Last year, the annual theme for of ICS was Charting New Territory. For 2025-26, ICS continues its work guided by the new theme of Reaching New Heights. Fran Carroll, Executive Director, shares what it means for our school and the journey ahead!
Reaching New Heights Together
There’s something electric about the start of a new school year—the energy in the hallways, the fresh notebooks and wide eyes, the sense that something exciting is just beginning. It’s a time charged with hope and promise where fresh ideas meet eager minds, and where every challenge is an opportunity to grow.
At ICS, this moment feels especially powerful because we are not just returning to school; we are stepping into a season of intentional growth and transformation. Last year, we laid the foundation. This year, we begin to climb. Together, we are Reaching New Heights.
This theme for the 2025-2026 school year is more than just a motto. It’s a mindset. It’s about stretching ourselves—operationally, academically, relationally—as we step further into the implementation phase of our strategic plan. We are committed to becoming not only a high-performing school, but a true community school, where every family feels connected, every student feels seen, and every need is approached holistically.
Over the summer, we’ve been working hard to prepare for this growth by:
- Refining systems and operations to ensure excellence at every level.
- Evaluating communication, both internally and with our community, so that every voice is heard and understood.
- Implementing Phase 1 of our Community School initiative, which includes a comprehensive needs assessment to guide future programming.
Our goals are ambitious—serving 600 students annually, potentially expanding into middle school and early learning, and establishing a permanent homesite that allows us to thrive. We’ve already begun exploring potential properties, including one located adjacent to a daycare. This proximity sparks exciting possibilities for future preschool partnerships, truly supporting students from their earliest years through adolescence.
We’re actively cultivating new relationships with funders, foundations, and community partners because this work cannot be done alone. As we seek a permanent homesite and prepare to grow, we know that who is at the table matters just as much as what we’re building. Never before have partnerships been more important. If we’re going to reach new heights, we need to bring together the people, organizations, and resources that will help us get there. So if there’s someone who should be at the table, let’s invite them.
As we climb toward new heights, we’re not just dreaming. We’re building. And we believe that the most transformative changes happen when a community moves forward together.
Here’s to a year of challenge, growth, and collective momentum. Let’s reach new heights—together.
Fran Carroll, ICS Executive Director, brings to ICS over 15 years of leadership and management experience in the for-profit and non-profit arena. For the last 3 years, Fran has served as the HR Manager, Interim Business Manager and most recently Director of Operations & Finance at ICS. In her spare time, when not spending time with her family, you can find Fran involved in the entrepreneurship arena in the Metro Atlanta area. She graduated from the Start:ME Southside Cohort in 2018 through Emory’s Goizuetta Business School. She loves entrepreneurship! In the past 3 years she has brought a lot of the entrepreneurial spirit to ICS. In 2020 she was listed as one of 11 parents who are making a difference!