Vision 2032

As St. John's Prep approaches its 125th anniversary, the new strategic plan, Vision 2032, builds on the legacy of the past, the momentum of the present, and the excitement of the future in our pursuit to provide the best possible educational experience for the students we serve.

The Vision

The highest goal of Vision 2032 is simple: to emphasize students at the core and create nothing short of the best educational experience for those whom we serve.

The Process

Faculty, staff, students, parents, guardians, and alumni all contributed. The Pathways for Excellence initiative lives within the larger strategic plan, Vision 2032, built by our Board of Trustees.

The Plan

Strategic financial planning, intentional enrollment, and staying true to our values while ensuring cultural relevance all support the strong execution of the St. John’s Prep mission.

What is it to have a vision?

It’s a uniquely human trait: to have a vision is the ability to imagine a future.

And the vision itself is more than just rickety scaffolding and a few wistful plans. Visions are something you just can’t shake; they are strong, meaningful, and potent. They are filled with hope, promise, and potential, and they require something of you to achieve them. They call us to reflect on who we are, who we aspire to be, and how we can walk that path together. When a vision becomes shared, it becomes a guide—shaping decisions, inspiring action, and strengthening the community it serves.

When the Xaverian Brothers founded St. John’s, they had a vision. They saw beyond scattered buildings and fields and imagined a school for young men who would come to learn and be transformed. Today, more than 118 years later, St. John’s Prep continues to grow from that original vision, responding to the needs of our time while remaining rooted in our mission. Our new Vision 2032 Strategic Plan builds on that legacy, outlining the priorities and commitments that will guide the Prep through the years ahead.

Vision 2032 is organized around four key pillars:

Pillar I: Capital Improvements: We will modernize facilities to better serve our students and community. Among the first projects to take shape under this pillar is the renovation of Memorial Dining Hall, which will be transformed into the new Student Commons—a dynamic dining and gathering space that will serve as the heart of campus life, fostering connection, collaboration, and community.
Pillar II: Endowment: We will grow our endowment to ensure that no qualified student is denied a Prep education for financial reasons and to provide lasting support for our faculty and programs.
Pillar III: Enrollment Vibrancy: We will develop a comprehensive enrollment management strategy that sustains a vibrant, diverse student body and positions St. John’s for continued success.
Pillar IV: Pathways to Excellence: We will strengthen our approach to educating boys by enhancing curriculum, expanding student life opportunities, and supporting faculty and staff formation. This initiative affirms our commitment to academic excellence, personal formation, and the holistic development of every student.

As we look ahead to our next milestone anniversary in 2032, we begin the exciting work of bringing our strategic plan to life. Explore the highlights below to see what’s ahead for St. John’s Prep and how this vision will shape our future.

The Student Commons

The transformation of Memorial Dining Hall into the new Student Commons will create a dynamic center for connection, community, and daily life at St. John’s Prep.

Originally configured to serve far fewer students, Memorial Dining Hall is now 100 years old and operating beyond capacity. Renovating our existing building and reimagining it as the Student Commons will create a welcoming, student-informed space designed to serve more than 1,100 boys each day. The renewed facility will better reflect how students learn and gather now—providing room for collaboration, quiet conversation, informal mentorship, and the daily interactions that shape a vibrant school community.

This renovation will:

Expand and modernize the kitchen and servery for greater efficiency.
Relocate Student Life offices to the center of daily activity.
Create flexible gathering spaces for programming, mentoring, and connection.
Provide a dedicated faculty and staff dining room.

Why Now?
The student experience at the Prep has changed dramatically since Memorial Dining Hall was built in 1926. Enrollment has grown, programs have evolved, and the rhythm of campus life has expanded far beyond what was envisioned nearly a century ago. After decades of faithful service, the building no longer meets the needs of today’s St. John’s. Transforming it into a comprehensive Student Commons will ensure that our campus infrastructure supports the dynamic, varied, and relationship-centered experience that defines St. John’s Prep today—and positions us to serve future generations with the same spirit of excellence.

To learn more about the vision for the Student Commons and how you can support this transformative project, explore Aspire Together: The Campaign for St. John's Prep.

Learn More

Sustaining Access. Supporting Excellence.

The endowment plays a vital role in ensuring that St. John’s Prep remains accessible, mission-driven, and strong for generations to come. It allows the school to offer meaningful tuition assistance so that no qualified student is denied the opportunity to attend the Prep for financial reasons. Endowment support also strengthens the resources available to faculty and staff—providing ongoing professional development, supporting innovative programs, and sustaining the people who bring our mission to life each day.

Unlike the Annual Fund, which supports the school’s immediate operating needs each year, the endowment is a permanent, invested resource. Its earnings provide steady, long-term funding that ensures stability and creates flexibility to respond to emerging needs. This reliable support helps maintain academic excellence, enrich student life, and nurture the holistic formation at the heart of a St. John’s education.

Growing the endowment is essential to sustaining a diverse, vibrant student body and supporting the educators who guide and mentor our young men. Through Vision 2032, we reaffirm our commitment to ensuring that the Prep experience remains exceptional, accessible, and enduring.

Enrollment Vibrancy

Enrollment vibrancy ensures that St. John’s Prep continues to thrive as a dynamic, mission-centered community. A strong and diverse student body enriches the academic, social, and spiritual life of the school—bringing together young men from many cities and towns who learn from one another and grow in character, confidence, and faith. This diversity of experiences and perspectives strengthens classroom learning, deepens community life, and reflects the values at the heart of our Xaverian identity.

Through Vision 2032, we will take a thoughtful, mission-driven approach to sustaining a vibrant and diverse student body. By strengthening our enrollment strategy and reaching the communities we serve with greater intention, we aim to support a student experience that remains rich, engaging, and reflective of the Prep’s longstanding commitment to educating the whole person.

Explore the Pathways to Excellence by Focus Area

The Pathways to Excellence initiative affirms our commitment to academic excellence, personal formation, and the holistic development of every student. Each Pathway highlights a specific area of focus that will strengthen teaching and learning, deepen student engagement, and support faculty and staff. Together, they offer a roadmap for how St. John’s Prep will continue to grow and thrive. You can explore each Pathway in more detail below.

Class Schedule Review

Explore creating an advisory program, for high school students, that provides time and space for development and strengthening of faculty / student relationships as well as providing space for common check-ins and opportunity for discussion of important topics in small groups.
Consider adding an “activity period” that provides access, for students and increased faculty moderation, to co-curricular clubs and activities during regular intervals in the schedule rotation.

Coach Engagement

Curriculum Review

Develop and enhance the curriculum review cycle to reflect on the student experience, and academic leveling as well as teaching and learning.
Create a profile of a St. John’s Prep graduate with an outline of anticipated outcomes for the student experience in grades 6-12.
Assess the current 1:1 iPad program as it relates to student experience, teaching and learning and development of strong interpersonal relationships within the classroom and beyond.
Review the current Fine and Performing arts program and assess the feasibility of creating an integrated 6-12 program and increasing the current high school .5 credit in fine and performing arts to 1 credit.
Enhance and strengthen the Advanced Capstone Research and Global Education programs offered through the Center for Mission and Research.
Explore developing and implementing a health curriculum for the grades 9-12 program of studies.

Faculty and Staff Engagement

Create higher education, community and industry partnerships to enhance hiring of diverse candidates and actively recruit candidates from diverse backgrounds for open faculty, staff and administrative positions.
Create a series of faculty and staff formation programs, tied to our inclusive, Catholic and Xaverian identity, as part of the Prep Credit Hours offerings. Develop and implement a Prep Credit Hours Program to support professional learning needs of staff, in all areas of the Prep Community. Create opportunities for staff to increase annual compensation through participation in PCH program initiatives.
Assess, and enhance as necessary, faculty compensation to attract, hire and retain the best possible faculty.

Inclusive Community & Respect

Mission and Identity

Conduct a Ministry Audit / Campus Ministry Program review that reviews and assesses all programming from the lens of our inclusive, Catholic and Xaverian identity and develop a Campus Ministry Program, grades 6-12, that resonates with the faith development of young men and responds to the signs of the times. Create opportunities for high school students to serve as retreat leaders and facilitators for middle school campus ministry programs and identify and implement opportunities to increase faculty and staff participation in Campus Ministry Programming.

Student Engagement

Increase collaboration between Campus Ministry, Student Life, School Counseling, Wellness, Multicultural Affairs and Community Development and the Center for Learning and Academic Success and foster a data driven approach to student engagement through regular analysis of trends and output from the PREP 360 initiative.
Explore the possibility of developing and implementing an outdoor education program to teach and promote leadership skills.
Explore the programmatic, human and financial resources necessary to add a college counseling program for high school students to our School Counseling Program.
Create opportunities to expand mentoring possibilities between high school students and middle school students. In particular, assess the feasibility of creating opportunities for high school students to serve as coaches, officials and mentors in the middle school recreational sports program.
Develop and launch an Esports program to meet student interest and provide an additional opportunity to enhance student engagement.

"We are about to embark on an exciting chapter in the story of St. John's Prep. Vision 2032 provides us with a meaningful structure to imagine a dynamic and creative future for our school, one which will carry St. John's into its 125th anniversary and far into the future."

Ed Hardiman, Ph.D. P'19 '21 '26, Head of School

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