A Legacy of Learning

DEVELOPMENT UPDATE:

Pictured L to R: New campaign co-chairs, Lara Ramsey ’87 (and her family) and Alistair Miller (and his family)

By Zac Merriman, Board Chair and Co-Chair of Langley’s Next Generation Campaign

For nearly 80 years, Langley has brought together families through shared values around the education of their children.

From the very first day that my son, Drew, set foot on Langley’s campus, he has been excited to go to school. Alex joined his big brother at Langley two years later, and he, too, joyfully flies out of the house on school days. Over the past eight years, Langley’s supportive community has embraced us and ultimately become an extension of our family.

While I greatly appreciate the connection we have with fellow parents, I also recognize the role we all play in the history of the school. Since its inception in 1942, families have come together to purchase land, construct buildings, and establish endowed funds to address the priorities of the school.

My children have benefited from the investments current and past parents have made in Langley’s physical facilities and faculty professional development. These investments have enabled the school’s administration, faculty, and staff to create the academic and social-emotional learning programs that distinguish Langley today.

In 2018, when Head of School Elinor Scully approached me to co-lead the Next Generation Campaign to construct a multipurpose building and grow our endowment, I was honored to participate in Langley’s philanthropic tradition. The Primary School is the oldest building at Langley, and our students and teachers deserve modern learning spaces that reflect the amazing things happening in this age group. The transformation my older son made during fifth grade was a capstone experience. I can only imagine what that experience will be like for future fifth-graders in a state-ofthe-art, multipurpose facility that fully supports Langley’s learning philosophy.

Likewise, Langley’s small endowment does not reflect the quality of its teachers and the experience each student

WHY WE GAVE TO THE CAMPAIGN...

“Each year at Langley, we have marveled at how the faculty manages to tailor their teaching perfectly to each of our children's very different needs and gifts. Our teachers are special; their expertise, creativity, passion, and joy are transformative for kids, and we wanted to do whatever we could to promote the development of great teaching. Knowing that the Next Generation Campaign would increase the endowment, as well as create state-of-the-art classrooms, we felt like our contribution would have exactly the impact we wanted.” -Lara ’87 and Kristin Ramsey

“We support the campaign because we want to ensure future families have access to the kind of teachers and facilities that drew us to Langley.” -Alistair and Allie Miller

and parent enjoys. Growing the endowment will enable us to increase our support for financial aid for families and salaries for our incredible teachers.

This year we reached the halfway point of our fundraising effort – a $20 million campaign to add the Crossroads Building to our campus and double the size of our endowment.

Over the two years that I have served as campaign co-chair, along with my dedicated partner, Karen Frana, I have had the opportunity to speak with dozens of families who, like me, are committed to ensuring Langley’s future as the region’s premier school for preschool through eighth grade education. Among these families, we have found the next leaders for the campaign, Alistair Miller and Lara Ramsey ’87, who will lead the second half of our effort.

Thank you to everyone who has already participated in the campaign. I encourage each of you to get involved, support Alistair and Lara, and join the countless families who came before us in advancing the mission and vision of Langley for generations to come.

WHY WE’RE EXCITED TO BECOME CO-CHAIRS...

“Among many lessons, 2020 has highlighted two things for me. First, our teachers are relentless in their effort to comfort, challenge, and lift up our children, and they've done it while reimagining and reconfiguring everything. Second, the layout of our campus and the ability to use our physical space in a thoughtful and intentional way is critical to the learning environment. I can't think of a better time to invest in those two most essential assets. I am honored to serve with Alistair as the new co-chair of the Next Generation Campaign. I look forward to an exciting road ahead.” -Lara Ramsey ’87

“I'm excited to help lead the effort because it provides a chance to meet and engage with the whole Langley community in something we all care deeply about. The second half of the campaign is especially important in continuing the great work already done and closing on our goal in advancing our faculty, campus, and leadership.” -Alistair Miller