Strategic Planning
For over 160 years, St. Mary’s Academy has stood as Denver’s oldest continuously operating school, achieving excellence and living out our Loretto School Values of faith, community, justice, and respect. As we embark on our next chapter, we are proud to present The Clear Path Forward. This is a bold strategic vision that will guide SMA through 2040 and beyond.
Unrivaled commitment
Founded in 1864 in the Catholic tradition, St. Mary’s Academy continues to embrace students of all faiths for the purpose of enriching them with knowledge, spirituality, and commitment to service for the world beyond our institution. Our priority every day is nurturing and inspiring humans to live the Loretto School Values of faith, community, justice, and respect, and to be confident in their roles and committed to their callings.
We are unrivaled in our commitment to community and service, where bold ambitions meet purposeful actions. We pursue excellence with courage and purpose, believing in each student’s potential and power to change the world. At St. Mary’s Academy, time-honored wisdom meets forward-thinking vision, creating an unmatched environment where tradition empowers tomorrow’s leaders.
Four Strategic Pathways Forward
Through an extensive year-long planning process involving 800 community members, including students, families, faculty, staff, alumnae, and trustees, we have identified four transformative pathways.
The Strategic Planning Process
This collaborative process included all SMA constituent groups and helped determine our direction to ensure that our high-quality and faith-filled education, for which SMA is known, is maintained for generations to come. In addition to analyzing facts and figures, dialogue was key to providing the planning team with knowledge, insight, and understanding – fundamental to our sustainability, growth, and change. The result is a bold plan that defines strategic goals and four pathways that will inform the next chapter in SMA’s history.
By the Numbers
12
months and hundreds of hours invested into the planning process
10
individual interviews with SMA board members, staff, and
Sisters of Loretto
4
surveys to engage
staff, students, families, and alumnae
staff, students, families, and alumnae
802
unique survey respondents
10
focus groups with teachers, staff, families, alumnae, students, and board
members
65
unique participants
in the focus groups
in the focus groups
30
planning team members digging deep into data and analyzing survey and interview themes
4
retreats for the planning team members working to define future priorities
Forge Program Excellence
As forward-thinking educators, we strengthen our programs with innovative, evidence-based practices rooted in our Loretto School Values.
This pathway reflects our bold vision for the future of education at St. Mary’s Academy, one rooted in faith-driven, innovative, evidence-based practices, and excellence. We will reimagine and align our core curriculum —STEAM, language arts, social studies, and world languages —while providing individualized attention to meet the needs of every learner. Our approach integrates arts, athletics, and transformative co-curricular opportunities, ensuring students develop as well-rounded, creative, passionate, and powerful change agents. Thoughtfully designed programs will foster student and teacher connections across the Academy, while all efforts will reflect our Loretto School Values, emphasizing spiritual growth and service learning. Together, we will prepare each SMA student to thrive and excel in a rapidly evolving world.
INITIATIVES
• Continuous program analysis and innovation
• Cohesive Preschool–Grade 12 curriculum
• Spiritual and service-learning program integration
• Clear goals and direction for all non-academic programs
• Emerging technologies awareness and adaptation
Champion Educators
Invest in our educators through professional development, mentorship, and recognition programs to retain and attract exceptional talent.
This pathway prioritizes the development, recognition, and celebration of faculty and staff in order to enhance their individual and collective expertise, while demonstrating the excellence of an SMA education through the embodiment of our Loretto School Values. We will implement a compensation and benefits model to attract and retain highly skilled, passionate educators and leaders, as well as to support staff from diverse backgrounds. Expanded initiatives in onboarding, mentoring, and professional development will provide tailored support for new and veteran faculty and staff, which will foster growth in subject domains, teaching methods, and student support services. Our administrators and parents will commit to maximize faculty and staff empowerment in their roles while also experiencing the rewards of the warm, welcoming community they help create throughout SMA.
INITIATIVES
• Faculty and staff recruitment, retention, and compensation
• Performance evaluation and development
• Expanded faculty and staff onboarding and mentorship
• Focused instructional support and professional development
Build on the Momentum of Preschool-12
Strengthen our continuous educational journey with intentional enrollment strategies, small class sizes, and seamless transitions that build lasting community connections.
This pathway prioritizes building a sustainable Preschool–Grade 12 model that ensures continuity, community, and strong educational outcomes for students, families, faculty, and staff. We will focus on creating an intentional enrollment and retention strategy that prioritizes small class sizes, individualized instruction, and strong teacher-student relationships, all hallmarks of the SMA experience highly valued by our families and reflective of our Loretto School Values. Our model will place the needs of students and programming first, as it fosters experiential consistency and community connectivity, while maintaining the flexibility to adapt and grow sustainably.
INITIATIVES
• Community engagement and enrollment maximization
• Synchronized Preschool to Grade 8 programming
• Student transitions and retention
• Enhanced student recruitment plans
Power our Purpose
Ensure SMA’s long-term sustainability through facility planning, endowment growth, and cultivating a culture of philanthropy across our community.
This pathway focuses on ensuring the short- and long-term financial health of SMA to meet the needs of our learners, faculty, and staff while preserving our Loretto legacy in perpetuity. We will establish comprehensive master facilities and investment plans, as well as optimize the potential of current programs. By fostering a culture of giving throughout the community, we will grow our SMA Fund, financial aid resources, and endowment to create lasting impacts for faculty, students, programming, and facilities. All members of our community will serve as ambassadors, effort to advance SMA’s mission far into the future. Financial systems and procedures will be strengthened to ensure seamless and sustainable operations for generations to come.
INITIATIVES
• 5-year development plan for philanthropy culture
• Faculty compensation fund structure
• Optimize endowment growth
• 20-year campus master plan
• Long-term investment framework
Meet the Planning Team
Thank You From the Planning Team
Thank you to everyone who made the formation of the strategic plan possible, including our outstanding Planning Team, made up of Sisters and co-members of Loretto, trustees, faculty and staff, administrators, parents and caregivers, students, and alumna. In addition, we want to thank each student, parent, faculty and staff member, trustee, and alumnae who took the time to participate in the process by completing a survey and/or engaging in focus groups. We are grateful to you for choosing and supporting SMA, as we work together to sustain and strengthen our school. We pray for God’s blessings and many graces as we implement this bold vision for our present and future. Please visit stmarys.academy/pathforward for an overview of the plan, process, and ongoing updates.
How to get involved
Contribute your talent
Moved to action? Let us know how you’d like to get involved!
Support SMA
Help us realize our strategic plan by supporting us through the SMA Fund, Wildcat Classic Golf Tournament, Gala — and consider a legacy gift in your will. Learn more at stmarys.academy/giving.
Contact Us
Do you have questions about anything you’ve read in the Strategic Plan? Send them to strategicplan@smanet.org.