At TanenbaumCHAT, we provide more than an exceptional academic education. We equip students with the skills, knowledge and experiences to lead meaningful lives rooted in a strong Jewish identity.
We are committed to excellence and significance in our educational approach. We are a school animated by a set of transcendent beliefs – that school is about more than grades, it’s about learning; that we achieve our mission when we embrace the Jewish character of our mandate; and that we fulfill our potential as human beings when we reach beyond ourselves and contribute to the world around us.
As a Jewish institution, TanenbaumCHAT creates a context where students can explore their own relationship with God in a respectful environment, enrich their understanding of Jewish Tradition and its relevance to modern life, foster a commitment to Zionism, deepen their sense of responsibility towards the Jewish people and the State of Israel, and discover their unique contribution to the world around them.
Over the past year, we embarked on a thorough strategic planning process to determine the most important goals and highest strategic priorities for the next five years. This process was led by a strategic planning committee consisting of the Board of Directors, guidance from an external consultant, as well as input from a variety of stakeholders, including faculty, staff, current and former parents, students, alumni, donors, and community leaders.
Mission Statement
The mission of TanenbaumCHAT is to challenge, support, and prepare students to live lives of high moral character, intellectual curiosity, Jewish commitment, and civic duty.
Strategic Plan
The Strategic Plan highlights four key priorities that are essential to the school’s success:
Academic
Excellence
Jewish Literacy &
Commitment to
the State of Israel
Financial Sustainability & Tuition Accessibility
Outstanding
Student
Experience
Pillar 1: Academic Excellence
Background
At TanenbaumCHAT we are committed to providing an exceptional academic education. We prioritize educational leadership, faculty excellence, continuous improvement, and innovation to uphold our brand promise of academic excellence.
Goal
Ensure that the TanenbaumCHAT curriculum and pedagogical methods are state-of-the-art and aligned with current educational best practices. Provide TanenbaumCHAT faculty and administration the tools, training, and support needed to achieve consistency across subjects and levels, and prepare all students to thrive academically at TanenbaumCHAT and in their future pursuits.
Strategic Levers
Centering Educational Excellence
Curricular Excellence:
Update the curriculum to align with the
school’s vision and meet student needs.
Academic and Professional Standards:
Set clear expectations and use assessment
to evaluate progress.
Educational Technology:
Integrate new technology tools that
enhance teaching and learning.
Professional Development
Leadership Development:
Equip the educational leadership team to lead faculty toward a consistent level of excellence.
Teacher Development:
Offer resources and opportunities for teacher training and growth.
Innovate Teaching Methods and Models:
Promote innovative teaching methods and models of reflective practice.
Faculty Growth
Teacher Recruitment:
Attract and retain passionate faculty
through effective strategies.
Teacher Credentials:
Collaborate with Jewish studies
programs to recruit qualified candidates.
Teacher Engagement:
Foster a positive culture for stimulating
learning and strong student engagement.
Pillar 2: Jewish Literacy & Commitment to the State of Israel
Background
As Toronto’s only community Jewish high school and the largest in North America, with 1,375 students, as of September 2024, TanenbaumCHAT is crucial to the vibrancy of the Toronto Jewish community and its connection with the State of Israel. The school has experienced tremendous growth over the last few years, with an increasing number of students coming from Jewish feeder schools as well as from other independent and public schools that do not offer a Jewish curriculum. With this in mind, our overarching objective is to continue providing a well-rounded and comprehensive Jewish education, fostering a strong sense of Jewish commitment and belonging in all our students. We must emphasize, through our strategic plan, that TanenbaumCHAT is a Jewish school, not just a school for Jewish students.
Goal
As a community high school, TanenbaumCHAT aims to instill in its students a deep sense of Jewish commitment, continuity, and belonging by emphasizing high levels of Jewish literacy and a meaningful attachment to the State of Israel. We aim to expand students’ confidence in the Hebrew language, deepen their knowledge of our collective past, and foster an enduring responsibility for our future.
Zionism and our connection to the State of Israel are central tenets, and we aim to graduate students with a deep understanding of the centrality of Israel to the Jewish people. We prepare students for university campus life and the diversity of opinion they will encounter. In addition, we encourage and provide students with avenues to feel connected to the broader Jewish community, both locally and internationally.
Strategic Levers
Program Expansion
New Courses: Introduce new courses
and expand the elective program.
Update Curriculum: Reflect identified
needs and diversity of knowledge.
Extracurricular: Reimagine Jewish
Studies extracurriculars.
Experiential Learning: Field trips,
workshops, activities, and other programming.
GAP Year in Israel: Find ways to introduce
the concept with a focus on pursuing the
program after graduation.
Ritual and Spiritual Connection:
Encourage students to explore both.
Community Partnerships: Increase
Jewish community partnerships with
various organizations.
Academic Excellence
Teaching Methods and Models: Foster an
environment of innovative teaching methods
and models of reflective practice while helping students embrace their Jewish values.
Curricular Excellence: Update the curriculum
to align with the school’s vision and meet
student needs.
Academic and Professional Standards:
Set clear academic expectations and use
assessments to monitor and evaluate progress.
Investing in Faculty
Professional Development: Expand
opportunities and broaden participation in
Jewish Studies professional development.
Recruitment: Onboard, mentor, and
develop high-calibre Jewish Studies staff.
Pillar 3: Financial Sustainability & Tuition Accessibility
Background
TanenbaumCHAT has achieved tremendous success in growing enrollment over the past seven years. In 2017, the school combined its two campuses and, thanks to two large donations, reduced tuition by one-third for a five-year period. These steps, along with careful expense management and a significant increase in annual fundraising, have strengthened the school’s financial health. Recently, the school was able to secure ownership of the school and building and complete an expansion, highlighting the need for a capital campaign as detailed below.
However, with those donations now having expired, the school is currently operating at approximately break-even. To enhance the school’s financial standing, it is essential to continue effective expense management and increase annual fundraising.
Goal
TanenbaumCHAT aims to ensure tuition accessibility, while providing a high-quality education and a safe and supportive environment. To achieve these goals and secure long-term financial sustainability, the school will: strive to keep annual tuition increases at acceptable levels, avoiding operating deficits; enhance its advancement capabilities, focusing on the annual campaign, alumni engagement, and major gifts; and launch a fundraising campaign to cover the costs associated with the purchase of the property.
Strategic Levers
Improved Systems & Strategies
Development Capacity: Optimize the capacity of our development department.
Grow Donor Base: Expand and diversify a loyal donor base to support the school’s fundraising initiatives.
Donor Prospecting: Allocate resources to better identify and engage prospective donors.
Capital Fundraising: Develop and execute
a successful fundraising plan.
Marketing & Communications: Continue to support all strategic, fundraising, admissions, and alumni engagement efforts.
Build a Culture of Philanthropy
Culture of Philanthropy: Promote and cultivate an awareness of the necessity of fundraising.
Lay Leadership and Philanthropy: Increase Board members’ participation in philanthropy and ambassadorship.
Alumni Strategy: Develop a robust alumni strategy for engagement and philanthropy, to ensure multi-generational engagement.
Endowment: Create a plan to balance the need for short-term fundraising with a (longer-term) endowment.
Maximizing Resources Solidify
Enrollment Gains: Maintain current enrollment by engaging with the Jewish feeder schools and non-Jewish schools from which we have historically attracted new students.
Cost containment: Implement measures to optimize the school’s budget and operations by streamlining processes and leveraging technology.
Maximize Use of School Facilities: Explore options for the use of the school building by external programs as an additional source of revenue.
Pillar 4: Outstanding Student Experience
Background
TanenbaumCHAT is dedicated to fostering an environment where all students have the opportunity to thrive beyond the classroom. The school provides a robust extracurricular program that includes a diverse array of teams, clubs, shows, trips, and special events. We recognize that every child has unique social and emotional needs, and addressing these needs effectively can have a profound and lasting impact.
Goal
We aim to ensure that every student has the opportunity to experience the unique ruach (spirit) of TanenbaumCHAT in a meaningful way. Our goal is to ensure that our students are engaged, happy and emotionally healthy through exceptional programming, extracurricular activities, guidance and student support services. With the growth and increasing diversity of our student body, we are committed to offering something for every student to enjoy in our lively school culture. We leverage the numerous resources at our disposal to create an environment in which everyone has the opportunity to enjoy a fulfilling high-school experience.
Strategic Levers
Student Supports
Student Support Services: Explore and evaluate new ways of delivering student support services.
Student-Teacher Interaction: Create meaningful touchpoints with students throughout the year.
Transition to High School: Support the students’ transition from middle to high school through various programming and experiences.
Investing in Faculty
Professional Development: Explore professional development opportunities related to GAP Year, student wellness, and support.
Staff Participation: Encourage greater staff involvement in extracurricular programming.
Experiences & Extracurriculars
Extracurricular Activities: Maintain adiverse range of offerings to help students pursue interests, develop leadership skills, and
collaborate, while exploring and implementing new opportunities that cater to students’ diverse backgrounds.
University Success Programming: Develop and implement a series of workshops and sessions that will equip students with the skills and knowledge to succeed in university and beyond.
School Pride: Promote the unique ruach (spirit) of TanenbaumCHAT and foster pride among students.
Communication: Improve communication of extracurricular opportunities to students.