Meeting the Challenge, our fourth long-range strategic vision, was ambitious and purposeful. Approved in December 2008, the implementation of that plan was hugely impacted by the global economic downturn. Despite the uncertainties and challenges of the ensuing years, we accomplished many things through the power of our community.

Achieving Economic Sustainability through Advancement

• We hired our first Director of Advancement and part-time Alumni Relationship Coordinator. We now have a full-time Alumni Coordinator.
• We met the record-breaking $7.75 million goal of our Building Friends capital campaign and generated millions more in annual giving and for additional projects.
• We strengthened the School's identity through print and web media. Since 2008, we have undertaken two website redesigns as well as advanced We & Thee from a newsletter format to a 28-page biannual magazine. We also now have a dedicated Communications Coordinator.

Arts: Integral to the 21st Century Curriculum

• We built our Performing Arts Center with a 350-seat theater for dance, drama, and music performances, as well as new scenery and costume shops and classroom spaces.
• We established an Arts Coordinator position to support the arts across units and disciplines.

Environmental Education: Preparing for the Global Challenges of Our Time

• We incorporated best practices in sustainability to our Building Friends capital improvements, including increasing our solar panel productivity, making water treatment improvements, and installing three geothermal heating/cooling systems.
• We built a greenhouse which is not only used for educational purposes but which has aided our partnership with our neighbors at the Duke Campus Farm.

Global/International Studies: Preparing Students for World Citizenship

• We created a new position for Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
• We strengthened support for families through facilitating a Parents of Students of Color affinity group and affinity and ally groups in the Middle and Upper Schools.
• We created a new adjusted tuition program, expanding our accessibility.

Professional Culture: Nurturing Our Staff

• We increased the annual budgetary commitment for technology spending and for school-wide staff development.
• We established a new position of Assistant Head for Teaching and Learning to support professional development and curricular coherence.
• We implemented a tiered staff retirement plan with the goal of increasing the retirement accumulations of veteran staff.
• We funded financial planning for staff.
• We developed a mechanism for funding early- or phased-retirement arrangements.
• We incorporated an annual review and analysis of compensation benchmarking for staff.
• We increased the budget for school-wide staff development.
• We establishing the Assistant Head for Teaching and Learning position to support professional development and curricular coherence.

Land and Facilities: Nurturing Our Learning Environment

• We improved or expanded our facilities at Campus Early School, Chapel Hill Early School, Lower School, Middle School, and Upper School (including new learning spaces for science and engineering, visual and performing arts, as well as library and athletic facilities)--13 building projects in all!

Quaker Character: Preserving and Strengthening the Spiritual Foundation of the School

• We continued our commitment to Quaker education, which was an important component of our previous self-study for accreditation. We also began including visits to other Quaker schools as part of our two-year new staff orientation.