WAVERLY RAVENS:
Flight Plan 2030
The Waverly School is excited to share Flight Plan 2030, our four strategic pillars that articulate our goals for years to come.
Following a year of deliberation about who we are as a school and the value we provide to our students, Flight Plan 2030 charts a course for the delivery of a forward-thinking agenda to support student curiosity and bolster their love of learning. Our work is focused on students’ experiences in the classroom, across our campus, and in the greater Los Angeles area. The articulated goals are expressions of work we have already started and aim to have well underway or completed by 2030.
Our vision is to provide the best progressive and developmental approach to independent school education in an intentionally small setting. Waverly is committed to providing an authentic, learning-focused, student-centered, academic experience that is grounded in social justice education. It is our view that social justice education is about making the world better for ourselves and for others. In greater Los Angeles, that means that Waverly families will continue to represent a broad range of religious, racial, ethnic, gendered, and socioeconomic experiences. Waverly will continue to welcome members with a range of abilities and backgrounds every day. We are committed to ensuring that all community members thrive. We aim to be a community for students who are energetic and brave in their pursuit of knowledge and commitment to justice. We are excited to do this work with you and grateful to the efforts of our Strategic Planning Committee and all the community members who shared their voices to realize Flight Plan 2030.
August 2025
We are grateful for the guidance and leadership of community members who came together to form Waverly’s Strategic Planning Design Team:
Students:
Aiden Hernandez ’25
Haley Safavi ’25
Current Employees:
Toby MacDonald Chou, Middle School Science Instructor
Molly Geller ’02, P’31, ’32, Head of the Elementary School
Elaine Lass, Director of College Counseling
Brittany Reynolds, 1st/2nd Grade Teacher, Curriculum Specialist
Ricco Siasoco, Director of Student Life
Amy Sloboda, Head of the Middle School and Director of Middle and High School Academics
Beatriz Valls Rodriguez, Middle and High School Art and Spanish Language Instructor
Clarke Weatherspoon, Head of School
Consultants from Leadership + Design:
Greg Bamford
Joe Romano
Trustees:
Yvette Bonaparte
Deborah Lennon, P’11
Noah Mayer, P’28, ’30, ’33, co-chair
Monti Olson, P’24, ’29
Nadine Tanio, P’21, co-chair
Serita Young, P’28, ’29
Community Members:
Deborah Snyder, P’29
Val Wright, P’26, ’28
Strengthening the Academic Program
Waverly offers a unique, progressive, and developmental academic program for preschool (PS)-12 students that prioritizes student learning and engagement before focusing on letter grades. The future of the Waverly academic program requires greater alignment from the PS-12 program and significant collaboration between instructional professionals. Special attention will be paid to project-based instruction and demonstration of student skills through a mastery-based approach to assessment and feedback. Our aim is to create an unrivaled academic experience that positions Waverly as a progressive leader in California and in the country.
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Develop robust professional development opportunities that create a culture of collaboration, sharing, and innovation across the PS-12 environment. Invest in the strength, capacity, and wellness of our professional community through competitive compensation and a demand that we provide the most authentic and meaningful progressive education possible for every student.
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Utilize project-based instruction and student portfolios to create authentic learning experiences for students to demonstrate real-world skills as well as to help students address current and future challenges in the world. Further expand learning experiences beyond the campus to help students understand the intersection of place, space, history, and community. Help foster strength, resilience, and belonging at school. Help students develop the interpersonal and emotional skills to create belonging wherever they travel, study, and reside.
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Create further interdisciplinary learning opportunities for Waverly students to support a PS-12 Service Learning Program that allows them to engage in regular service that enhances understanding of local issues.
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Conduct an administrative audit to ensure that we have the best leadership in the proper positions to deliver a future-oriented, student-centered PS-12 program.
STRATEGIC INITIATIVES:
Financing the Future
Waverly is in a period of growth and development of new programs and initiatives. The strength of this period will be enhanced and maintained by a clear, long-term focus on strategically and judiciously raising funds to support short-term projects and long-term growth.
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Deepen the culture of giving through education and engagement of Waverly families.
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Expand Waverly’s external donor partners to more effectively embed Waverly in the community while meeting our financial needs.
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Raise funds to build endowments for Flexible Tuition, Outdoor Education, and Faculty Compensation.
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Initiate fundraising to support the renovation and modernization of the Waverly Campus.
STRATEGIC INITIATIVES:
Building The Raven’s Nest
Waverly will invest in updating the campus to strengthen learning experiences, emphasize community connections, and acquire essential properties to make student experiences deeply transformative.
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Develop flexible PS-12 indoor and outdoor learning spaces to support current and future Waverly students. Spaces include developmentally appropriate arts, science, and engineering facilities.
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Create and implement a campus master plan with a clear aim to attend to maintenance, property acquisition, and renovation. The strategy will build on existing work to make sure that all campus improvements are thoughtful and well-executed.
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Secure ownership of the Waverly School Farm and Middle School Building and complete plans for a new learning center that incorporates the Middle School Building and the recently acquired office space at 124 Waverly Drive.
STRATEGIC INITIATIVES:
Waverly has a unique, robust, and authentic culture based in curiosity and care for others. Creating and maintaining connection with students and families is a core value. We aim to weave stronger connections for all members of the community and provide clear paths for success for new families, existing families, and alumni families. Creating these pathways will enhance the day-to-day experiences of students at school and promote their success after graduation.
Creating Community Within and Beyond the School Day
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Develop more comprehensive and meaningful opportunities to support all members of the community to experience connection, participation, and engagement with the PS-12 program in structured, tiered, and measurable ways.
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Utilize regularly scheduled parent education and volunteer opportunities to foster mutual understanding and support for the program.
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Deploy the campus as a local center for learning and community connection that centers the Farm as a site of interdisciplinary learning, local outreach, and fun for students, families, alumni, and the broader community.