Strategic Design Summit: Imagine Rivers 2035

As attendees took their seats, Hall—who will co-lead the Strategic Planning Committee—shared welcoming remarks from the podium. She spoke of the lasting impact Rivers had on her daughter, Natalie. “She tried new things, built resilience, learned balance, and took advantage of the opportunities to be a leader,” said Hall. “She was always aiming to be her best self and positively influence others, because Rivers taught her—and her peers—to focus on that first.” The resulting  culture of curiosity, openness, and appreciation for one another’s interests and quirks, she said, “was a gift to our family.” Hall concluded, “Let’s bring to mind all the quintessential Rivers experiences we’ve all had as we look out over the next 10 years and imagine what’s next and where we can go.”

Dahlem came to the stage, welcoming the crowd. “I’ve had this date circled on my calendar for a long time,” he said, visibly energized by the prospect of the task ahead. He took a brief look at the history of Rivers, from its origins as an open-air school created by Robert Rivers in 1915 through many changes and iterations over the years. Rivers has evolved into a school that, though now 110 years old, still doesn’t “act its age,” he said, in the sense of being agile, entrepreneurial, and focused on the needs of students.  

Having spent a little time on where we’ve been, the goal now, he said, was to think about where we’re going. “Today, we are asking you to imagine Rivers 10 years from now, in 2035,” said Dahlem. “How will Excellence with Humanity evolve? What will the hallmarks of our student experience be? What will it feel like to work here as a member of the professional community? What will student health and well-being look like? What does a sense of belonging feel like for all members of our community? What will the physical campus look like? We are going to probe these questions today, and more.”

Of course, much groundwork had been laid prior to Saturday’s meeting. As Dahlem explained in his opening remarks, the Strategic Design Summit—one of several inputs that will help inform the strategic plan—was itself shaped by several projects that have taken shape over the past year and a half at Rivers. The recently completed AISNE accreditation process required the school to take a long, thorough, honest look at itself, as the entire professional community worked to create a self-study document assessing nearly every aspect of its operations; the completed document was more than 250 pages long. A market research study conducted over much the same period revealed strengths and potential areas of growth in assessing Rivers’ position in the marketplace. 

Dahlem summarized the AISNE and market research findings and introduced five themes that would provide the day’s framework: 

He shared some thoughts to consider in imagining Rivers’ future—chief among them, perhaps, the concept of “One Rivers,” developing a cohesive Grades 6-12 educational experience and incorporating the Rivers School Conservatory more holistically. 

Tim Fish, founder and president at Two Chairs Studio and former chief innovation officer at National Association for Independent Schools, was the day’s keynote speaker. Fish spoke about trends that might impact independent schools over the coming decade, such as the rise of so-called microschools and the growth of AI. He also addressed the “inseparable relationship between emotion and learning,” adding that “we cannot learn what we don’t care about.”

The heart of the day’s work was now at hand. The attendees broke out into five groups—one for each pillar of the future plan—to delve into creating a vision of the future at Rivers and how students might be set up to thrive 10 or 20 years (or more) post-graduation. In the academic and co-curricular breakout, led by Head of Upper School Melissa Anderson P’25, ’25 and Head of Middle School John Bower P’31, participants listened as Anderson talked about some of the conversations that have unfolded on campus, many informed by the team’s attendance at an NAIS strategy lab in June. She spoke about having been asked, in her interview at Rivers, whether she’d pick excellence or humanity if forced to choose between the two. “I couldn’t believe more firmly,” she said, “that you can’t have one without the other.”

Each breakout room followed a similar structure: the groups split up into three smaller groups to discuss core questions around their designated topic. The questions for the talent recruitment and retention group, for instance, were “What is Rivers doing and offering to make the school one of the top places to work in 2035? Why do Rivers professional community members feel a sense of purpose, meaning, and fun at work?” Suggestions, ideas, and comments were jotted down on oversized sheets of paper, and then, at a designated moment, the groups reconvened to discuss their ideas and vote on their top five.

In each breakout room, the conversation was lively, thoughtful, and engaged. In one session, a participant said, “I understand the timeline of 2035, but my immediate thought is that we can’t wait that long. Let’s do more now.”  In the infrastructure group, attendees clustered around maps of campus, eagerly envisioning buildings and facilities that may be realities by 2035. 

Following the 90-minute breakout sessions, the entire group reconvened in Kraft to discuss their conclusions. Each group’s top five ideas were projected on screens ringing the room, and participants had a chance to vote on which one ought to be a top priority. Dahlem and Fish, seated on stage, each took a moment to discuss the findings and reflect on how they might fit into a broader strategic plan. 

At the conclusion, just before musical theater students performed the fitting number “When I Grow Up,” from Matilda the Musical, Dahlem shared some final thoughts. “What’s so exciting about this aspirational work,” he said, “is that we’re not exactly sure when we’ll see the results. There may be an impact 10, 20, or 30 years out if we were successful in our efforts, in our thinking, envisioning, and imagining the next chapter for Rivers. But what we do know is that at the end of this work, all roads lead back to one place: our students. They are the reason we are here and why we do what we do.”