The Haverford School is a vibrant community where each boy is known, challenged, and supported. With nearly 150 years of expertise in how boys learn, we focus on relationships, scholarship, and character, providing students with a rigorous and comprehensive education that prepares them for lives of purpose and impact.
Vision Statement
The Haverford School will solidify itself as a leader in boys' education and as the foremost educational opportunity for boys in the Philadelphia area. Through an enhanced focus on scholarship, leadership, character, and community, boys will engage, learn, and grow more at Haverford than they would elsewhere. Our graduates will leave us with the curiosity, initiative, and wisdom required to lead and serve.
To solidify our position as a leading boys' school, we must always start with a definitive statement about who we are, who we aspire to be, and the priorities that will ground us as we work toward that future. Our Strategic Vision 2025 is just that: an articulation of Haverford's mission and identity.
In this vision, you will not find an operational outline or a series of boxes to be checked. Rather, this document serves as a north star, guiding us toward a stronger and more strategic expression of our identity and of our priorities as we near our 150th year. The tactical executions, in their many forms, will come, but first, we will underscore our values, our identity, and our vision for the future.
This vision is a product of listening and learning. Thousands of community members shared their feedback on how Haverford can become the best version of itself. Your feedback painted a clear portrait of the enduring strengths of the institution and ways we can leverage those strengths. Thanks to your guidance and dedication, we will build upon the strong foundation we inherited to continue and expand Haverford's success.
Repeatedly, we heard about relationships, engagement, and growth. Your comments underscored how the relationships at Haverford inspire our boys to engage more deeply with our program, allowing them to grow in extraordinary ways. That feedback aligns with the emerging research on boys' education, which establishes that they are drawn to rituals and traditions, thrive in relational settings, and grow into their best selves when they are given permission to be courageous.
At its core, this vision aspires to enhance those critical dynamics at Haverford. We will establish more ongoing shared experiences that bring our students together and allow them to build broader and deeper relationships. We will use those relationships to provide them with the courage and inspiration to step out of their comfort zones and grow from the boys they are into the men they can become.
The Strategic Vision 2025 would not be possible without the tireless work of our committee chairs. Dr. Alana Murphy P'31 '33, Dr. Ed Trusty, and Hans Davies '95 provided wisdom, ambition, and discipline in leading this exhaustive process. Their selfless service has represented the very best of Haverford.
I could not be more excited for this next chapter in Haverford's long story. I have no doubt that we will strengthen our bonds, enhance our program, and reach new heights in preparing boys for lives of meaning and impact.
Achieve an integrated student experience that prepares our students to lead lives of purpose and impact.
A Haverford education prepares boys for life by equipping our students with a continual process of scholarship and excellence that will allow them to successfully navigate the opportunities that await them after Haverford. Our integrated academic, artistic, and athletic programs will develop the knowledge, competencies, and habits that will allow boys to be curious learners, dynamic thinkers, and thoughtful decision-makers. Through rigorous engagement with this program, our students will leave Haverford with a new understanding of what they are capable of accomplishing.
Aspirations:
Educate the whole boy using evidence-based practices and evolving research about how boys learn
Integrate the academic, artistic, and athletic programs by promoting a process of scholarship across disciplines that fosters continual growth through feedback and reflection
Develop and implement a mission-aligned vision of academic excellence that ensures coherence, rigor, and continuous growth across the academic program, with clearly defined measures that guide analysis, improvement, and shared responsibility
Foster leadership through developing responsible decision-makers and creative innovators
Examine the use of technology intentionally and ethically through ongoing awareness of its impact on boys' cognitive and behavioral development and its alignment with our process of scholarship
Anchor our program with shared experiences to develop character, promote connection, and elevate each boy’s awareness of who he is, who he can be, and his role in the community.
Fundamental to the Haverford experience is the culture of community and character. Through meaningful relationships, we instill our virtues, which underpin our understanding of good character. We will increase opportunities for students to see, know, and celebrate one another, leading to deeper relationships and a stronger understanding of how to live our virtues. At Haverford, our students will learn that success is measured not simply by what they do, but by who they are.
Aspirations:
Develop additional shared experiences that build community and teach our virtues.
Provide a transformative experience for each boy that develops self-awareness and social awareness to inspire a new understanding of who he is and who he can be
Promote a refined understanding of character grounded in our virtues
Commit to making each boy feel seen, known, and celebrated
Attract curious, engaged learners and talented, dedicated educators to provide the premier educational experience for boys in the Philadelphia area.
Haverford is defined by its people. In our effort to be the preeminent educational experience for boys in our area, we will work to attract, develop, and retain the strongest collection of teachers and learners, all of whom are invested each day in one another's growth.
Aspirations:
Solidify our reputation as the premier educational experience for boys
Expand and strengthen our admissions pipeline
Attract and retain the most dedicated teachers who have a desire to educate students in a variety of spaces
Ensure that Haverford provides the strongest possible education for generations to come.
As we approach our sesquicentennial, we accept our shared responsibility in securing the inevitability of our next 150 years. By strengthening our culture of philanthropy, growing our endowment, and adhering to disciplined budgeting strategies, we will provide the financial resilience necessary for Haverford to fulfill its mission for decades to come.
Aspirations:
Prioritize endowment growth to ensure Haverford has the strongest people, places, and programs now and for future generations
Cultivate a stronger tradition of service and engagement through deepening connections with and within our alumni and parent communities
Foster an enhanced culture of philanthropy at the School
Transform our campus to maximize student engagement and community connection.
Spaces have the power to create culture and shape behavior. We will seek to enhance a campus that drives engagement, connection, and learning. A new campus master plan will celebrate our history and inspire our community by reminding us that we are all part of something larger. With a focus on ensuring our teachers and students have optimal spaces to teach and learn, we will empower and inspire our students to develop the relationships, capacities, and character that will prepare them for lives of meaning and impact.
Aspirations:
Study our campus to evaluate the effectiveness of our spaces in maximizing student and faculty engagement and fostering culture and community
Reimagine and revitalize our facilities to support our program
Use our spaces to reinforce our culture and expectations by embedding Haverford’s history into our surroundings
Create intentional spaces that will evolve with our future needs
