Impact on Student Life

Impact on Student Life

80+

Students and 11 faculty/ staff traveled abroad for the Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies global intensive.

8

All-school sit-down dinners centering on cultural and religious celebrations.

30+

Events hosted by the Office of Equity and Inclusion for students and adults to support the school’s goals of becoming an anti-racist institution.

34%

$1.4M

16 Students receive need-based financial aid.

Annual endowment draw to support nearly 90 student scholarships.

Impact on the Performing Arts

4 full theater productions

4 on-campus dance performances

2 local community-based performances

Students each received $10K+ in financial aid through donornamed Immediate Impact Scholarships from Annual Fund donations.

3 large ensemble concerts

9 music lesson workshop performances

7 student recitals, festivals and competitions

21% Current parents 50% Faculty and staff

64%

Ancients

Investing in the Present

Raised to support the MPS Annual Fund. $2.6M

193

First-time donors.

75%

Annual Fund donors gave gifts of $500 or less.

$332K

Raised for current-use financial aid scholarships through the Annual Fund.

FY23 Sources of Funding

53

The number of Ancient donors needed to move our participation rate 1 percentage point

Investing in the Future

$146.6M

Endowment Total Market Value— 83% restricted vs. 17% unrestricted.

$1.7M

Raised in endowed scholarship dollars.

$19M

The approximate market value of documented planned gifts that include gifts through a will or beneficiary designation.

FY23 Endowment Spending

50% ACADEMICS/FACULTY & STAFF SALARIES

30% SCHOLARSHIPS

11% CAMPUS OPERATIONS & STUDENT ACTIVITIES

9% CAMPUS BUILDINGS & GROUNDS

Shani Sandy ’96 describes herself as an artist, designer and leader who works at the intersection of design, technology and business. She’s a vice president at IBM, a host and judge on the television series

“America by Design” and a new homeowner who is transforming an unfinished loft space with cutting-edge design in Brooklyn, New York.

Miss Porter’s School

“My focus in the last five years has shifted from designing for craft to designing for culture,” said Ms. Sandy, who became VP of design leadership, education and culture for IBM Design in May 2022 after three and a half years with IBM’s IT infrastructure business. She guides a team that educates and empowers the company’s nearly 3,000 designers to advance in their careers and gain new skills for the future.

“The world is so dynamic, and particularly in the tech sector we need to ensure that our talent has the most up-to-date skills,” she said. “My mission is to advance the abilities and the career paths of our designers by crafting experiences that let them attain new skills, apply those skills and then ultimately grow those skills. This will lead to more opportunities for them to do their best work and have a real business impact for the company.”

Ms. Sandy is actively engaged in the design community and passionate about creating opportunities to diversify design, a key focus of her research study and lecturing. She’s also engaged with the firm’s Racial Equity in Design initiative, which aims to create a culture of equity for Black designers within the company and across the industry. “It’s a passion point of mine,” she said. “If creative and design industries are supposed to be beacons of imagination, then everyone’s voice should be heard. So what does it mean if there’s less representation and less inclusion of these Black voices?”

In addition to her work inside IBM, Ms. Sandy holds an external role: She’s an on-air talent for CBS’ “America by Design” series. She credits her mentor, former IBM Head of Design Phil Gilbert, for the gig, which began as a collaboration between the firm and the production. “It’s a lot of fun,” she said. “I still maintain my IBM role, and I’m traveling the world.”

Ms. Sandy spends her nights and weekends creating a home with her partner, filmmaker Kahil Shkymba.

“Because he’s a filmmaker and I’m a designer, we’re going to document the journey around how we build a loft space that includes highly sustainable products and elements [and] also takes advantage of the utmost in craft,” she said. “We’re going to live in what we’re building, and we’re going to document the whole thing. Hopefully, we survive this!”

Ms. Sandy’s move to the Red Hook neighborhood of Brooklyn this spring brings her back to her roots. While in middle school in the borough, she participated in A Better Chance, which helps high-achieving children of color gain access to transformational educational opportunities. Without ABC, she never would have applied to Porter’s.

“Miss Porter’s was life-changing,” she recalled. “That inroad into an elite prep school was one of the most significant and informative experiences in my life.” She said her time at school gave her the ability “to be highly adaptable and to affirm and retain my identity and my roots,” which has been helpful in navigating the corporate world.

After Porter’s, Ms. Sandy went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in art history from Tufts University and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in painting and computer art from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. She gained credentials from the Yale School of Management and the School of Visual Arts as well as an MBA at the Berlin School of Creative Leadership while building her career.

But her achievements all built on her time at Porter’s, “a space where I could really explore more of myself without feeling like there were any limitations and being encouraged to do just that,” Ms. Sandy said. “And I think that is one of the most beautiful things about going to an institution like Miss Porter’s. It gave me the space to grow into myself.”

“I think that is one of the most beautiful things about going to an institution like Miss Porter’s. It gave me the space to grow into myself.”

“My focus in the last five years has shifted from designing for craft to designing for culture.”