Continuity and Growth Through Transition

 Two-Year Strategic Plan ⬢ Approved June 2025

MISSION

Maybeck, established in 1972, is a vibrant community dedicated to learning where all forms of diversity can flourish amid mutual support, respect, and responsibility. Through our small classes, high expectations, academic excellence, and programs outside the school, students can prepare for college and acquire the tools to engage actively and creatively in the wider world.

INTRODUCTION

This two-year plan serves as a bridge between past and future, stability and innovation. It reflects our commitment to thoughtful transition, sustaining the heart of what makes Maybeck distinct, and cultivating the conditions for growth. In true Maybeck fashion, it invites curiosity, courage, and collaboration. The plan centers on three key pillars: Admissions & Enrollment, Financial Sustainability, and Academic Program. These areas reflect essential dimensions of Maybeck’s next chapter.

Crucially, our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion is not a standalone pillar—it is woven into each of these priorities. We understand that the strength and integrity of our work depend on the diversity of perspectives that shape it. Whether we are broadening access, deepening student learning, or ensuring long-term resilience, we do so knowing that the full expression of Maybeck’s mission is only possible through a truly inclusive and equitable community.

ADMISSIONS AND ENROLLMENT

This pillar focuses on developing a thoughtful, research-informed approach to enrollment. We will deepen our understanding of the East Bay independent school market and use that insight to set clear goals and refine our outreach efforts. At the same time, we will build a comprehensive retention strategy to better understand what drives students and families to stay—and where we can continue to strengthen the Maybeck experience.

KEY INITIATIVES

  • Assess the ideal student body size and align program delivery with financial sustainability, ensuring that Maybeck’s scale continues to support both educational quality and long-term resilience

  • Refine the tuition assistance strategy to support socioeconomic diversity in alignment with budgetary goals

  • Develop a risk management approach to strengthen financial resilience and prepare for future challenges

  • Begin building a development strategy, including a donor database and a process for identifying grant and strategic fundraising opportunities, and an engagement strategy for cultivating and stewarding high-capacity individual donors

  • Grow development capacity among Board members, including training and collaboration around major gifts

FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY

Maybeck’s small size has always been one of its greatest strengths. It allows students to be known and seen, creates space for strong relationships, and supports a model of experiential education that reaches far beyond the classroom. It also requires us to be especially thoughtful about our financial planning. This interim plan allows us to assess the financial structures that support our mission. We are asking what size and scale best serve Maybeck’s future—balancing the intimacy and flexibility that define our school with the realities of sustainability. In addition, we are beginning to explore how a more intentional approach to development can support our mission and strengthen our future. In the months ahead, we will focus on defining enrollment goals, refining our tuition assistance strategy, and identifying opportunities for donor engagement and infrastructure-building to support Maybeck’s financial health in the years to come.

 KEY INITIATIVES

  • Conduct research to better understand how Maybeck is perceived within the East Bay independent school market, informing a clear and compelling marketing and enrollment strategy

  • Develop a “Portrait of a Graduate” that reflects the school’s mission, core values, culture, and aspirations

  • Design and implement a comprehensive student retention strategy, which includes practices that support students and families from historically marginalized communities

  • Strengthen outreach to prospective families, with an emphasis on clearly articulating Maybeck’s unique educational and cultural identity through a personal and relationship-based approach

ACADEMIC PROGRAM

Maybeck’s academic program reflects a deep belief in the power of student-centered learning, intellectual challenge, and creative inquiry. This next phase in our academic development works toward a deeper alignment with our mission and values. Through the initiatives below, we aim to deepen Maybeck’s long-standing commitment to educational equity while continuing to offer a program that is rigorous, imaginative, and distinctly our own.

KEY INITIATIVES

  • Articulate a scope and sequence of skill development within and across disciplines to ensure coherence, progression, and transparency in student learning

  • Integrate anti-bias practices throughout the academic program supported by professional development

  • Support the continuation and thoughtful expansion of experiential learning opportunities both inside and outside the classroom

  • Provide professional development focused on supporting diverse learners and inclusive, culturally responsive teaching practices

  • Assess and improve the accessibility of the learning environment, including classroom furniture, physical space, and additional educational tools, to support all learners

  • Consider options for the school schedule and calendar to deepen interdisciplinary and experiential learning

CONCLUSION

This strategic plan reflects a community in motion—rooted in its values, proud of its past, and energized by the possibilities ahead. In this moment of leadership transition and institutional renewal, we have chosen to act with clarity and care: to listen closely, think deeply, and build intentionally.