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Branching into the Future: Our Guiding Directions

Updated: 9 hours ago



The Montessori School of Tokyo 




BRANCHING INTO THE FUTURE


OUR GUIDING DIRECTIONS


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Foreword


This Branching into the Future document captures the collective hopes, dreams, questions, and imaginings of our school community. Throughout the 2024-2025 school year, students, staff, and families reflected together during sessions facilitated by Kira Donnelly, consultant for MST. These conversations invited us to envision what our school could become at its very best.


As we considered our future, it was important to ground this vision in who we are today. Founded in 2003, the Montessori School of Tokyo now serves 236 students from 18 months to 15 years and is known for its close-knit, welcoming, and child-centered community. Families describe MST as friendly, relaxed, open, and a place where children experience independence, creativity, excitement, and safety. Faculty echo these sentiments, characterizing MST as warmhearted and guided by child-led learning. Our school draws from both the international and local Japanese communities and exists within a highly competitive landscape of Montessori and international schools in the Tokyo area. 


As MST approaches its 25th year, our strong community and our position as a leader in Montessori education in Japan prepare us well for the future.


The following pages bring together the themes and aspirations shared during the visioning process. By bringing this community input together, we aim to provide a clear picture of the values, priorities, and possibilities that matter most to us as we look ahead. In doing so, we also recognized and identified the strategic goals that surfaced most consistently across these reflections, offering a shared sense of direction.


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Guiding Direction 1: Grow the Montessori Community

Expand enrollment, programs, and MST’s role as a leader in Montessori within Japan and Asia.


1.1 Open a Montessori High School through these major activities:

  1. Hire a leader to work out curriculum and implementation for a three year curriculum.

  2. Create a staffing plan to add resources such as school counselor and college counselor as the program grows.

  3. Begin looking into facility options to house the Middle School and High School programs.

  4. Create marketing materials to advertise the new High School program and actively recruit families to enroll.

  5. Provide a clear timeline as well as regular communications about the development of the HS program to the MST community.


1.2 Increase retention and enrollment through these major activities:

  1. Analyze current admissions processes and seek to bring admissions onsite.

  2. Consider retention efforts and increase touch points for families in order to improve retention.

  3. Gather demographic data from local schools and area to project enrollment and plan for the future.

  4. Increase marketing efforts to reach a wider audience.


1.3 Develop Alumni Engagement Strategy through these major activities:

  1. Build out a CRM (customer relationship management)  tool to maintain contact with our alumni network.

  2. Begin implementation for sharing alumni stories and update website to include alumni information.

  3. Create ongoing and regular touchpoints for alumni to stay in touch with MST.


1.4 Develop a community center Montessori hub through these major activities:

  1. Host parenting classes.

  2. Connect with local Montessori schools to offer parent education.

  3. Connect with local Montessori schools to offer professional development opportunities.

  4. Connect to local training centers to offer training onsite.


1.5 Explore expanding and systematizing Enrichment, ASA and DSA offerings through these major activities:

  1. Analyze offerings over the last several years to determine what has been offered and to whom.

  2. Consider adding 3-6 aftercare for a limited number of children and to increase  3-6 enrollment.

  3. Share the vision for enrichment at MST.



Guiding Direction 2: Cultivate a Healthy Ecosystem

MST will work towards operational excellence by refining organizational systems and structures to ensure stability and position MST for growth.


2.1 Increase faculty retention and create a healthy, sustainable working culture through these major activities:

  1. Examine benefit policies and systems and improve overall compensation.

  2. Create clear and transparent pay scales for all employees.

  3. Examine HR efficacy and improve access and support.

  4. Explore faculty retreats and other opportunities for faculty to connect on a regular and ongoing basis.

  5. Create and implement a plan to onboard and support teachers new to Japan and to MST.

  6. Increase pedagogical leadership to allow for more check ins, observations, and reflective feedback.


2.2 Increase the view into the classroom and school for families through these major activities:

  1. Examine how progress reports correspond to the advertised online curriculum and ensure that faculty reference where children are in the curriculum during Learning Conferences and in reports.

  2. Create and implement a systematic plan for parent education over the year to include mid-year parent orientation and what Montessori Education means for the long term.

  3. Increase pedagogical information on the website and link to relevant curriculum for current families

  4. Improve what we share about classroom activities to include pedagogical rationale.

  5. Provide regular written all school communications from the Head of School and other major stakeholders to include progress towards goals and vision for the road ahead.


2.3 Improve and revise systems, policies, and procedures through these major activities:

  1. Provide internal and external “who does what” sheets.

  2. Clearly communicate policies and procedures to parents especially around challenging areas such as conflict resolution and bullying.

  3. Clarify transition plan for toddlers to Sunshine and encourage more organic (follow the child) transitions from Sunshine and above.

  4. Analyze office work and staff positions and consider ensuring that there is enough pedagogical support as a balance to back office staff.

  5. Revise student support services policy to assist children who need more support and provide staff to execute the plan.

  6. Create and share a technology policy keeping in mind the latest research on cell phones and technology with children.


2.4 Clarify ownership vision through these major activities:

  1. Clarify and share C2C’s vision for the school – increase visibility of C2C at MST potentially including meetings with ownership.

  2. Improve transparency into the financial situation of the school.

  3. Create budgetary categories and allow autonomy within those categories.



Guiding Direction 3: Update and Expand the Environment

In 10 years MST will have executed a comprehensive facilities plan to ensure aging facilities are upgraded and constituent needs are met.


3.1 Create a comprehensive facilities plan for the next ten years. Plan should include consideration of the following components:

  1. Adolescent facility for 12-18 year olds; 

  2. Montessori Farm within reasonable distance of central Tokyo; 

  3. Faculty space – both offices and larger faculty room space; 

  4. Space for community center and parenting classes; 

  5. Moving programs into the same building - ideally everyone together, but if not then levels together would be the preference; and 

  6. Timeline for improvements including upgraded bathrooms.


3.2 Ensure that the facility plan can be executed by creating funding streams to support the plan.

  1. Look into loan options. 

  2. Explore non-profit status. 



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