2018-2025 Strategic Plan
March 2018
5th Grade Trip to Paris
Strategic Plan 2018-2025
The International School of Los Angeles Board of Trustees is proud to present our 2018-2025 Strategic Plan* , which aims to build on the progress made over the last five years with the implementation of the 2012-2017 Strategic Plan. Our new Strategic Plan remains rooted in the three foundational tenets of the School’s mission – bilingualism, academic excellence, and a nurturing environment.
Strategic Planning Process
To help develop this 2018-2025 Strategic Plan, the Board engaged John Littleford, a strategic consultant with over 30 years of experience who has worked with thousands of private and international schools. In the fall of 2017, Mr. Littleford visited the School over a period of two weeks to conduct a series of focus group meetings on all five campuses with approximately 300 people, including parents, students, teachers, administrators, senior management, and Board members.
Following Mr. Littleford’s visit, the Board of Trustees, the Head of School and the Leadership Team, through a series of meetings, workshops and all-day retreats, (a) reviewed and analyzed the progress made toward the goals set forth in the 2012-2017 Strategic Plan, (b) engaged in a thorough review of our school’s overall financial and organizational health, and (c) analyzed the feedback received from the LILA community through the focus groups
*Please note, the 2018-2023 Strategic Plan was extended to 2025 owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Review of 2012-2017 Strategic Plan
In 2010, for the first time in its history, the School’s Board of Trustees and management began the process of developing a five-year strategic roadmap to help the School fulfill its mission and vision. This culminated in the adoption and publication of the 2012-2017 Strategic Plan, with a number of specific goals and milestones. We are proud to report the following achievements:
Educational Vision and Academic Excellence:
4 Maintaining our focus on personal excellence from elementary through high school, which is ultimately reflected by the fact that the Washington Post ranked the International School of Los Angeles as one of the top five most challenging private high schools in Los Angeles for four years running.
4 Looking beyond high school by positioning our students to be welcomed to an increasing number of the Top 100 Global Universities, which culminated, in 2018, in a 78% admission rate for our students who applied to those universities (compared to 53% in 2012).
Enrollment and Facilities:
4 Through the 2012 purchase of the Burbank campus, the 2015 move of the Orange County campus, and the 2017 opening of the Early Learning Center in Los Feliz, the School has been able to grow its classroom capacity to accommodate increasing demand for our programs. This has resulted in 15% enrollment growth, from 940 in 2012 to 1080 at the end of 2017-18, with graduating classes having doubled over the period.
Bur
Orange County Campus Ribbon Cutting
Finances:
4 Enrollment growth, tuition realignment, and increased fundraising enabled us to increase teacher salaries, boost financial aid, and replenish our cash reserves.
Communication and Identity:
4 The International School of Los Angeles became the first school in the United States to be accredited for the section internationale américaine for the full continuum from 1st through 12th grade;
4 We reinforced our identity through a repositioning and rebranding of the School’s name and logo, which reflect our bilingual and international mission.
Los Feliz Early Learning Center
Our Goal
We acknowledge that a Strategic Plan is a living document that must be viewed in the context of our school’s desire to reach educational and financial goals amid the realities of the marketplace in which we operate as an independent school. With this in mind, the Board of Trustees has developed this 2018-2025 Strategic Plan to center on the following four essential tenets:
Sustaining and supporting academic excellence
Shaping and clarifying our school identity
Strengthening enrollment
Optimizing financial outlook and resource allocation
We strongly believe that, rooted in our mission and with a clear vision always at the forefront of all decisions, success in these four areas will firmly solidify the School's position as a leader in bilingual education in the next five years and beyond.
Strategic Plan 2018-2025
Our vision, mission, and values have been refreshed as part of the Strategic Planning exercise:
Our Vision
To be the premier international school in Los Angeles.
Our Mission
The International School of Los Angeles is a non-profit, independent, international school committed to bilingual education and academic excellence in a nurturing environment. Our mission is to develop bilingual critical thinkers who are open-minded, confident and caring, and equipped to thrive in a diverse, competitive world.
We offer a preschool through 12th grade curriculum that culminates in the French baccalauréat or the International Baccalaureate®’s Diploma Programme
Our Values
The delivery of our vision and of our mission is anchored in the commitment of each member of the school community to uphold the values of respect, excellence, and diversity.
Respect Excellence Diversity
Our Plan
Sustaining and supporting academic excellence
excellence in learning, excellence in teaching, and excellence in postschool destinations
Objectives:
Increase student engagement and commitment to personal excellence
Implementation:
4 Support student well-being and safety
4 Promote and celebrate personal excellence
4 Encourage and support personal student ambition and aspirations in students’ post-school trajectory
4 Better educate students and their families about the value of our programs
4 Continue to recruit and develop quality faculty
Continue to improve our academic results to become the premier international school in Los Angeles
4 Enhance the recruitment of specialized International Baccalaureate® (IB) teachers
4 Continue to provide quality professional development
4 Implement international track at 9th grade
4 Continue to internationalize the curriculum in earlier grades
Ensure the curriculum promotes the study of languages other than English and French
Continue to improve our postschool destinations
4 Strengthen and expand the existing offering in languages
4 Continue outreach with top colleges and universities
4 Ensure students are SAT and ACT test-ready
4 Educate our community about the US college enrollment process
4 Offer extracurricular activities that promote intellectual curiosity
Shaping and clarifying our school identity
building and enhancing our reputation, both internally and externally
Objectives: Implementation:
Promote the school brand to reflect our positioning in the marketplace and our unique value proposition 4 Develop a tagline that encapsulates our identity and clarify our brand attributes, so each member of the LILA community can easily and simply communicate who we are and what we do 4 Advertise the School in local communities 4 Increase the School’s visibility 4 Enhance our website and our social media outreach 4 Invite outside experts for lectures on bilingualism and become a thought leader on bilingual international education
Improve the understanding of our academic program, both internally and externally 4 Continue outreach to college admission offices 4 Expand outreach to local nursery and preschools 4 Educate internal and external communities about our new 9th grade international entry point 4 Create partnerships with high-ranking educational institutions and notable educational experts 4 Create detailed literature about the value of an IB® diploma or a French baccalauréat
Shaping and clarifying our school identity
building and enhancing our reputation, both internally and externally Objectives: Implementation:
Create pride around our international heritage and the value of an International School of Los Angeles education
Encourage student involvement in school affairs to create a sense of ownership
Foster community engagement, including alumni and grandparents
participation in competitive events with other schools and encourage community support of such events
Expand the system of recognition of student achievement
Educate internal and external communities about our new 9th grade entry point
Target international families that are moving to Los Angeles
Promote our alliances with the international and French communities in Los Angeles
Continue to host significant events (such as the French elections)
Strengthening enrollment:
Adding a new entry point; reducing attrition; and growing to capacity
Objectives: Implementation:
4 Obtain approval from City of Burbank to increase our capacity at Burbank from 350 to 450 students
Increase our high school graduating class to 75 students
4 Implement 9th grade international track entry point
4 Increase the number of learning spaces at Burbank
Reduce attrition at the end of 5th and 8th grade
Maximize classroom utilization
4 Better communicate the value of an International School of Los Angeles education and the benefits of a preschool-12th continuum
4 Implement 9th grade international track for existing students
4 Increase waiting lists in earlier grades
4 Reduce overall attrition
4 Explore merit scholarships
4 Increase and manage waiting lists
Optimizing our financial outlook and resource allocation:
Objectives:
Increase organizational efficiencies
Increase fundraising
Develop a multi-campus Master Plan
4 Conduct a comprehensive review and evaluation of our human resources compensation structure
4 Review and renegotiate contracts with major vendors
4 Reassess administrative overhead
4 Foster community engagement to create a stronger sense of loyalty and financial support
4 Prepare for future endowment and capital campaigns
4 Target foundations for support of capital projects
4 Increase school visibility in local communities
4 Reevaluate our multi-campus footprint
4 Allocate marketing resources to Pasadena and West Valley campuses to stimulate demand at the preschool, Pre-Kindergarten, and Kindergarten levels
4 Obtain approval from City of Los Angeles to renew the Los Feliz lease
4 Create a roadmap for independence of the Orange County campus
4 Review geographic dispersion of current and prospective families and optimal location of our campuses
The Board of Trustees, together with the Head of School and the Leadership Team, is committed to the careful and systematic implementation of this 2018-2025 Strategic Plan and engages to make every effort necessary for its success while always upholding the mission and vision of our school. Though ambitious in scope and stated goals, we believe that with the goodwill, commitment, and support of all constituencies, this Strategic Plan will enable our students to become proud ambassadors of the International School of Los Angeles:
a school that is leading the way in bilingual education.
