Head of School’s Message

You have probably heard me say before that ASIJ is an aspirational school, and that those aspirations cannot be funded through tuition alone. I’m pleased to be able to report that our donors have responded to that call by continuing to support the Annual Fund in ever-larger numbers.

As you can see from our fundraising report on page 31, our faculty and staff participation grew last year to 60%, while parent participation grew to 25%. Those are both admirable numbers, but I am certainly appreciative whenever a parent notes that they want to see our parents supporting the school in higher proportions than the faculty and staff. And that gap is certainly narrowing each year. Our alumni giving is also growing and although 3% may seem low, it translates to a meaningful contribution for which we are deeply grateful.

All of this is immensely important, because a reliable increase in donors and donations each year gives the school the learning outcomes of all students, your extra support makes it possible.

For example, as I write this, we have launched our search for the newly created position of Director of Service Learning. Often, “service” at some schools can be perfunctory “box checking” exercises with little long-lasting educational value. While many service learning opportunities at ASIJ are deeply meaningful (see page 13 for a story on our rice project), we know that the concept of service is not yet embedded throughout our curriculum. To meet our goal for all ASIJ students to have an inherent desire to leave the world a better place than they found it, we must ensure that the concept of service (and knowing how best to take action) is as accessible a part of a child’s “toolbox” as reading, writing, and arithmetic.

It is important to know that when we refer to Service Learning, we are not exclusively referencing volunteer work or philanthropy. Inspired by the work of one of the world’s leading thought-leaders on Service Learning, Cathryn Berger

Service Learning is action to address the needs of our communities. It applies, deepens, and extends learning beyond the classroom, infusing relevance, purpose, and meaning across curricular and co-curricular experiences. Service Learning nurtures empathy and commitment, allowing learners to develop essential competencies and dispositions in ASIJ’s Portrait of a Learner.

(more news on that later) are very important aspirations for ASIJ, but they’re certainly not our only aspirations. When you participate in the school’s Annual Fund, you contribute to the important work that ASIJ is doing, and you help to prepare ASIJ students to make a difference in this world.

Thank you again for your support,

Head of School