. In addition to ensuring we remain true to the ethos and mission of our school, every few years your board takes ownership in partnering with the school’s leadership team to define our strategic direction and priorities. This work is a significant investment of time and is a defining process for how we desire, with God’s leading, to grow and evolve our school. The outcome and intent of this collaboration is to publish a long-term plan that will serve as a guide in the ensuing years on where and how we invest our time and gifts in furthering God’s purpose for Bellevue Christian School.
One of the important steps of this process is our sharing of this plan with our community. We all play a role in shaping the lives and education of our students, and it is the board’s desire that there be transparency regarding the plans we have agreed to and believe are important to our development as a school. It is our hope you find the information to be helpful and encouraging.
This board is so thankful for the inspiring commitment and dedication of our teachers and administrators that each day live out our schools mission. We look forward to seeing this plan realized for the greater benefit of your children and our students with our Lord’s help.
In gratitude,
Steve Sirich, Chair, Board of Directors
A Message from the BCS Head of School
When we began the strategic planning process – seeking the wisdom and perspective of school leaders, employees, and parents – we did not envision how dramatically our world would change. Throughout the spring of 2020, as we navigated new waters and simultaneously put the finishing touches on this plan, we took time to responsibly ask ourselves, should we still be doing this and are the elements of the Strategic Plan still appropriate?
As we went through this final analysis, the answer was a resounding: yes! Primarily, this is because our Strategic Plan doesn’t point us in a different direction, so much as it illuminates new ways of thinking about our work. Bellevue Christian has always been, still is, and will always be a school that believes that the primary purpose of Christian education is discipleship. It is not college matriculation or vocational preparation, though that certainly occurs. It is not developing artists or athletes, though that certainly occurs. It is not even reading, analyzing or coding, although those things certainly occur. We do these things – we learn, we play, we consider our future – so that we may grow closer to God and embrace His purpose for our lives.
Our new Strategic Plan, “Renewing Our Vision,“ affirms the history of Bellevue Christian School and gives us a roadmap to improve upon the execution of our mission. In addition to an ambitious framework of programmatic and operational goals, it also introduces five BCS Core Values which will guide our work with students. These are the values that we relentlessly pursue in our graduates, as well as in ourselves.
As much as our world has changed in six months, we recognize that God continues to call us to Him. We know, from Ecclesiastes, that what has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. We also know, from Hebrews, that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
As we launch this ambitious plan, may we never lose sight of these truths and of God’s love for us.
Kevin Dunning, Head of School
Core Values
- Following Christ
- Transforming Learners
- Engaging our World
- Learning in Community
- Growing in Relationship
Following Christ
We find and follow our identity in Christ. Our teaching reflects Scripture and Biblical principles, denominational diversity, worship, and prayer while balancing truth and grace as we become faith-filled learners.
“The world of academic scholarship is not a separate kind of knowing that is somehow independent of faith. In academic studies, we are listening to hear the voice of the Lord as it speaks to us through the creation. In every class we want to be able to say with Isaiah the prophet, ‘All this also comes from the Lord Almighty, wonderful in counsel and magnificent in wisdom.’” Second Sight
“In all the operations of the school, its goals and objectives must serve the ultimate goal of seeking first Christ’s kingdom and His righteousness, so that we may be His servants doing whatever Christ has called us to do with our whole hearts for Him.” BCS Educational Confession, Article IX
Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. John 1:16-17
Transforming Learners
We transform learners to actively live out their faith in their communities. Through purposeful discipleship, students are guided to become curious thinkers, courageous designers, joyful collaborators, and gracious communicators.
Do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:2
The ultimate goal of Christian education is to lead students to live lives of Christian discipleship. A life dedicated to Christ will be a life devoted to the service of others. BCS Educational Confession, Article IX
“Christian education involves asking different questions, questions shaped by biblical beliefs about the nature of reality, the nature of humanity, and the place and task of human beings in that reality.” Second Sight
Engaging our World
We equip students to be salt and light, demonstrating empathy, serving others, and participating in culture with a Christian worldview. Learners will engage with difficult questions posed by a rapidly changing world.
A Christian education must extend beyond the classroom and into the world, beginning with an emphasis on service to one another within the school body, and extending to the practice of love to those outside. BCS Educational Confession, Article VI
You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in Heaven. Matthew 5:14-16
“We are preparing children to confront the culture that surrounds them, and we cannot do that without dealing with difficult and sometimes controversial issues...There is no better place for dealing with difficult issues than the Christian school, where they can be handled in a context of biblical perspective and Christian love.” Second Sight
Learning in Community
BCS is committed to intellectual virtues such as humility, tenacity, honesty, and fair-mindedness in a vibrant community. Students gain the knowledge and skills to ask deep questions that connect faith and learning in all areas of life.
The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. This makes for harmony among the members so that all members care for each other. All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it. 1 Corinthians 12:12, 25 & 27
“Cooperative and collaborative learning encourage the life of the body of Christ; they encourage also a godly humility by helping students recognize that they can never be completely self-sufficient.” Second Sight
“A community is a body, an organic whole, in which no member is self-sufficient and which can accomplish things as a body that its members could never achieve if they all were acting separately...Students and teachers must learn to live and work in dependence upon one another if Christ’s calling on the students’ lives is to be fulfilled in their adult years.” Second Sight
Growing in Relationship
We foster belonging by creating lasting memories and ensuring a safe, healthy environment. Community members build lifelong relationships and strong networks of support among school, church, and home.
Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 1 John 4:7
“The Christian school has a responsibility...to model a biblical vision of life in all its operations and in all the relationships it contains...The Christian school task is not only to teach, but also to model the kinds of relationships which should exist within the body of Christ.” BCS Educational Confession, Article VIII
Building community is important to the life of the body of Christ...Building community is at least as much a part of the mission of the school as is academic instruction...[Christian community] expresses a common sense of discipleship, common service to our Lord Jesus Christ. Second Sight
Strategic Initiatives
- A: Pursue Excellence in Learning
- B: Model Stewardship through Operational Excellence and Fiscal Responsibility
- C: Develop and Launch a Clear Marketing and Communication Campaign
- D: Foster Deep Relationships with Internal and External Stakeholders
A: Pursue Excellence in Learning
Goal Statement: We will focus on strengthening our academic program and making a deep connection between faith and learning to equip students with the skills and knowledge to engage a rapidly changing world.
Adopt a clear instructional identity that guides the academic experience of students. Develop additional faith formation and discipleship programs.
Evaluate and restructure learning support.
Adopt a class schedule that provides time for increased faculty collaboration time, professional development, curriculum, data assessment, and classroom planning.
Systematize academic standards across campuses and grade levels to ensure quality levels of academics throughout the system.
Expand faculty leadership opportunities, including mentoring, coaching, and professional growth.
Develop and expand university partnerships to provide access to off-campus coursework and experiences.
B: Model Stewardship through Operational Excellence and Fiscal Responsibility
Goal Statement: Amidst significant cultural and demographic changes, we will re-evaluate how we approach our organizational structure and financial model.
Evaluate the current governance model against best practice and implement the changes necessary to better support the school’s mission.
Evaluate and restructure the organizational chart to clearly define roles, authority, and decision-making responsibilities.
Restructure the financial model to create a stronger and more sustainable program.
Develop a short and long-term facility renovation plan for the school that supports modern student learning and sustainable operation.
C: Develop and Launch a Clear Marketing and Communication Campaign
Goal Statement: Re-articulate, reimagine, and relaunch the way our story is shared with current and prospective families in a way that underscores the value of a distinct Bellevue Christian education.
Develop a comprehensive marketing strategy that coordinates communications, enrollment, and development groups into an integrated team for Institutional Advancement.
Develop a consistent communication plan that strengthens the flow of information through the organization.
Design a new enrollment strategy, including a comprehensive awareness campaign aligned with the communication strategy.
Strengthen strategies to increase the retention of students and support families to maintain high levels of involvement in BCS.
Refine the CRM relationship management system to track activities, prospects, relationship workflow, and success of each campaign or initiative.
D: Foster Deep Relationships with Internal and External Stakeholders
Goal Statement: Build deeper and stronger relationships with current and prospective families, alumni, donors, churches, non-profits, and businesses to drive engagement through enrollment, philanthropy, and community support.
Refine the purpose and strategy of annual giving with an intentional sequence of fundraising appeals.
Deepen parent relationships through a reorganized approach to parent groups and through fostering opportunities for parent involvement in building culture and community.
Develop a robust series of events that increase engagement with donors, alumni, parents, school leadership, and the broader community.
Refine the school’s Advancement Committee to support the fundraising effort and recruit diverse membership from throughout the BCS community.
Strengthen relationships with major donors.
Intentionally engage Bellevue Christian alumni through re-envisioning the annual homecoming event, designing class specific reunions, establishing an alumni board, and creating alumni giving opportunities.
Refresh the Greene Heritage Society to establish a bequest society for Bellevue Christian.
Elevate our relationships with local community organizations and businesses, with the goal of making BCS known as a producer of great alumni, a strong partner for service or internships, a group of community-minded philanthropists, and a good neighbor.