Ru d o lf S t e i n e r S c h o o l
BU L L E T I N
May/June 2010
Board Update By: Mark Reed, Board Chair
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
Parent Council
Pg. 2
Messages from Early Childhood
Pg. 3
School as a Journey: Upper School
Pgs. 4-5
Beyond the Classroom
Pgs. 6-7
Parent Corner
Pgs. 8-9
In the Kitchen
Pgs. 10-11
In Development
Pgs. 14-15
Committees Work
Pgs. 16-17
Important Dates • Spring Instrumental Ceremony 5/13 • Spring Benefit 5/20 • End-of-Year Book Sale 5/25-6/4 • Last Day of EC 6/3 • Graduation 6/5 • 8th Grade Moving up Ceremony 6/9 • Last Day of School 6/9 • June Days 6/10-6/18 (1st Session) 6/216/25 (2nd Session)
The Board of Trustees is entering the last weeks of the school year with a full plate of tasks related to preparing for summer and planning for next year's Board work. To take my mind off those topics for a moment, let me summarize the work we have done up to this point.
This year the Board served under recently revised Bylaws which have reduced the mandatory role played by the College of Teachers on the Board of Trustees. Though seven members of the College sat on the Board this year, all Trustees acknowledged a gradual differentiation between the two bodFinancial matters have always ies. We continue to explore been a concern of the our new roles and the interBoard's. Since the fall of play between them. In the 2008, we have steadily dedicoming year I predict that cated more time than usual to the Board and College will balancing the budget, scrutiwork together to craft a map nizing our enrollment health, of our ongoing cooperaand assessing our fundraising tion. Our School embraces a strategy. To the latter point, governance model in which many of you have heard of or teachers play a more active come into contact with mem- role than in traditional edubers of Changing Our World, cational institutions. We a consulting firm specializing have access to the governin fundraising. Last year, the ance "maps" of other WalBoard chose to reduce staff in dorf schools, which demonthe Development Department strate a broad range of pracfor financial reasons, but intice. We have much to vested in a research and aslearn. Internally, the Board sessment process when we spent considerable time orhired Changing Our World in ganizing itself by creating the fall of this school new committee charters and year. Their contributions formalizing a new Commithave been significant, and will tee on Trustees, which will result in future changes. I am nominate and evaluate trushappy to say that our enrolltees for review by the ment and fiscal performance Board. remain stable, though we constantly pursue ways to imFinally, there is the question prove both. We all should be of strategy. Trustees are proud of the School's increase obligated to consider the in tuition assistance during long-term viability and the year, which countered health of the School. To this many families' economic end, we encouraged the purhardship. suit of a third building,
which we felt would address many of our long-term impediments. We have heard from a wide range of community members. Though we felt that the opportunity was right, the collective will for this acquisition was not clear. Our long-term impediments remain, but so do many undeveloped capacities. The pursuit of a new building has opened a conversation that would have remained a murmur without a tangible action to consider. In closing, my feelings about our experience with the new building echo my thoughts of the Board's work this year: strain, uncertainty, and opportunity were necessary for us to begin imagining the future. This process of imagining will continue, with refinements. As it does, our next steps as a school will reveal themselves and lead us on a new path.