What do financials, The Little Engine That Could and school menus all have in common? All were topics of discussion at the San Francisco Day School annual “State of the School” dinner, where over 180 parents, faculty and board members all gathered to share SFDS updates and plans for the upcoming year.
After many thanks were shared for the incredible amount of parent participation and input received last year, Mike Halper, president of the Board, shared financial reporting on SFDS and recapped our 2009 goals as well as this year’s Board priorities. Regarding our financials, all of the generous support we received from the community placed SFDS in relatively strong standing – our endowment performed very well with over 14% growth and our fundraising increased almost 5% versus last year. All in all, SFDS concluded the fiscal year with a balanced budget and revenues of over $12.5 million. In the face of our current economic environment, this was not an easy task to accomplish. With the full support of the Board, Dr. Jackson and the SFDS administration took a very active stance to thoughtfully manage the budget and make ends meet. To keep the institution on solid ground, the Board will continue to be both enthusiastic about our future goals and mindful of sound stewardship. One component that will play an important role in guiding us along that path is our Strategic Plan.
Mike reinforced the need for a Strategic Plan and why it continues to be a key focal point of the Board – to ensure we address critical needs and issues for the school. The Plan will provide us with a compass for the next 5-10 years; a living document with built-in assessments. With a wide circle of stakeholders including parents, alumni, trustees, grandparents, students, faculty and administration, the Board has made tremendous progress integrating community input into our Strategic Plan. Here’s what has happened so far:
1) Community Listening Forums: Over 250 community members were brought together to share their views on how best to move SFDS into the 21st century for a successful and rewarding educational experience
2) May Workshop: For two days in May, 80 community members collaborated to research, explore and prioritize the major themes that came out of the Listening Forums
3) June Workshop: This one-day workshop involved 55 community members who learned about the challenges and opportunities of implementing educational ideas. This group examined and re-prioritized educational ideas while considering the constraints of the school’s schedule, our facility and our budget.
Our ultimate goal is to create a financially stable model to incorporate these new ideas while continuing to support our ongoing programs. Our continued commitment to differentiated instruction, diversity and professional development remain integral to our values. The administration is currently preparing the feedback from these meetings to formalize the vision for our educational goals and priorities, which will be an essential part of the Strategic Plan.
At the conclusion of the development results and goals, Mike then introduced Dr. Jackson to discuss the blossoming educational ideas of the Strategic Plan, launching with our commitment to health and wellness. We have already put a few ideas into practice this year, such as our enriched school menu and eco-conscious compost, landfill and recycling efforts. Dr. Jackson also touched on two key points:
1) the impressive dedication of our teachers who spent over 1,300 hours in professional development this summer and 2) the ongoing development of the educational ideas that will formpart of the Strategic Plan.
Updates to these issues as well as the overall Plan will be shared with the larger community on an ongoing basis, with the goal of sharing a completed Plan early next year. It has been encouraging to see all of the collaboration, discussion, and consensus-building that our participants have committed to throughout the strategic-planning process. We offer our gratitude for the time and talents that many of you have devoted and look forward to building an even stronger San Francisco Day School for generations to come.
