Strategic Plan
The Strategic Planning Task Force of the Board of Trustees, chaired by Amy Berry, spent the 2022-2023 school year surveying, meeting, and most of all, listening to our school community and its many constituencies. The results of their efforts, and the efforts of numerous others, is Lake Tahoe School’s Five-Year Strategic Plan.
As we conclude the second year of our five-year strategic plan, I am proud to share the remarkable progress our school community has achieved together. The 2024-2025 academic year has been marked by measurable growth across all four pillars of our strategic framework: Thriving Students, Thriving Faculty, Thriving Community, and Thriving Foundation.
Building upon the strong foundation established in our inaugural year (2023-2024), this second year has demonstrated our commitment to continuous improvement and our ability to translate vision into tangible results. The statistics and stories that follow reflect not just numbers, but the dedication of our faculty, the trust of our families, and the enthusiasm of our students. Each metric represents a step forward in our mission to create a joyful and academically challenging learning environment that echoes the wonder of Lake Tahoe, cultivates community, and sparks personal discovery that leads to an extraordinary future for every student.
As we look toward years three through five of our strategic plan, these achievements provide both validation of our approach and momentum for the transformative work still ahead.
Strategic Plan Updates 2024-2025
Thriving Students
A student-focused community that equips each child for future success
✅ Enroll and retain a thriving student community to maintain an 8:1 student-to-faculty ratio.
The re-enrollment Rate has increased from 90% in 2023-2024 to 93% in 2024-2025. This increase in re-enrollment demonstrates growing family satisfaction and confidence in our educational program. Higher re-enrollment rates indicate that families see tangible value in their investment and trust us to continue nurturing their children’s growth. This metric reflects our success in building lasting relationships with families and creating an environment where students want to return year after year.
✅ Provide an academically challenging learning environment with an intentionally designed arc of learning from PreK to Lower School to Middle School.
Family satisfaction with academic preparedness has increased from 90% in 2023-2024 to 94% in 2024-2025. The increase in academic preparedness satisfaction shows that our curriculum and teaching methods are effectively preparing students for their next educational steps. This improvement reflects our commitment to rigorous academics while maintaining our supportive learning environment, ensuring students feel confident and well-equipped for future challenges.
Thriving Faculty
A team of faculty and staff who passionately delivers an exceptional and dynamic education experience
✅ Commit to continuing education, professional development, and personal wellness.
Our professional development investment increased 44% year over year, from $73K in 2023-2024 to $105K in 2024-2025. This substantial investment in our faculty directly benefits families by ensuring their children receive instruction from highly skilled, continuously improving educators. The increased budget has enabled more school visits, which allow our teachers to observe best practices at other institutions and bring innovative teaching methods back to our classrooms. When we invest in our teachers’ growth, families receive the return on investment through enhanced instruction, fresh perspectives, and evidence-based teaching strategies that directly impact student learning outcomes.
✅ Recruit and retain exceptional faculty and staff who embrace a growth mindset.
Staff satisfaction with employer-funded opportunities is at 85% in 2024-2025. High satisfaction with professional development opportunities indicates that our faculty feel valued and supported in their professional growth. This investment in teacher satisfaction translates to better retention, more engaged instruction, and ultimately, a more stable and enriching learning environment for students.
Thriving Community
A supportive school community that cultivates a love of learning
✅ Cultivate positive relationships with the external Tahoe Basin community.
We have established numerous partnerships with local non-government organizations over the last several years. With a focus on expanding on our community partnerships in 2024-2025, we aim to enrich the educational experience by connecting classroom learning to real-world service opportunities. Events and activities in 2024-2025 including the Turkey Trot, student participation in the Winter Market, and community-wide visits from organizations like the Sugar Pine Foundation and Green Communities create a vibrant school community that extends beyond our campus, fostering connections that benefit students’ personal development and future networking opportunities.
✅ Create a thriving alumni community.
In addition to our increase alumni involvement at key school events, alumni engagement has increased year over year with our alumni newsletter open rate increasing from 69% to 71% among over 400 alumni and their families, and our Instagram following growing 29% to 197 followers. As our alumni network grows and remains actively connected, our former students serve as living ambassadors for our educational mission, provide mentorship opportunities for current students, and validate the lasting impact of an LTS education to prospective families.
Thriving Foundation
An established institution with the necessary resources and governance to support our mission
✅ Establish financial security of the school with multi-year reserves and endowments for operations and tuition assistance.
Permanent endowments of $1M for tuition assistance and $500K for professional development were established by our Board of Trustees in 2024-2025. The establishment of these endowments represents a crucial investment in our school’s long-term financial health and sustainability. Endowments provide stable, ongoing funding that reduces reliance on tuition increases while ensuring we can continue offering need-based assistance and maintaining high-quality professional development for years to come. This financial foundation allows us to weather economic uncertainties and maintain our commitment to accessibility and excellence.
✅ Establish clear safety and security policies for all aspects of campus life.
Investment in security increased from $63K in 2023-2024 to $100K in 2024-2025. The 59% increase in security investment demonstrates our unwavering commitment to providing a safe learning environment for all students and staff. These enhanced security measures give families peace of mind and allow our educational community to focus on learning and growth within a secure, protected environment.
View the 2023-2028 Strategic Plan below:
For the completed 2018-2023 Strategic Plan, click here.