Strategic Plan 2023-28
Expanding Horizons
People are at the heart of what we do. As we look to the future, we set our sights on deepening, broadening, and enriching our community. We will grow the many ways to engage with our School, by expanding access to our career training programs, community education classes, and public programming. We will enhance the student experience, by investing in new opportunities that aid their journeys. And we will strengthen our faculty and staff, by providing strategic support that furthers our mission.
Join us in this critical moment as we embrace expanded horizons, helping to fulfill our School’s promise for one and all.
Priorities
1. Increasing Access & Inclusion
2. Investing in Student Success
3. Building a Thriving Future
Plan Details
1. Increasing Access & Inclusion
We have the opportunity to develop educational offerings that will allow more people to experience craft and trade. By expanding current programs and classes, and developing what are now pilot efforts in youth and community programs into fully-fledged offerings, we can create pathways to full-time training, engage community partners, cultivate youth interest, and reach online audiences.
Key Strategies
- Increase and diversify student enrollment across all Career Training programs (CTP).
- Expand CTP in keeping with industry demand.
- Revision, rename, and restructure the current continuing education program into an expanded Community Education (CE) program.
- Create a fund for faculty and staff stipends that will incentivize employee-led NBSS activities and experiences with new community partners, in order to grow the Schoolʼs educational relationships.
- Expand our online learning capacity as a tool for more areas of our educational work, creating a broader range of online NBSS experiences.
2. Investing in Student Success
To maintain our School’s excellence and address changes in learning, NBSS will increase support for teaching and learning, as well as career-building and wellness support for students. As we strengthen our current programs and develop new offerings, we will focus on the full arc of a student’s experience, from application to employment.
Key Strategies
- Invest in support for faculty in the classroom and with ongoing learning and professional development.
- Increase learning, career-building, health/wellness, and life-skills support for all NBSS students, from admissions through postgraduate employment.
- Further connect students with employment access through work with Program Advisory Committees, Partners In Craft, and other employer relationships.
- Strengthen and deepen relationships with employers and alumni.
3. Building a Thriving Future
Behind the School’s success is the strength of its Faculty, Staff, and Board. We have expanded our size and offerings over the past decade, and yet our personnel and “systems” capacities have not yet caught up. We will make investments in our employees, infrastructure, and organizational culture to maintain our current position of strength, and to align our abilities with our ambitions.
Key Strategies
- Strengthen employee support to better attract, support, and retain diverse faculty and staff.
- Rebuild and increase staff capacity to better support our students, faculty, and staff and to align with the priorities of the strategic plan.
- Implement a database system and upgraded technology across NBSS.
- Increase revenue to support growth across the School, including programs and internal capacity.
- Increase the diversity of all NBSS volunteer and partner cohorts.
Expanding Horizons
Join us as we embrace expanded horizons, to deliver on our School’s unique potential, further our important mission, and fulfill our promise for one and all.
Achieving Our Vision
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