In this andInternationalIssue:BaccalaureateReggioEmiliaApproach Our MeetAteliersLaScuola Graduates Silicon Valley Campus 2021-2022 / A RETROSPECTIVEInspiringbrave learners to shape the future
TABLE OF CONTENTS 3 Letter from the Head of School 4 La Scuola by the Numbers 5 International Baccalaureate in Action 6 Preschool 8 Kindergarten 9 Grade 3 10 Grade 5 11 Middle School 13 Our Ateliers 14 Music 17 Design 18 Technology 19 Preschool Garden 20 K-8 Environmental Studies 21 Visual Arts 22 Insieme: Raccontiamo 24 Wellness and Physical Education 25 Middle School Athletics Program 26 Graduation Ceremonies 28 Meet Our Grade 8 Graduates 30 Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging 32 Board of Directors Update 34 Financial Performance 35 Mission Campus Update 37 Giving at La Scuola 38 La Dolce Vita 40 Admissions and Enrollment 41 Silicon Valley Campus
Con Stima, Valentina Imbeni, Ph.D. Head of School
3 LETTER FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL
Cari Amici / Dear Friends: Following my 15th year at La Scuola, I continue to marvel every day at how much La Scuola has grown and continues to grow. I feel privileged to be part of this growth. There is an energy and vitality that is contagious, and my commitment to our mission of inspiring brave learners to shape the future is unwavering. I am more hopeful for the future than ever. During the past two years, we saw first hand that togetherness is more important than ever during difficult times. We were reminded that while we may have different ideas, feelings and circumstances, we can work together towards our common goal to keep children, their learning and wellbeing at the center of everything we do. Despite our challenges, our community continues to expand and shine in so many ways. The 2021-2022 school year was a year filled with exciting growth and accomplishments; here is a small list of some of the highlights: We are again one K-8 school and are getting ready to move into our next phase as we prepare to build our dream K-8 Reggio Emilia school building on the Mission Campus. Our third Grade 8 class graduated this year and they are off to great high schools throughout San Francisco, and all the way to Rome, Italy! We hosted Grandissimi in-person graduation and we are excited to welcome many of them to WeKindergarten.heldourmost successful La Dolce Vita Gala ever and danced and laughed together, while raising funds committed directly towards the school’s programs and expansion of our Sliding Scale Tuition program. We re-opened our K-8 library, thanks to the support of our parent volunteers. Our Silicon Valley Campus opened its doors with the support of a local donor, and we have welcomed our founding families for the 2022-23 school year. We believe in educating children to become caring individuals, problem solvers, innovative thinkers, and happy and engaged global citizens who will make the world a better place. We are committed to global mindedness and the diversity, equity, inclusion and BELONGING work that is at the heart of La Scuola. None of the rich and complex educational experiences that we offer could happen without our world-class, committed, and hardworking faculty, dedicated leadership and administration team, our vibrant community of families and friends of La Scuola, our past and present Board of Directors and, of course, our curious, creative, and capable students. We hope that you will enjoy the glimpse into the hundred languages of children and adults that we explore every day at La Scuola, where we live and breathe our motto of Niente Senza Gioia! / Nothing Without Joy !
330 80 Students andFacultyStaff 37% 34%35% 4% inFamilies28%participatingSlidingScaleTuition AFFORDABILITYatLanguages34spokenLaScuola LANGUAGES DIVERSITY asthatFamilesidentifynon-white ofStudentsofandFacultyStaffcolorcolorFamiliesLGBTQ LA SCUOLA BY THE NUMBERS 256Families
INBACCALAUREATEINTERNATIONALACTION
(Oxfam 2015, UNESCO 2015)
Action is a means for students to show that they have linked their learning to real-life issues and opportunities, and that they are developing responsible dispositions and behaviors towards social and physical environments and to the community within and beyond school. Through action, students develop a sense of belonging to local and global communities. They understand and recognize the interconnectedness and interdependence of issues, and consider these from multiple perspectives.
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BACCALAUREATE
REGGIO EMILIA
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The International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program (IB-PYP) nurtures and develops young students as caring, active participants in a lifelong journey of learning. The Reggio Emilia approach gives children a wide variety of educational opportunities that encourage self-expression, communication, problem solving, and logical thinking. Both recognize learners as active participants in their own learning. Here are two examples of IB and Reggio in action in our Preschool classes.
The Grandi Arancioni children explored the relationship and interaction between their feet and the multiple languages. In particular, some of them discovered that feet and light, when combined, open up new possibilities. From here a journey into the hundred languages began, in which children used their imagination and narrative thinking, experimented with the senses, and expressed themselves through drawing and using materials as a Lightlanguage.isanessential presence in our life and a very fascinating element for children: it can focus and change points of view and transform the vision of adults and children. The sensory experience had multiple connotations: it was an opportunity to explore different materials and their specific characteristics through the feet sensation. It also supported relationships through the support and mutual help needed to walk on some materials.
INTERNATIONAL AND IN ACTION PRESCHOOL
INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE AND REGGIO EMILIA IN ACTION PRESCHOOL
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In Grandissimi Azzurri parents were invited to have a small group experience in our atelier, a special place where children explore different ways of expression.
The graphics allowed a more realistic study of the feet, from counting toes to the reflection of the shape of their feet, supporting logical-mathematical skills. To finalize the learning of these skills, we introduced wooden materials of different shapes and sizes to recreate the feet.
In particular, parents, together with their children, experienced the language of graphics, through the technique of ‘’indagine dal vero”. This approach, which comes from the Reggio Emilia way of teaching, requires that the graphic experience begins long before holding the pencil. In this way, drawing is not reduced to representing an object on the sheet, but rather becomes an opportunity to observe and grasp the details, to re-interpret what we see, to transform it into something new and unique.
The inquiry and research that both Kindergarten Arancioni and Verdi classes pursued on the Indigenous Peoples of California resonated so deeply with the La Scuola community that students had the opportunity to share their final project with everyone.
INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE AND REGGIO EMILIA IN ACTION
Around the world practices are being put in place to honor Indigenous groups with land acknowledgement statements prior to the start of public gatherings and ceremonies, and La Scuola Kindergartners expressed their desire to share the land acknowledgment sign and its message with the whole school before the start of an all-school assemblea.
Along with our leadership team, Kinders organized a verbal statement with which they communicated at that all-school assemblea, before 235 students and adults. And this land acknowledgement continued in all future gatherings. The Kinders were so proud to help start this new and important tradition!
Kindergarten transdisciplinaryInquirytheme: WHERE WE ARE IN PLACE AND TIME Our lives are different from the lives of people who lived in the past. KINDERGARTEN
REGGIO EMILIA
BACCALAUREATE AND IN ACTION GRADE 3
INTERNATIONAL
The Grade 3 students lead an allschool assemblea to celebrate together Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (MLK) Day. We gathered around the incredible reproduction of Washington, D.C., that the students had made for this special occasion and we heard from twelve different voices the powerful words that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. pronounced in Washington, D.C., in August 1963, during his speech now known as the “I Have a Dream” speech. They presented the speech in both fluent English and Italian. A trio of students read a kid-friendly version that they wrote to ensure all grades could navigate the ideas of MLK when he spoke about the bank of justice. Then, students, teachers, and staff of the Mission Campus were Grade 3 transdisciplinaryInquiry theme: WHO WE ARE We can learn from the values, attitudes, and actions of individuals who influenced society. given a block of clay to model into a figurine; all the figurines were then placed in the model of Washington, D.C. to represent both the crowd that was present during Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s speech, and our commitment to always assemblea,Followingaction.cherish,remember,andtakethethe set and figures were relocated to the school library as an exhibit extenddocumentationandtotheevent.
In four groups, this year’s Grade 5 students centered their inquiries, research and action on different United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDG): Good Health and Well Being, Peace and Justice, No Inequalities, and Climate Change. In the process, they learned how to recognize a reliable website, started to work on a survey about their topics, and thought about experts to interview in their personal, local and global communities. All groups completed their inquiry with action in the form of communication (spoken and written) and advocacy in the field.
A culminating learning experience in Grade 5, the final year of the IB Primary Years Program (IB-PYP), is the IB-PYP Exhibition, when students develop their units of inquiry.
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Groups presented to many classrooms and parents during the morning of the IB-PYP Exhibition. The school community was then invited to participate in the advocacy during one specified weekend day —marching for awareness and a beach clean up.
INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE AND REGGIO EMILIA IN ACTION GRADE 5
Additionally, some actively visual and hands-on middle years subjects— Design and Arte—may be learned in MYPItalian.Language acquisition spans five phases, from introductory to advanced. Advanced Italian or Spanish students participate in Language & Literature inquiry, with an emphasis on text analysis. For example, identifying and commenting upon significant aspects of texts and author’s choices or identifying similarities and differences in features within and between texts, and producing text. Students’ action resulting from this inquiry included taking to the stage, performing mini plays in Italian in the school community to celebrate Carnevale. Younger students excitedly viewed the costumes and listened to lively exchanges among the characters, responding with joy to the middle schoolers.
Phase 3 Phase 1 Phase 2 Pha se5 INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE AND REGGIO EMILIA IN ACTION MIDDLE SCHOOL
11 Language in the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Program (IB-MYP) speaks volumes! There are three languages developed in La Scuola Middle School—English, Italian, and Spanish. While the primary language of instruction in middle school is English, students engage daily in their Language 2 (either Italian or Spanish) and twice weekly in their Language 3 (either Spanish or Italian).
12 MIDDLEINTERNATIONALCARNEVALEBACCALAUREATEANDREGGIOEMILIAINACTIONSCHOOL
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A special place in every Reggio school is the atelier. The atelier is a laboratory of sorts; a place full of a variety of materials, mediums and tools that allow students to further their inquiries, explore new ideas and express themselves. Loris Malaguzzi believed that children have ‘100 Languages’ or more with which to express themselves. In an atelier, they might use art, music, graphic design, coding and tinkering, among other things, to illustrate their learning.
OUR ATELIERS
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This year was the year we’ve been waiting for! During the periods of lockdown and social distancing, La Scuola remained committed to music and the arts, sharing music through Zoom, recordings, and videos. Once our campuses joined and we began sharing music as part of our regular routines, performances and enthusiasm flourished, with not only more than eight music performances, but with the sounds of students playing and rehearsing independently during the school day. On February 16th we had our official concert schedule reopening with our first outdoor, K-8 concert. This concert was special, because it was produced entirely by our Grade 8 class under the guidance of Chiara Fornetti. Students in Grades K-2 rehearsed with Eleonora Pellegrini, and students in Grade 3-8 rehearsal with Carlo Dean, to each perform a piece for our families and community. We started the Grade 8 tradition of Our official campus merge was celebrated on December 3rd, officiated by Italian Consul General, Sergio Strozzi. To mark the occasion, the Ambassador Ensemble played the Italian National Anthem. December also brought us our first alumni performance, a special holiday performance at Il Museo Italo Americano.
OUR
MUSICATELIERS
OUR ATELIERS MUSIC
Our Ambassador Ensemble prepared Fasola Siciliana, a lively Tarantellalike dance, for La Dolce Vita, our annual fundraising gala. This was our first time performing at La Dolce Vita since Spring of 2019, so we had many new Ambassador Ensemble members! It was a special event for us all, and we like to think we helped inspire the generous giving received that night.
15 producing a concert as a way to demonstrate the trust we put into our graduates as having obtained the skills and detailed knowledge Onneeded.February 25th, we had our Carnevale celebration. Under the guidance of our MYP Language Coordinator and Curriculum Developer Carmen Gomez, we created a Renaissance Festival and took our students back to the 1500s to meet the characters of the Commedia dell’Arte. Students and teachers learned some of the music of the time and acted as traveling troubadours.
Grade 4 musicians learning the basics of the orchestra a plettro, a traditional Italian plucked string orchestra Grade 5 musicians applying blues scales and technique to MiddleimprovisationSchool musicians demonstrating their ensemble skills as well as their solo and small group work Music plays a large role in just about all celebrations at La Scuola, but for graduation week we pull out all the stops! Our Ambassador Ensemble announced the start of our School Year Completion Ceremony with the Italian National Anthem. Two graduating students performed Brave, by Sara Bareilles, and a teacher music ensemble performed a special message to our students, singing Wake Up, Everybody by Harold Melvin.
For our final event of the school year, Grade 8 Graduation, the entire Grade 8 class aptly performed Bill Conti’s Gonna Fly Now, the theme from Rocky. We know you will, Grade 8! We look forward to hearing about your journeys!
Music plays a large role in just about all celebrations at La Scuola
16OUR
May brought us our return to Herbst Theater. Students from Kindergarten through 8th grade performed for their families and communities, in our first double-header concert. Students prepared music from their respective units to demonstrate their skills in a group setting. Students demonstrated everything from increased chord vocabulary to the development of their tremolo technique to their exploration into folk or concert music of time orOurplace.multi-year musical journey was again on display, with: Kindergarten musicians demonstrating their understanding of pitch through singing Grade 1 musicians demonstrating the rhythmic skills developed on non-pitched percussion
ATELIERS MUSIC
For the Preschool Graduation, a group of seven young musicians lent their talents for the celebration, playing Pomp and Circumstance while the Grandissimi graduates processed for over 20 minutes!
Grade 2 musicians demonstrating navigating diatonic melodies and harmonies on xylophones, glockenspiels, and other pitched instruments
Grade 3 musicians demonstrating chords and notes within a 4-part ukulele orchestra
• Designing their own house in a specific ecosystem.
• Organizing the winter concert, put on by the school.
This is the moment in which the final solution is applied, and the consequences are evaluated.
A unique feature of this Design Cycle is that there is no starting or finishing point. These phases can be mixed in the process and the fact that it is not a straight line, but a circle, makes everything more interesting and creative for the students and the teachers.
• Organizing a theoretical trip to Italy. Within this cycle they learned about graphic design and were asked to create their own magazines.
• Creating displays around the theme “history of animation” for the La Scuola Exhibition.
This is the moment in which we delve into the challenge. What is it? Why do we have it? Who is involved? Where is it? Is this part of just a group of people, or is it a general problem that everyone can encounter in their lives? Inquiry and Analyzing is a phase full of questions and wonder.
During this phase we start to think through various solutions to the challenge. Usually each student arrives at one or two personal solutions. And, once the solutions are discussed in a classroom setting, it is incredibly rewarding how they interconnect with those of our peers, and may even change. During this phase, there is a great deal of collaboration and active listening.
Thanks to the Design Cycle, students are the protagonists of their learning process, and they learn how failure can be a learning moment. Students learn how to overcome emotions and find different solutions. Students become independent in finding new and creative ways to solve problems.
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Phase “Developing Ideas”
This year the Middle School students were able to use the Design Cycle on various projects:
Design is the subject in which the Middle School students learn the concept of design thinking. Every project we do follows the Design Cycle, which is divided into four phases.
OUR
Phase “Inquiring and Analyzing”
Phase “Evaluating”
DESIGNATELIERS
Phase “Creating the Solution” Once we finish brainstorming our solutions, a final decision needs to be made. This is the moment when one solution is selected, taking into account many interrelated factors.
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Technology is surely a very important and fascinating language to use, and one of the main challenges that we adults have to teach is the amount of time we spend on digital devices. Especially after the COVID remote teaching period, students tend to use their device in a more independent way. For this reason, here at La Scuola we always try to implement technology in our daily school life and connect it with other languages in class. We always remind the students that technology is just a tool, and we need to enjoy our life outside the digital world. Our technology mission at La Scuola states: La Scuola empowers students to not only learn about technology, but also through technology, developing conceptual understandings and contributing to a prolific learning community within and outside the school, to eventually become conscious digital citizens.
The beauty of being in a Reggio Emilia approach environment is that the teachers and the students are free to learn and explore new languages every day. From PreK onwards, the students learn and love coding and when they come to the Mission Campus, they start using robots in class. They are immediately attracted and interested in the program, because they see they can control the action of a small device. As the students grow in years, the more the challenges grow in interest.
What happens when we start applying the coding concepts that we first used with the robots on the computer? How can we build a videogame? How can we create a website? Those are constant questions that our students ask and discover, enabling them to learn responsibility and respect in the digital world.
OUR TECHNOLOGYATELIERS
THE GARDEN IS A PLACE FOR STORYTELLING.
It’s where we make connections, collect data, synthesize new information, think critically, and ask questions. The garden is a place to see the beauty in others’ thoughts and ideas, making way for the retaliation of generative ideas as fundamental blocks of a collective construction. Our preschoolers see the garden as a place of imagination, a blank slate to create fantastical narratives inspired by the wonders of the natural world. We established the garden as a place of wonder and exploration
PRESCHOOLATELIERS GARDEN
THE GARDEN IS A PLACE TO TASTE.
At the beginning of the school year, setting up the garden space with the children was fundamental in paving the way for the experiences we would have throughout the year. We established the garden as a place of wonder and exploration—a space we could co-construct together. The children observed, reflected, and were motivated to give meaning and definition to the garden every day. We talked with the children about the fluid nature of experiences we have in the garden—the experiences we have, the possibilities we create, the connections we form, the spaces we define.
THE GARDEN IS A PLACE TO LOOK.
THE GARDEN IS A PLACE FOR COLLABORATION.
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THE GARDEN IS A PLACE TO TOUCH.
OUR
OUR K-8ATELIERSENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES
The La Scuola garden program provides students with a unique opportunity to be in the environment when learning about the environment. They practice empathy and touch, feel, and experience science and math first-hand. They feel a duty to steward the planet and to help others do so, too. The natural environment quite often provides children with the spontaneity and surprise that leads to new cognitive pathways, curiosities and a sense of wonder. During the lessons in our garden, students explore gardening practices, identification of plants and visitors like hummingbirds, butterflies and bees. Through a community.ofandproductionecology,angarden,relationshipmulti-sensorytothechildrengainunderstandingofthethecycleoffoodandconsumption,astrengthenedsensestewardstowardtheir
OUR ATELIERS
In the La Scuola Arts Atelier, the children have the opportunity to play with 100 languages. Open materials, dance, graphic traces, wire, collage, watercolor, textiles, clay… are both a challenge and a resource. For some of these studies, children are free of tools other than their hands/body to dialogue with the materials offered. This direct contact with the material world develops sensibility, awareness and intentionality. The Atelier becomes the child’s intrinsic motivation, building confidence and expanding a range of references (from paper possibilities to how to make 3 different types of knots by asking 3 different peers). Other explorations include that of relationships, languages, and skills through self-led collective projects. In one story, we started with an empty room and ended with an robots,inagardenworld,underwaterasecretinthecloset,rocketship,animalsallsortsofmaterials,books,playing cards, and a boat. The children brainstormed, projected/ designed, organized,categorized,presented,chose,discussed,developed, reflected and shared their learning experiences. Young artists continue to explore beingspatternsnatureEcologyInaboutrightsbuildingaboutresearchingathroughlearningconnectedenvironmentstoclassroomandtheworldinquiriessuchasfocusonmigration,withandmakingartmigratoryanimals,andawarenessofhumanissueswithpostershumanmigration.explorationofMaterialweworkedonhowcreatesartthroughandhowhumancanbeinspiredbynatureandco-createwithnature.Weexplorethequestion,howcanweexpressourselvesandtheworldarounduswithline,throughcolor?Or,howcanartistsuseandinterpretspaceandspaciousness? expression of the world and self, through the ideas and language of art and design, with the stories and games that captivate us, local and global culture and celebrations, featured artists, inclusive and intentional spaces, wildlife, climate, the environment, and ideas of kindness and peace. This year our research brought us to the creation of a story with shadow puppets. La Scuola artists collaborated to create a Book and Art Review elevating and celebrating diverse voices. We created a Peace Forest mural project, with the tree as a symbol of peace, expressing our connection to each other, and sending our well-wishes of love and peace out to the world. VISUAL ARTS
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In May of 2022 we were thrilled to once again welcome our families and students inperson to our Mission Campus for our annual PreK-Grade 8 Student Exhibition. The theme of the Exhibit was Journey! The students shared their imagination and channeled their thoughts all around the campus. Individual and collective narratives intertwined through 100 languages in this exhibition, dedicated to stories and storytelling. LA EXHIBITSCUOLA
PHYSICAL
Physical Education lessons support the units of inquiry that are so foundational to the La Scuola experience. In Physical Education classes, students develop an understanding of the factors that contribute to developing and maintaining a balanced, healthy lifestyle and the importance of regular physical activity and safety considerations for self and others. Students explore the following strands: Movement Composition, Individual Pursuits, Adventure Challenge, Games and Health-related fitness. Learning Outcomes are organized in developmental phases within the Scope and Sequence document.
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WELLNESS AND EDUCATION
25
The La Scuola Athletics experience is a journey which is a source of growth, pride, and enthusiasm for all members of our community. At our school, athletics is serious and fun; it includes skill, intelligence, passion, and above all, heart. Our student-athletes play because they love the game, value their teammates, and take pride in Athleticsthemselves.somethingrepresentingbiggerthanLaScuolafostersaspirit of competition, commitment, leadership, and true sportsmanship regardless of the result, while honoring cultural diversity and gender equity. offer team sports for the Fall, Winter, and Spring seasons. Here’s what we offered in the 2021-2022 academic year. Other possible league options in the future may include Tennis, Table Tennis, and Indoor Soccer.
thegrowthforwardprograms.leastbodymiddleLastindependentourcompetingLeagueInternationalinrepresentedStudent-athletesLaScuolatheSanFranciscoAthletic(SFIAL),againstneighboringschools.year77%ofourschoolstudentparticipatedinatoneofourathleticWelooktotheongoingandsuccessofprogram.Volleyball TrainingPerformanceand FALL Basketball TrainingPerformanceand WINTER Track and Field and TrainingPerformance SPRING WELLNESS AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION MIDDLE SCHOOL ATHLETICS PROGRAM
We
26GRADUATION CEREMONIES
The wider the range of possibilities we offer children, the more intense will be their motivations and the richer experiences.their Loris Malaguzzi 27
28 HIGH SCHOOLS OUR GRADUATES WILL ATTEND IN THE FALL: The Academy - San Francisco Archbishop Riordan High School Castro Valley High School Gateway High School International High School Lowell High School Saint Ignatius High School St. Stephen’s School, Rome, Italy San UrbanGirls’FranciscoSchoolSchool of San Francisco Congratulations to our Class of 2022!
29 I loved our trip toandNatureBridgeSantaCruz I enjoyed La Scuola’s music and language program I liked the small class size and the variety of classes we took The IB learner is different and special The design program at La Scuola is great WHAT OUR GRADUATES ARE SAYING:
La Scuola is a community where diverse points of view and experiences are honored and serve to create global citizens who are learners, creators, and innovators. Diverse experiences are fundamental in shaping a global point of view and an appreciation of others. By emphasizing equity and belonging, our aim is to foster a community where the multiple voices that make up our students, staff, families, and friends feel empowered to show up as their authentic selves, creating a shared culture from our rich, diverse backgrounds and identities. By celebrating diversity, our students become keenly aware of the world around them, their place in it, and the wisdom of practicing empathy and honoring the experiences of each individual.
30DIVERSITY, BELONGINGINCLUSION,EQUITY,AND
DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION AND BELONGING BAKE SALE
WORLD DAY FOR MAYCELEBRATIONDIVERSITYCULTURAL20
The final day of Spirit Week at La Scuola culminated in a celebration of our diverse cultural heritages at both Preschool and K-8 campuses. At the Dogpatch Campus, children and parents shared special words in their native languages with the whole preschool community, to build a precious collection of all the languages that our families speak at home. At the Mission Campus, families joined as students participated in a potluck festivity sharing a dish from their cultural background, parading flags of their heritage nations and dressing in traditional clothing. Cultural pride and learning through food and story took center stage at this joyful event where palates were pleased and faces smiled brightly. When diversity is celebrated and honored, we create a welcoming, inclusive and open-minded environment. Both these events contributed in that way.
FOR FUNDHUMANITARIANUKRAINEMARCH31
PRIDE DAY
La Scuola’s Grade 6 put their globally-minded thinking into local action by organizing a wildly successful bake sale fundraiser to help provide relief for the people of Ukraine. Raising over $1,300 and completely selling out of all goods in a little over an hour, our community showed its solidarity, empathy and demonstrated ability to become agents of positive change in our global world. This was a completely student-run, student-led effort, role modeling for our younger learners and the entire community how to put thought into action.
JUNE 1 La Scuola’s second annual Pride Day celebration has already become a beloved tradition. Preschool through Grade 8 students, faculty, and staff celebrated love of self, others and acceptance of all the unique identities that make up our diversely beautiful world. La Scuola campuses shined bright with rainbow colors of Pride as students shared what Pride meant to them and discussed the importance of celebrating all forms of love.
UPDATE
Lama Nachman, Board Chair
32BOARD OF DIRECTORS
On behalf of the board, I’m so excited to share with you all the work we have been doing behind the scenes and celebrate La Scuola’s amazing successes. Thanks to our fearless leader, Valentina, our amazing faculty and staff, and the dedication of our parent community and board, we have accomplished a great deal this year. We continued to thrive through the complexity of the pandemic and the many waves of infections across the city. Thanks to Dani’s leadership and Sanjay’s support, the pandemic had minimal impact on the operation of the school this year because we were prepared, informed by data, and constantly thinking about the wellbeing of our students. We shared with you, before, the five pillars of our strategic plan and I’m so happy to see the great progress we have made on each pillar.
Thank you all for your wonderful commitment and support!
5 THRIVEABILITY To transition sustainabilityfromtothriveability
PERMANENCE On Permanence, we have brought our K-8 community all together under one roof in our Mission Campus, demolished the old convent building in preparation for building our new campus, added temporary classrooms in the yard, and continued to advance on entitlements, paving the way to breaking ground as soon as possible. You can see in this publication the designs by our esteemed architect Michele Zini, truly demonstrating the role of the environment in our pedagogy. We also made good progress on fundraising and will continue to run as fast as we can to make our dream come true. This will be a building like no other in the Americas, and we can’t wait to see our students and faculty enjoying it.
1 PERMANENCE
3
THRIVEABILITY
So, a lot has happened and so much more to come, and we are all in. Next year we will be embarking on a new strategic plan as we are approaching the last year of the previous plan. Just like we did last time, we will engage the whole community in this process and continue to define our future.
To integrate the richness and strength of the IB framework with the intentionality and creativity of the Reggio Emilia Pedagogy to ensure that our students understand the world and create their place in it
To build a place that furthers the magic of our community, spaces, and programs
When we started on the Heart and Mind pillar of the strategic plan four years ago, we didn’t yet have middle school graduates, but we identified the need to create a portrait of a “La Scuola graduate” and articulate the key attributes and learning outcomes that enable La Scuola students to get into and succeed in the best high schools. I’m happy to report that we managed to materialize this so beautifully over the last three years. The outcome of La Scuola’s brilliant pedagogical approach is no longer theoretical, it has been proven! We graduated our third Grade 8 class, and they are off to great schools in San Francisco and Italy. One of the things that make us so proud is to see how our high schoolers are open to the world, thriving academically and socially across the very different schools they are attending. They are the best La Scuola ambassadors and continue to pave the way for our upand-coming high schoolers. It was also wonderful to see them coming back to La Scuola and engaging in our admissions events, summer camps and other activities.
HEART AND MIND
We continue to Nurture and Grow as we consistently prioritize attracting, retaining, and growing the best faculty and staff possible. This year we continued to focus on professional development. We concentrated on ensuring competitive compensation and reducing the burden of San Francisco costs and high inflation.
4 COMMUNITY To preserve our unique multiculturalism and further diversity, inclusivity, and equity within our community
HEART + MIND
NURTURE AND GROW
COMMUNITY On Community, our super power, and what makes La Scuola so special, we have come a long way to enhancing our Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging goals. Melina Madrigal, Fong Marcolongo and our DEIB committee have been working hard on integrating DEIB into the curriculum and campus life, facilitating training and sharing of ideas for teachers, students, parents and the board, connecting with the broader community on meaningful programs, creating a sense of community across all our campuses, and enhancing our diversity representation.Therearesomany wonderful examples across this publication that truly demonstrate the breadth and depth of DEIB work at La Scuola, and I hope you take the time to dig in and join us next year in our continued efforts on this front. I also want to acknowledge the wonderful work by our PALS leader, Melissa Ippolito, and the PALS team to support our community in the hardest of times through the pandemic; your work is truly remarkable.
2 NURTURE + GROW
To nurture the professional growth of our team & continue to attract and retain the best educators
Last but not least, on Thriveability, we have been working on ensuring a strong financial foundation for La Scuola, and exploring different growth opportunities to make it more robust. As you all know, we have secured a gift to open our Silicon Valley Campus, and we will be full steam ahead this coming year. If you haven’t gotten a chance to visit that campus, you should definitely check it out. Through the support of a local family, we are also exploring a Milan expansion opportunity to strengthen our connection with Italy, enable compelling opportunities and movement for faculty and students across campuses, attract new faculty and students, and strengthen our brand as an international school.
34FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE Operating revenue has steadily grown in the last five years, reflecting the enrollment growth 90% of the revenue comes from tuition On average, 10% of the total gross revenue is in thanks to the generosity of our community through annual giving GROSS FundraisingREVENUES Tuition & Fees $5,000,000$10,000,000$15,000,000 2017-2018Actual 2018-2019Actual 2019-2020Actual 2020-2021Actual 2021-2022Budget 89% 91% 92% 90% 87% 9% 8% 11% 13% 10%
As we open another wonderful year at La Scuola, we are closer than ever to achieving our dream of building the first Reggio Emilia inspired K-8 school in the Americas. While COVID-19 may have slowed progress for some, it instead gave us the opportunity to hit a huge milestone: finally bringing together our entire K-8 student body onto one campus! Both in spite of and because of the pandemic, we had time to demolish the existing convent, complete all remediation work so that the site is primed and ready for construction, add new classrooms housing two grades and an inspiring visual arts atelier, and create a vibrant environmental studies hub with beautiful gardens, a deck, and an everpopular soccer pitch.
Major Michelemilestones:Zini(ZPZPartners) has completed the designs for the New Main Building, as well as preliminary renovations to the existing buildings, to expand the campus with ateliers, classrooms, and facilities that support the school’s growth to two classes per grade and create the campus that every student truly deserves. With the support of the Facilities Committee, we have engaged local contractors Oliver and Company for the construction of the New Main
35 UPDATECAMPUSMISSION
ergoPrssonth ew Building at Mi nCampus
workvaluetheCompleteongoingengineeringtoensurethe best possible building for our investment and for the students. The project will be made possible by a combination of fundraising and financing; the faster we reach our fundraising goals, the sooner the new building will become a reality. Please reach out to orgadvancement@lascuolasf. if you are interested in supporting La Scuola to fulfill our dream of building the first Reggio Emilia inspired K-8 school in the Americas. We cannot wait!
Additionally,Building. right now, we are working hard to: Finish the entitlement process by December 2022 to secure final approval from the City of San Francisco to develop the Mission site;
GIVING AT LA SCUOLA
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. We love our people.
Throughout a year full of dynamism and flexibility, your generosity has been seen at every level. Our Annual Fund, through which philanthropy is intentionally woven into the fiber of our school’s operational budget, exceeded $600,000 with over 91% parent participation. The consistent growth of our Annual Fund year after year reflects the commitment of our community, and as a sign of unification and confidence in our school to outside funders, La Scuola strives for 100% parent participation. With the majority of the school’s operating budget supporting teachers and students through tuition revenue, it is the Annual Fund that affords our students the magic of a La Scuola education and takes our school from exceptional to transformational. Rounding out annual giving is La Dolce Vita and our Sliding Scale Tuition Fund.
After another outstanding year—one that was fully in-person—we could not be more inspired by our community. With much to reflect on when it comes to giving at La Scuola, let’s acknowledge that our school embodies the true definition of philanthropy. Let’s pause to remember what the true meaning is: Phil=Love; Anthropos=People
After two years of a virtual gala, our community came together in fantastic fashion for a record-breaking affair. Mirroring our Annual Fund, the event raised just above $600,000, with over a quarter of a million dollars raised for Sliding Scale Tuition alone! Clearly the past year has shown us that what lies ahead is even brighter, and our gratitude for our community continues to grow. Because of you, we are forging a new tomorrow for education as we inspire brave learners to shape the future.
Robin Bonaso, Director of Advancement
Together, we make a great impact on La Scuola in so many ways. Thank you—our amazing community— for your generous support in creating the most successful La Dolce Vita ever!
After two years of being virtual, La Scuola’s annual spring gala and fundraiser, La Dolce Vita, was back and better than ever! Thanks to the incredible generosity of our parents, friends, faculty, staff, and community members, we raised over $600,000 —a new record for our school!
38LA
Over $250,000 of this total was raised specifically for the Sliding Scale Tuition Fund
LaBaccalaureateandthesciencesscience—theenvironmentalartsandthataretrulyatheartofaReggioInternationaleducation.DolceVita2022was outdoors for the first time ever and, while it was a little chilly under the stars, the vistas of the San Francisco skyline from CityView atop the Metreon were stunning. Our amazing Ambassador Ensemble wowed us by opening the show, followed by our very own faculty musical performance for the first time in La Dolce Vita’s history. So many communitywonderfulmembers come together to bring La Dolce Vita to life. This year’s event would truly not have been possible without the time and commitment of our tireless, incredible Co-Chairs Helen Jones and Lorraine Mulvihill, in addition to all of the wonderful parent volunteers who helped to make our fundraiser a success. A heartfelt grazie di cuore to our La Scuola Community of parents, alumni parents, friends of the school, and the Italian-American community for donating your time and talent in support of La Scuola. We are especially grateful to San Francisco’s new Consul General to Italy, Sergio Strozzi, for his support of and participation in the event.
The SSTF allows children who would not otherwise be able to afford full tuition the opportunity to attend La Scuola, and enriches our school community by honoring diverse points of view and experiences that serve to create global citizens who are learners, creators, and innovators. Every dollar you have given at La Dolce Vita is vital, also supporting our extraordinary special programs and ateliers, including visual arts, music, design and
DOLCE VITA
SAVE THE DATE! LA DOLCE VITA 2023 Saturday, March 25, 2023 The Hibernia, San Francisco
40ADMISSIONS AND ENROLLMENT
At La Scuola we instill in children the ability to ask good questions, respect and remain open-minded to different beliefs and perspectives, appreciate the joys and beauty of everyday moments, prioritize time with their friends and family, and continue to think creatively about how they can improve the world around us.
Nichole Leon and Paola Barberi, Admissions Directors
The Admissions team, in collaboration with the faculty, staff and our community, has worked hard this year to ensure that these core beliefs were communicated at all of our Admissions events. In addition to our Mission and Dogpatch Campuses, we also held events for the launch of our new Silicon Valley Campus. As the year progressed we were excited to host in-person events again, tours and open houses as well as several virtual events. We are proud to note that our enrollment continues to increase. As we enter the 2022-2023 academic year, we will have 335 students (and growing!), the highest number of enrolled students to date. We are excited to welcome the majority of our Grandissimi students into Kindergarten as they begin their journey into elementary years. We could not have done this without your help. We are grateful for your enthusiasm for La Scuola when speaking with prospective families and sharing your love for what we do.
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CAMPUSVALLEYSILICONOUR
The Silicon Valley Campus is taking shape, both figuratively and literally. Momentous change has occurred from the conceptualization stage a year ago to the end of the 2021-2022 school year: Architectural design created, newly renovated buildings, a groundbreaking construction project, Childcare License granted, furniture and play structure traveled across an ocean and put into place, and a team working collaboratively towards a single goal of opening the program. Two special events brought children and parents onto campus. Four of our outstanding teachers presented provocations and explored with our young guests. The summer program introduced one week of particular themes as we moved towards opening our doors in August.
Loris Malaguzzi
OUR SILICON VALLEY CAMPUS
Our Reggio classrooms are being filled with intriguing play, and the IB application has been accepted. We expect full candidacy while working in conjunction with the IB-PYP coordinator at our San Francisco Dogpatch Campus. We have created a beautiful indoor and outdoor space where everyone feels at home. Please let your friends and family know La Scuola is in Silicon Valley. We welcome them to our beautiful campus. Our goal is to build an amiable school, where children, teachers, and families feel at home. Such a school requires careful thinking and planning —andprocedures,concerningmotivationsinterests.
Niente Senza Gioia! / Nothing Without Joy! www.lascuolasf.org
