NEASC Executive Summary | Strategic Planning

The end of one calendar year and the start of the next is often a period of reflection – interiority in Augustinian terms – to develop new habits and find new pathways. Those thoughts and habits don’t usually come into existence at midnight on December 31. They develop over time.

You may recall that during the last academic year Austin Prep successfully completed the accreditation process of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC). Accreditation is a process of growth and self-evaluation that schools use to voluntarily demonstrate that they are meeting or exceeding accepted standards of excellence in the profession of education. Using the accreditation framework of NEASC’s Commission on Independent Schools, Austin Prep faculty and staff completed a comprehensive self-evaluation over the span of two years.

During the 2022-2023 academic year, an accreditation committee from NEASC comprised of educators from independent schools in this region visited Austin Prep to review our self-evaluation. At the conclusion of their visit, the accreditation committee unanimously supported Austin Prep’s continued accreditation without any stipulations, the best possible outcome. (Schools can have their accreditation renewed with conditions). In the spring of 2023, NEASC’s Commission on Independent Schools voted unanimously to grant continued accreditation for Austin Prep through 2032.

Change is a process. As we begin 2024, Austin Prep is well-positioned to bring our 2019-2024 Strategic Plan to a close and engage in some interiority – some strategic thinking – to craft our next five-year strategic plan (2024-2029). Timing is everything and our timing here is excellent. Austin Prep’s strategic plan is a framework to design a chosen future. It’s a roadmap that keeps Austin Prep moving in the right direction – growing and thriving through unanticipated and ever-changing aspects of 21st century independent education. Predictably, Austin Prep continues to flourish as the institution we always imagined it would be – one that rises to meet the challenge of our times.

As we conclude the 2019-2024 Strategic Plan, Austin Prep’s final NEASC accreditation report will be a springboard to craft our 2024-2029 Strategic Plan. To begin the conversation about our next strategic plan, I’d like to share an executive summary of the NEASC Accreditation Report with the community. It’s an opportunity to engage in some interiority about our success, what sustains us an Augustinian community, and prioritize strategic initiatives over the next five years. 

St. Augustine said, “God provides the wind. We must raise the sail.” And that’s exactly what we’ll be doing as we shape our next strategic plan to keep Austin Prep innovative and in the forefront of Catholic secondary education. The promise and possibilities of strategic planning strengthens community and brings with it a renewed sense of optimism and pride. Austin Prep remains in expansion mode and, in my considered judgment, the growth we have been experiencing for years flows from mission, embodied in veritas, unitas, and caritas. Mission is not another thing on the plate. It is the plate. And when mission is primary, everything that is on the plate grows in excellence.

I’m confident as ever about the future of Austin Prep. Together, our unwavering commitment to mission will continue to chart our Journey ahead in the footsteps of St. Augustine.