Visioning at the Crossroads of Environmental and Economic Sustainability

Posted: October 18, 2011

By Kirsten Bohl, Director of Communications

In October 2010, Olney Friends School hosted a three-day gathering, People, Planet, Place: Case Studies in Organizational Transformation. The centerpiece of an outward-facing planning process, the gathering drew the attention and participation of other Friends school heads, leaders of other Friends organizations, and regional change-makers in grassroots economic development and environmental sustainability in Appalachia. It provided an occasion for deep discernment on the part of Olney Friends School alumni, board, students, staff, and parents.

We centered on the query, “How does an environmentally aware, independent Quaker high school evolve into something larger than itself? How can regional organizations work together to develop a new green economy in Appalachia?” The gathering itself included four keynote events, four very diverse panels, and two threshing sessions. Themes of the presentations ranged from “letting the land speak,” to models for grassroots change-making, to US energy policy, to personal environmental stewardship, to green entrepreneurship.

From the threshing sessions, there came three themes for future consideration. These themes were (1) to make more intentional the international focus of the school; (2) to explore possible ventures in sustainable agriculture; and (3) to bring attention to lifelong learners: are there continuing education programs that might emerge down the line as being suitable adjuncts to the high school program? All three themes in various ways and settings are being addressed by faculty, board, and students.

More than 70 proposals emerged for specific entrepreneurial approaches the school may choose to follow. In addition, board members, staff, and others wrote several white papers in response to the gathering, each outlining an approach to moving forward. One of these white papers, written by the administrative team at Olney Friends School, was endorsed by the Olney Friends School board at its January 2011 meeting. This white paper, known colloquially as the two-year plan, is meant to address short-range curriculum development and enrollment growth. All of these documents are part of the public conversation at www.olneyfriends.org/summit that continues to move Olney Friends School forward into the next chapter of its history.

Thanks to the summit process, Olney Friends School is becoming increasingly recognized as a regional and national leader in economic and environmental sustainability. We are making many friends, who are stepping forward with gifts of time, energy, ideas, and funds to strengthen our school into the next chapter of its evolution. To name just one: award-winning documentary filmmaker Aaron Woolf, who spoke at the summit gathering, returned to campus in April 2011 to film a short movie for use on the school’s web site. In addition, the summit process has surfaced several prospective new board members. Finally, we continue to trace a trail of writing (both in print and online) by those inspired by the gathering to tell the world about their experiences at Olney.

The benefits of the summit process are felt directly by those already involved with Olney Friends School – students, faculty, board, alumni, parents, and friends. In addition, our planning process may serve as a demonstration project for other Friends schools and organizations as a method of outward-facing strategic planning. The process of preparing for and carrying out the three-day event involved every student and staff member of the school in some way – whether in classroom lessons leading up to the event, in student design influence on the new summit section of the web site, or in student filming of events, to name just a few. The summit gathering is by far the largest single event the school has managed; it has had a transformative effect on the school in many ways.

We look forward to seeing what unfolds as the school moves into the next chapter of its history!