THE CAMPUS MASTER PLAN
Strengthening Our Foundations

St. Margaret's School has a blueprint for renewing its campus while remaining true to its mission. The master plan approved by the Board of Governors in January 2002 offers a flexible, systematic approach for ensuring that the school's facilities will continue to support both its current programs and future aspirations.

"The plan's function is more to guide than direct," said Board of Governors Chair Sarah Belle Eason Parrott '68. "It lays out the basic concepts. The bottom line is that now, we have options for campus renewal that affirm our mission and match our vision for St. Margaret's School."

Don't go looking for a sheaf of architectural renderings, however. According to planner Jeff Blanchard, the campus master plan takes the form of an illustrated report that outlines "a coordinated set of decisions about actions to be taken to accomplish stated goals." (See sidebar.)

It's a forward-thinking move, said Head of School Margaret R. Broad. Most colleges have had master plans for years, but this kind of strategic thinking about the relationship between programs and facilities is still relatively new to the independent school world.

"By adopting the master plan, the Board has built a framework for sustaining, enhancing, and improving the campus so that we remain an attractive choice for future students and faculty," she said.

It's also a powerful tool for managing change, she added. When a donor wishes to make a major capital gift, for example, the plan can help determine how his or her interests best match the school's identified needs.

More than 100 students, parents, faculty, staff, and alumnae participated in the nearly year-long planning process. School administrators also ran potential scenarios by town and county officials. It was a more inclusive effort than that of most schools, Mr. Blanchard said.

"As a result, it's really your plan. The vision and goals won't change, although the way you implement them might," he told Board members.

Many of the plan's phases and steps can be sequenced in multiple ways.

In addition, the plan identifies several projects that can be undertaken any time that funding becomes available. These include:

  A river walk

  A riverfront amphitheatre

  Parking and lighting improvements

  A performing arts center, most likely as a community partnership

  Final restoration of the Anderton House

The plan was based on a projected maximum boarding enrollment of 120, only 6 more boarders than attend SMS this year. Mrs. Broad envisions it guiding the school's facilities decisions for the next 10 to 25 years.