Visioning Process

Strategy Through Inquiry

The Strategy Through Inquiry process used both Design Thinking and the Quaker practice of shared wisdom to actively engage and listen deeply to the community. This collaborative journey involved more than 1,200 faculty, staff, students, parents, alumni, donors, and friends through a series of events across the country.

Queries:

• Teaching + Learning: 5 events, 300 attendees
• Diversity + Integration: 3 events, 275 participants
• Access + Affordability: 2 events, 100 participants
• Living Systems: 4 events, 250 participants
• Whole Being: 5 events, 75 participants
• Public Impact: 3 events, 100 participants

Many of the questions discussed and ideas proposed during Strategy Through Inquiry can be directly heard in the Vision, including:

• What are the programs and practices that we must explore, enhance, and create in order to provide a powerful learning experience for our students that encourages thoughtful consideration and celebration of ALL ideas, people, and beliefs?
   
• As a Quaker school, what intentional practices, programs, systems, and vehicles must we create and implement to ensure this optimal state of well-being for our children as they grow, develop, and mature at GFS?
   
• What does a truly diverse community look like? How can we create a culture where everyone’s story is told, taught, and known?
   
• Is GFS truly available to students of varied economic levels? How can we be accessible beyond applications and tuition?
   
• As an educational institution, how can we enhance, create, and implement programming that serves our Germantown neighbors? How can we develop and institute exchange, understanding, and collaborative action between the school and the broader community?