State of the School 2021-2022
An Update from Head of School Mark Stanek
Welcome To 2022 If 2020 was the year of creativity and resilience, 2021 was the year of rebuilding relationships and reconnecting as a community. Shady Hill entered this school year ready to take on new challenges, knowing it meant we would ease back into what we do best: learning together! Our faculty and staff meetings began in September with socially distant, masked meetings, presentations, and discussions. Guest speaker Dr. Nicole Christian-Brathwaite focused our attention on trauma-informed learning communities as we prepared to engage with students whose social emotional well-being has been impacted by the pandemic and whose self-regulation has been impacted by remote learning. We heard from guest speaker Vivian Wu Wong who reflected with us on how best to support Asian American students and families in the midst of the increase in anti-Asian hate across the country. We welcomed teachers and staff together in the gym, outdoors, and the Assembly Hall throughout our opening meetings. As we have navigated this year, we have taken time to gather in small and large groups and find moments for reconnection and celebration. Warmly,
Reinstating our Learning Hallmarks We launched the 2021-2022 school year by reinstating some of our favorite student programming, from woodshop to field trips to the Lower School and Middle School partners program. Athletics returned in 2021, adding one new team each for the fall and winter seasons: all-gender volleyball and fencing. We were fortunate to bring back family spectators for our outdoor sports and host other schools on campus for interscholastic competition. Students were all smiles as they had the opportunity to get their hands dirty exploring both the Charles River waterfront and Fresh Pond in the form of student field trips. Likewise, laughter filled the air with the return of mixed recess across each grade. Lower School Zoom assemblies took an exciting turn as Lower School Head Shalini Rao broadcasted from a different classroom every week. Students loved the opportunity to share with their peers and even assist in the broadcasting process. The return of the Shady Hill Student Board provided Middle School with the opportunity to build leadership skills and impact their community as they interact with other grade levels. This programming emphasizes our community’s goal to empower students and allow them to grow independently and collectively as a unit. Middle Schoolers lead the following committees: business, communications, student life, and community service. As a community, we’ve maintained mask requirements indoors and continue to use outdoor tents. However, an optional mask policy outdoors for recess and walking along the paths brings a welcome reprieve from being “masks up” indoors. By layering these new programs on top of our safety policies, we are optimizing the student experience so that every student goes home with engaging stories and meaningful memories that will last them a lifetime.
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New Administrators
One of the top recommendations from our recent AISNE (Association of Independent Schools in New England) accreditation was to create a structure to oversee curriculum alignment for PreK-VIII. After a national search, Shady Hill hired Dr. Daryl Wright into the new role as Assistant Head of School. One of his priorities has been building relationships and learning more about Shady Hill’s culture and curriculum. In addition, Laniesha Gray was appointed Interim Director of Equity and Inclusion (appointed to director, February 3) from her previous role as Middle School Director of Student Life. Both senior administrators were introduced to parents and guardians through a series of virtual meetings facilitated by the Head of School Mark Stanek.
Administrative Initiatives: Review, Refine & Support Establishing a formal structure for curriculum review and oversight was a key recommendation from the AISNE visiting committee and we continue to build on that guidance. This year, we convened a Math Advisory Group to support our B-IV teachers in reflecting on our scope and sequence of math concepts and skills in each grade. The Math Advisory Group brings together gradehead representatives from B-IV, the math department chair, the Lower School division head, the Assistant Head of School, and math consultant Amy Sullivan TTC ’92. The math review project will continue for another year, allowing time to research, assess and review data thoughtfully. The Math Advisory Group also engaged with Lower School faculty in regularly scheduled professional development sessions facilitated by Amy to build capacity and strengthen our pedagogical approach. We expect to share more about the work of the Math Advisory Group next year. Shady Hill has also implemented a school-wide racial literacy program to enhance our curriculum. Adapted from the Pollyanna Racial Literacy Curriculum for grades K-VIII, our curriculum is designed to help students gain crucial knowledge about race, and enhance students’ awareness of their own racial socialization and build skills for engaging in productive conversations. The program offers a framework for students to demonstrate our core belief “…to honor differences, challenge prejudice, and strive for social and racial justice.” Faculty were given summer grants to work with grade level teams and departments to create and adapt new lessons. Finally, in an effort to enhance our robust professional development offerings, the School has partnered with FolioCollaborative (Folio), a community of 160 independent schools connected through the shared goal of authentic growth in schools. We launched the Folio platform with our faculty to store spring and fall goal-setting conversations, with plans to include all employees in the 2022-2023 school year. As we expand our use of Folio, employees will be able to chart their goals, growth, observations, feedback, and professional training from year to year.
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2021
By the Numbers
600 Pounds of 43
clay used
Original hip hop verses written
12,180
Library books checked out
24 Dogs on campus 237
Gallons of hand sanitizer used
16,500 Masks purchased
375 Class Notes
12,501
Minutes Admission Team hosted Zoom interviews
submitted for the 2021 magazine
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Building Blocks of Belonging & Financial Aid Review In support of our goal to be an equitable and inclusive community, we are reviewing our financial aid policies and practices. Director of Enrollment Management Sarah Wooten and former Trustee and current Beginners parent Jeita Deng ’94 led a group of trustees, parents, alumni, and senior administrators comprising the Financial Aid Task Force. They explored the financial barriers that prevent current or prospective families from attending Shady Hill; reviewed our practices to ensure the School is highly competitive with peer schools; aligned our policies with mission and values; and made recommendations for strengthening our commitment to financial aid and a sense of belonging. Meeting weekly to review data and engaging in a retreat with Mark Mitchell, Senior VP of Financial Aid at NAIS (National Association of Independent Schools), the group has considered different models to provide more financial support to current and prospective families. Communication about these recommendations will be announced this spring.
Financial Update
After an unpredictable year of expenses, including increased staffing, testing, technology, air filtration systems, personal protection equipment and more, fiscal year 2021 finished in a strong financial position. We exceeded our FY21 Shady Hill Fund goal of $1.675 million by over $680,000 in gifts of all sizes. We thank all who contributed last year and still welcome your help this year, so that faculty, staff, and administration can creatively teach and support our students. FY22 Budgeted Revenue ($26.6M) Annual Giving 7% Endowment Spending 8%
Auxiliary 4%
Shady Hill Fund Over-achievment of $683,000
Tuition 81%
FY22 Budgeted Expenses ($26.6M) Financial Aid 12% Salaries & Benefits 64%
Instructional, Admin. & Other 12% Plant 8%
COVID-19 Operating Costs Expenses of $1,471,000
Debt Service 4%
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Equity Office Update: Building on a Culture of Belonging Shady Hill is proud of its commitment to providing a sense of belonging for all students, and affinity groups are an important resource for building communities. Affinity group spaces provide opportunities for our students to connect around shared experiences. Our newest affinity group, called Gender-Expansive Kids, welcomes students from Beginners to Grade VIII who identify as transgender, nonbinary, gender nonconforming, or a gender identity other than cisgender. In addition to our affinity group spaces, the Middle School has added a new program called Social Justice Spotlight. In pursuit of our mission to develop students who are “intellectually adventurous and wholeheartedly just,” all Middle School students this year, whether they attend an affinity gathering or not, engage in conversations and activities focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion during Social Justice Spotlight time. Aligned with the Shady Hill commitment to diversity, inclusion, equity and belonging, the School announced in May 2021 to expand and rename the Office of Inclusion and Multicultural Practice to the Equity Office. In the fall, the education consulting firm Diversity Directions virtually visited the School to help assess and focus the mission of the Equity Office as we advance our work at Shady Hill. As I finish writing this year’s State of the School, I am present to the volatility and unpredictability of the COVID-19 virus, this time with the Omicron variant. Again, we have been forced to pivot and rethink our educational program in the New Year to keep our students and employees safe. I am hopeful that we will navigate this latest challenge as we have effectively done in the past two years with great trust, support, and tenacity. I am optimistic that spring brings a sense of hope and restoration as we return to our community traditions of the Shady Hill Fair and culminating activities. We will emerge stronger as a community once again! As always, we welcome feedback from our community on this report. We will print selected letters in the upcoming Shady Hill Magazine. Please send comments to communications@shs.org.