DEVELOPMENT UPDATE:
The Langley Fund Provides for Critical Investments By Dr. Sarah Smith, Langley Parent & Chair-Elect of the Parent Association of The Langley School Over the last five and a half years, my husband, Dane, and I have supported The Langley Fund as a way to help the school further its mission of delivering a unique and powerful learning experience for our children. While I understood its potential benefits, I couldn’t truly appreciate its importance to the school until recently when I’ve witnessed firsthand the flexibility it afforded Langley during this extremely difficult year. When the Langley campus closed in March, Head of School Elinor Scully invited me to join the COVID-19 Health & Safety Task Force. This small working group of volunteers, faculty, and staff addressed a variety of issues with the goal of reopening our campus and mitigating the risk of exposure to COVID-19 within our community. As PALS chair-elect, I serve as the chair of The Langley Fund – an important philanthropic source of revenue for the school that fills an annual operating gap and allows Langley to invest in school priorities such as tuition assistance, professional development, and program enhancements. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, this funding source has taken on an even greater importance. In my unique role, I clearly see the impact that contributions to The Langley Fund have on the school’s ability to be resilient and make timely and critical investments in four areas.
hybrid model of learning. This included hiring an additional school nurse, creating and filling numerous faculty support positions to maintain small student cohorts, and investing in enhanced cleaning services and safety equipment, including masks, hand-sanitizing stations, and plexiglass dividers for classrooms and offices. All told, these updates resulted in an additional $900,000 expense. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT The Langley Fund always provides support for professional development which allows Langley to attract and retain talented faculty. Last year, Langley provided nearly 2,000 hours of training, an investment of $150,000 in our faculty and staff. Over the summer of 2020, professional development focused on the new skills our teachers would need to successfully transition into a hybrid model. TUITION ASSISTANCE Langley remains committed to supporting a diverse community of students, and tuition assistance allows us to remove financial barriers to attending Langley. The school awarded $1.9 million in tuition assistance in the 2020 fiscal year, making a Langley education possible for many families.
HEALTH AND SAFETY Advised by the COVID-19 Health & Safety Task Force, Langley committed to reopen the campus and enhance its
COMMUNITY I believe Langley is uniquely equipped to navigate this moment thanks to the committed faculty, talented staff, and existing infrastructure – but most of all, thanks to an incredibly generous and committed community of families.
To support The Langley Fund, donate online at
We all continue to work together to solve difficult problems and reassure each other that we will get through these challenging times. I would like to express gratitude for the work everyone is doing to meet this moment for our children. Thank you for being part of this special community!
www.langleyschool.org/support-langley or use the enclosed envelope. Thank you for your generosity!
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