On Friday, January 20, 2012, the Co-Directors and Board hosted a State of the School discussion. If you were unable to attend, please read the summary and let us know if you have any questions.

 State of the School

Friday January 20, 2012

Led by Stacy Weinberger and Debbie Millon, Co-Directors

Greg Leech, Board President & Chris Neme, Board Vice President and Treasurer

Strategic Plan Review

Stacy and Debbie reported on the Strategic Plan which the school began in the 2010-2011 school year. Guided by Laura Subin, preschool parent, the Board, Co-Directors and Staff worked together to identify annual mechanisms already in place and developed five questions about Bellwether’s future.  

Should Bellwether move?

Should Bellwether add older and/or younger students to its Preschool-6^th grade structure?

What is the Family Resource Center? Should we keep it? What does/can it do?

Are we a school for alternative education or a school for alternative learners?

How can we raise staff compensation?  

With the input from current families and alumni through a school survey, the Board and Staff made recommendations to the Co-Directors about how to proceed. The outcomes were as follows:

            Yes, Bellwether will move to a space that is more reflective of our educational philosophy and needs.

            Yes, Bellwether will add 7^th and 8^th grade. No, we will not add students younger than 3.

            Yes, we will keep Family Resource Center but better define what it does for families.

            Bellwether is an educational alternative that works for all kinds of learners, yet we need to recognize our

capacity within each classroom.

The Board is committed to raising the salaries and compensation of its teachers and staff.  

While all of these priorities deserve attention and effort, the Co-Directors decided to focus the 2011-2012 school year on moving the school, adding a 7^th and 8^th grade and continuing to grow staff compensation.

Debbie and Stacy also reported that a family at Bellwether brought a proposal to the Board asking them to consider adding a pilot 7^th/8^th grade program to begin the fall of 2012. One option presented was to host the program in a converted room in this family's house. The proposal also opened the idea of looking at other sites as well. The overall goal is to faciliate movement of the decision of adding a 7th/8th grade.  The Board voted to pursue this possibility. The parent is looking into the regulations in order to convert a room in her house to an educational setting and the school is looking into curriculum development as well as the extension of the school license through 8^th grade.

Updates from Board Committees

Stacy reported on the Annual Giving Campaign. The Giving Campaign allows the school to expand our Tuition Assistance Program, increase teacher salaries, build educational programs, maintain the building, and provide professional development for our staff. This current year’s Giving Campaign is off to a great start and we are on pace to meet our goal. We would like to encourage 100% participation for in-house families, emphasizing that the dollar amount is not important, but involvement is.

In the future, a Capital Campaign would allow us to make the investment we would need to move

Greg reported on the Building & Grounds. Bellwether owns its building and has a minimal mortgage payment to our founder, Ron Miller. Given the decision to move, Bellwether will continue to maintain its building as needed but will not invest in major projects given the intention to sell the building in the near future. Greg also reported that we have had the building appraised by a realtor who believes he could find a buyer in a short time frame given the wide range of uses that would be approved by this area’s zoning.

Debbie reported on marketing including the launching of our new website in addition to our new Facebook page and twitter account! This is part of the school’s effort to bring focus on enrollment and continue to find new ways to network in the larger alternative educational community.

Looking ahead to 2012-2013

Chris reported on Tuition & Enrollment. The Board of Directors recognizes that, more than any possible tuition increases, enrollment is key to our financial stability.

The Board voted at its January meeting for a tuition increase of $300 from $8895 this year to $9195 for the 2012-2013 school year. This was a 3.37% tuition increase, the lowest increase percentage in Bellwether tuition in more than 10 years. Tuition, however, only covers 91% of costs. Bellwether relies on fundraisers and the Giving Campaign cover the rest.

A financially healthy Bellwether will continue to thrive as an educational alternative for a diverse group of students ~ promoting economic diversity is a core value of the school. Currently, 20% of Bellwether families receive tuition assistance; $19,000 was awarded in tuition assistance for 2011–2012.

Increasing enrollment decreases the cost per student. The single most effective way to increase enrollment is to enlist the help of each and every Bellwether family. Word-of-mouth is the best way to recruit more families and to help retain existing families.

Conversations

Many questions and ideas were brought forth by the parents who attended the meeting.

Some of the items we discussed were creative fundraising, possible locations and next steps for the move, the role of social media, and the timeline for the pilot 7^th/8^th grade classroom.

Dialogue Continues

The Bellwether School welcomes further discussion on any of these items. Feel free to reach Stacy or Debbie by phone, email or stop by the office. Families are also welcome to bring their thoughts to the Board of Directors by attending a Board Meeting (next meeting is on Monday, February 20, 6pm) or by contacting Greg or Chris directly. Thank you for being a part of The Bellwether School community.