Trustee Head of School Report January 2012

Dear Trustees,

I hope this note finds you all well ! My report will be very brief although there is much to report. What I will do is list some of the events, activities etc.... I am involved in and would like to send you a more detailed report for the February meeting. See you on Tuesday, and remember anytime you have thoughts, concerns, questions, please call or send a note.
In February I would like to send you the week in the life of the Head of School, information on our last Strategic Plan and more NEASC information.

Steve

*Regularly meetings with staff and committees continue.

*The administrative staff met with Kristin Power, the Northeast Regional Representative for NAIS. She gave a one hour power point about all the tools and resources that belonging to NAIS affords us, and there are many. It was a worthwhile hour.

*Phil and I attended the Southern Vermont Independent Day School Fair on this past Saturday in Brattleboro. Phil really got this going and all the schools helped to organize and present. Our new consortium consists of Hilltop, Compass, Neighborhood, Oak Meadow, St. Michaels and TGS. I will let you know on Tuesday how it went.

*Chris and I met with Paul Harlow about his Solar Project in Westminster which is about the same size as ours is going to be. It was installed by Sovern Energy, This is the same company we are proposing to us. The report was good. The solar array is located at his farm on Route 5 in Westminster. You should drive by.

*Pauline and I are soon getting back on the road to continue our year of cultivating, stewarding and thanking our friends and supporters. This takes time but is fun and important.

*Deb and I have been meeting on the budget preparation.

*Teaching my 7th Grade American Studies class continues to be a joy.

*I have been informally observing our new teachers and newly assigned teacher, Emily Weinberg (4th Grade), Karen Blumberg (6,7,8th Life Skills) and Ken Brautigam (6th grade social studies and PSD).

* I have been meeting with Eve and Linda regarding professional development opportunities for faculty in math and science. Once we have finalized these plans I will give you the run down. We are working with Dana Hall and Synergy Learning

*The math committee continues to meet to analyze our current math program and study a potential new program and I will have a final report by February or March.

*Faculty meetings continue on Mondays and staff meetings on Fridays. Let me know if you would like to join either of these meetings.

*I urge trustees to visit and observe classes at any level. Just let me know what grade levels, subjects and when.

*I will be working with Phil next week to finalize best as possible the content of our new web site. This will be ongoing. The launch is set for next week sometime. Thanks to Ray, Mary, Tara, Pauline and Phil for all of their efforts.

*Phil and I will, in the next two weeks, be visiting three preschool/kindergarten programs in Vermont and New Hampshire to talk about our first grade program and leave materials and information.

*The NEASC Accreditation Team of Libby, Eve, Linda, Steve, and Ken have been meeting. We have surveyed staff and faculty and will be surveying parents in the next two weeks. The process has started. More information to come.

*Libby and I will be on a NEASC visiting team in Edgecomb, Maine next fall. I will be the chair of the committee and Libby a team member. We felt volunteering to do this would give us good insight into the process we will going through in April of 2013. As the chair of the visiting team I will be making a pre - visit trip to the school this spring.

Respectfully submitted,

Steve Lorenz

New Trustees at The Grammar School

The Grammar School welcomed three new trustees for the 2011-12 school year. Bill Helm, Natalie Thomson, and Julie Burns are eager to offer their expertise as new members of the board.

Bill Helm served as president of Work/Family Directions, Inc. in Boston, Massachusetts, the nation’s leading provider of corporate work-life services for 260 corporations, with more than 2.8 million employees nationwide. He also was president of Aldrich Eastman and Waltch, a real estate investment firm, and Scientific Energy Systems, Inc., and served as vice president and treasurer of Digital Equipment Corporation. He also was the director of corporate relations at Harvard Business School.

In Massachusetts Helm served on the Weston School Committee and on the Board of Directors of Families First Parenting Programs, and was a trustee and vice chair of Newton-Wellesley Hospital. He served on the Board of Selectmen in Weston, Massachusetts.

Helm is currently Chairman of the Board of the New London (NH) Hospital and a Trustee of Colby-Sawyer College. He was the 2004 recipient of the New Hampshire Hospital Association Outstanding Trustee of the Year Award, and in 2005 he and his wife Tina received the Colby-Sawyer Town Award. Tina Helm is a selectman in New London and a Trustee of Wheelock College.

Helm received his undergraduate degree from Princeton in 1963 and earned his MBA from Harvard University. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves from 1960 to 1963.

Bill and Tina Helm have resided in New London, New Hampshire since 2001. The have four daughters and seven grandchildren. Two of his granddaughters, Katy and Abby Brennan, are currently students at TGS.

Natalie Thomson was raised in the area now known as Silicon Valley, California. She studied art and photography in college, and later worked as a portrait photographer in Santa Cruz. After marrying her husband Curtis, they spent time abroad in Wales, where Curtis studied English watchmaking. Raising their children encouraged Thomson to look at options for independent schools. She enrolled the children at The Grammar School and has volunteered there in many capacities.

She is very involved in the Medieval Faire, and she does the costuming for several plays and spring musicals. Currently, Thomson is the seventh grade class parent and looks forward to teaching a photography course to upper school students this winter.

Recently Thomson returned to school to earn a degree in Holocaust & Genocide Studies at Keene State College. She lives in Walpole, NH with her husband and two children, Quinn and Gwyneth.

Julie Burns is the Founder and CEO of Room to Grow, a New York and Boston based non-profit organization dedicated to enriching the lives of babies born into poverty throughout their critical first three years of development. Prior to starting the organization in 1998, Julie worked as a psychotherapist in the child and adolescent division of the Karen Horney Clinic in New York. It was at Karen Horney where she developed the concept for Room to Grow, recognizing the profound need to help soon-to-be parents living in poverty, and provide them with the direct support and resources for their children from the very beginning.

Julie received her master’s degree in social work from New York University and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in art history from the University of Michigan. Before embarking on a career in social work, Ms. Burns worked in the Old Master Painting department at Christie’s, the auction house, in New York.

Ms. Burns lives in Walpole, NH with her husband Ken Burns, the documentary filmmaker, and their daughters, Olivia and Willa.

Founded in 1960, The Grammar School is an independent preschool through eighth grade school located in Putney, Vermont. The Grammar School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, or national origin in the administration of its admission policies, educational programs, hiring practices, or other school administered programs.

December 2011 Trustee Report

Dear Trustees,

First and foremost I wish you all a merry, happy, healthy and joyous holiday season. I look forward to our retreat on January the 5th. The agenda looks like we will have many exciting initiatives and other topics to talk about. As I look forward to the new year and the next several years in terms of the fiscal health of the school I am reminded of how important your support of the school will be.

My report this month will be specific to several key areas as information has been requested by the executive committee and education committee. I have been working as closely as possible with several of the other trustee committees. I remain committed to meet with my administrative staff once a week, although it is sometimes difficult to do this with all members of the team.

I have been asked by the Education Committee and the Executive Committee to supply information in regards to the Preschool Program, the Upper School Initiative for larger classes, Technology,the use of the Science Gift and to report on the study and assessment of our Math Program. I appreciate your interest and need to be in the know of this programming, I hope after the trustee retreat we can switch the focus to development, enrollment, buildings and grounds and of course our strategic planning.

Remember if you have any questions or concerns about this report or other matters please be in touch with me.

Preschool Program

Deb is still working on the exact statistics on a year by year basis for the program that started 18 years ago under the guidance of Nancy Callichio, Head of School and Pat Thomas, the kindergarten teacher of 18 years. Nancy Callichio stated that the program was started as a loss leader to attract students to the Grammar School and to keep them here. In Deb’s research the data shows this:

*There has been an average of 40% retention rate since 1993 of students not only going on to kindergarten but also graduating. These are students we may have never gotten if we did not have the preschool. In addition the students that begin in preschool and kindergarten embody the essence of The Grammar School culture. With the preschool moving into the lower school building, I believe the retention rate will rise. The low numbers in preschool students this year in my opinion have been an aberration due to a number of factors.

With Phil marketing the preschool program in earnest, I believe we will see a shift upward. As is the case at all grade levels, if we can get a family and students to visit we usually get them to apply and then enroll.

In terms of income, again Deb will provide a spreadsheet to the Finance Committee soon. The initial indications are that there have been very few years if any, that the preschool has lost money. Has it been a huge revenue source? Not necessarily, but has it kept students at TGS for 9 or more years. Yes ! In fact, each year we have several students who graduate as 11 year students!


Upper School Initiative

As you know this year we increased the 7th grade to 19 students in order to accept two exceptional students from Dover, VT. This resulted in several opportunities and improvements to the middle school program. These positives include but are not limited to: smaller class sizes for the seventh grade classes in several subjects ( 10 students in a class), larger blocks of instructional time (45 minute blocks increased to 55 minute blocks), fewer transitions, better use of planner time and more

I personally surveyed the middle school teachers in a group meeting, having only missed one of them, and the consensus is that the move has been positive. The theater department anticipates that there may be some struggles with a large 7th and 8th grade class during rehearsals and the intensive week and we will meet to discuss how we can work this out.

I believe that the upper school can be a signature program for us, just as our visual arts and performing arts programs and our Nordic skiing programs have become. The Upper School program continues to be our most subscribed. I will make some preliminary estimates for staffing and other expenses for the budget preparations for 2012-13. The potential for another large incoming 7th grade class exists based on current levels of interest we are seeing in the admissions office. I will keep the education committee and the full board apprised.

Technology

Alli and I have reviewed the survey tool that has been traditionally administered on a yearly basis to faculty and staff in order to determine technology needs. We will meet right after the holiday to streamline the survey, administer it and have the results ready in the near term for the education committee

Study of the Math Program

Discussions in regards to the review of our math program and faculty professional development needs in mathematics continues. The faculty has been analyzing our current math program, Everyday Math, and have been piloting and experimenting with elements of the Math in Focus program. It is important to work through this in a deliberate and thoughtful manner. A decision and a report will be forthcoming in the next two months.

Science Gift and Curriculum Maps

The $20,000 science gift has given us the opportunity to make key purchases for the K-8 science program, with most of the purchases being made for the 5-8th grades. The donor of the gift has allowed us to use a portion of the money for science professional development and training. To that end Eve, Linda and Steve have been investigating the summer institute at Dana Hall and with Wendy Brennan met with Meredith Wade of Synergy Learning and Casey Murrow of the Synergy and The Southern Vermont Learning Collaborative. The meeting was productive and Eve and Linda and the faculty will be meeting with Casey and Meredith, after the new year, to discuss revision of our curriculum and professional development opportunities focusing on the physical sciences. We will keep the education committee informed.

Respectfully Submitted,

Steve Lorenz

Dear TGS Trustees,

Our school continues to be a happy, positive, and supportive place to be for students, faculty and staff. This has been noted by many of our recent admissions visitors and by the 8th grade students I have been interviewing.  I believe the satisfaction level for our parents is also at an all time high. We continue to look for ways to improve our services to all of our customers and constituents, and I know that this continuous improvement process is appreciated by one and all.

It has been a fun and interesting month since our last meeting. I appreciate your continued work on your committees. As I say each month in this report, your time and efforts as trustees and as chairs of the various trustee committees are critical to helping advance the school. As you will see in the body of this report, there are many aspects to keeping the day to day operations of the school working and moving forward. With the help of the administrative staff and the trustees, I can continue to be visible and a part of the daily activities, while keeping an eye on the big picture items such as admissions, development, curriculum, physical plant, marketing, and more.

Please find below informational notes and highlights of the month gone by. As we look forward to the new year I am buoyed by: the positive initial response to our annual fund campaign; the various friends past and present who have been willing to meet with Pauline and me to talk about the history and future of the school; and to the flurry of activity we are experiencing  in admissions.

As usual if you have questions or concerns abut his report or anything else, I encourage you to be in touch with me.

Sincerely,

Steve Lorenz
Head of School

Parent Surveys
I continue to sort and sift through last spring’s parent survey in order to help me celebrate our successes and address individual parent concerns in the areas of programming, curriculum, communication, and more.

New Data Software
Phil, Pauline, Tammy, Mary, and Tara have spent much time being trained in and putting into place our new data software. This has been time costuming and is ongoing as the staff learns to use the system and research the many aspects of these powerful tools. The new website continues to be developed, with Phil leading a committee that has met several times.

Science Gift
Last year, as part of our annual fund campaign, we received a gift of $20,000 for the purchase of science equipment, supplies, and materials. To this end we have purchased some incredible equipment for grades 5-8. The lower grades are currently analyzing their needs in terms of equipment. The donor has also agreed to allow us to use this money for professional development in the area of science instruction and curriculum. Eve McDermott is exploring opportunities at Dana Hall for the summer, and I have invited Casey Murrow from the Southern Vermont Learning Collaborative and Meredith Wade from Synergy Learning to meet with us to explore other professional development opportunities in the area of the physical sciences. The grant will help us tremendously to further improve our science programming.

Finance Committee
Deb has begun working with the Finance Committee to establish some baselines for the 2012-2013 budget, including the setting of our tuition rates. She and I will do some research as to what our neighboring independent schools are considering for increases. The national average is currently 3%. You will be receiving a timeline of the budget process soon. As Deb has noted, developing a new Financial Strategic Plan to dovetail with a Master Plan for Buildings and Grounds and a new School wide Strategic Plan will be necessary to successfully support new funding needs

Faculty Professional Development Meetings
Eve and I have met with each of the faculty members to discuss their “professional development goals” and needs for the year. This was a time consuming but valuable exercise which I believe is appreciated by our faculty and important in stressing the value of personal professional improvement plans.

Admissions Work
We hosted a very successful Open House with the Annies. Our Prek-3rd grade teachers, specialists, ans I were in attendance. it was a well attended and successful day with several prospective families expressing earnest interest.

We also attended the Westminster Middle School Information Evening. I brought four current students in the 7th and 8th grades, and we were able to talk with three families who are very serious about visiting TGS in the near future. Next up will be the Dover Elementary Middle School Information Evening on December 8. Phil and I are also hoping to get out for visits to The Orchard School and Saxtons River Montessori to sprinkle some seeds for first graders for the 2012-2013 school year.


Meetings with Other Heads of Schools
The Heads of Schools of area independent day schools and our admissions people continue to meet once a month. This month we met at The Compass School and were treated to a tour, lunch, and meaningful dialogue. The plans and preparations for a Southern Vermont Independent Day Schools Fair, which will be held on Saturday, January 21 in Brattleboro, are almost complete. More information to come.


Meetings and Interviews with 8th Grade Students
In preparation for writing letters of recommendation and filling out forms for our 8th graders who are applying for independent secondary schools, I have met with and interviewed 13 of our 8th graders. I have a list of 10-12 questions that I ask to better inform myself about them. The questions vary from: what do you do for activities not during school time, and what have been your favorite core academic and specials subjects; to: what do you excel in, and use three words to describe yourself as a learner/student. The questions continue, and the last two are for my personal use: what worked really well for you here at TGS (what did you like about the school), and what areas do you think we need to strengthen?

I will share my summary of these last two questions at a future meeting and will be sharing with staff and faculty as well.

The middle school team of teachers writes and fills out, between all of us, over 150 recommendation forms and letters for our students to support their applications to secondary schools. I will prepare a list of the schools they are applying to this year for our next meeting.

Foreign Language Night
A total success: interesting, informative, entertaining, educational, and fun. Kudos to Johanna Gardner and Susan Madrigan.


Student Leadership Council
My time working with the Student Leadership Council has been great. The group expanded from 8 to 19 students  bringing with it some management and organizational challenges. We will be breaking into small task forces (committees) to achieve our many goals. Ken Brautigam has agreed to be my co-facilitator. Of the 20 identified goals, we will tackle four to begin with: Community Service Projects, Planning a School Dance (Fundraiser), Creating a Cancer Awareness Week, Offering Healthy Snack Choices, and perhaps a Healthy Lunch Choice. There is also talk of planning a skating and sledding party.

7th Grade American Studies Classes
This class is going very well and I look forward to each class. We recently had Ken Burns in to talk about history, the constitution, amendments to the constitution, and his film work. The class continues to stay abreast of current events using the New York Times Magazine: Upfront.

Teacher Inservice Day November 28
Teachers and staff will spend the first half of the morning beginning with NEASC self study and reaccreditation work. A survey will be introduced that will be used for staff, faculty, trustees, and parents. The second half of the morning will be looking at areas we identified that need improvement  in programing, curriculum, and more. The afternoon session will be for the beginning of report card writing.

Putney Student Corps
Heads of Schools and/or their representatives have been meeting to form a Putney Student Corps that brings together all the schools in Putney to serve the community in meaningful and important ways. Student representatives from all the schools have been meeting as well. Directors of various community organizations have been helping with our goal setting. The Heads of Schools have agreed to the job description and funding of a paid coordinator's position to identify community needs, write grants, and organize and mobilize work forces, both big and small. Three of our student council members have been attending meetings.

School Visits and My Own Professional Development
It still remains on my radar to begin visiting other schools and attending conferences for professional development. My goal in the near term is to visit Shady Hill School and The Bement School  and to hopefully attend the CASE Conference in New York with Pauline, Mary, and perhaps Phil.

Head of School Report October 26, 2011

Dear Trustees,

Here we are seven weeks into the school year. It has been an exciting and fast paced beginning to the year as noted by our administrative staff reports. Operating our school, using the models of “continuous process improvement,” “community of purpose,” and “action research,” we strive to work to be better at what we do while involving the various stakeholders of our community.

*This month we have worked to improve the way we do business on several fronts. As noted in Phil and Pauline’s reports they have been busy preparing and training to implement new systems that will improve our productivity and efficiency in several departments and on several fronts.

*The faculty continues to strive to better serve, communicate with and educate our parent body. They continue to use various means of communication to keep parents informed. This year we changed our “Curriculum Night” to an “Information Night.”

*The lower school teachers used this evening to “talk math”..The upper school teachers used the evening to convey a variety of curricula, schedule and programmatic information to parents. The percentage of parents who attend these evenings is about 50%. I think we need to survey our parent population in terms of their interest in these evenings and what they would like to hear about on these nights.*We are experimenting with a different way to conduct 6,7, and 8th grade conferences by offering and suggesting that parents meet with the core academic middle school team of three or more teachers as well as offering individual meetings with special subject teachers. The model used to be parents meeting with just the homeroom teacher. To achieve this, the lower school teachers and specialists created a unique schedule that allowed younger students and older students to spend time together during the school day, thus allowing the upper school teachers to have an extra day to do conferences.

*As you may or may not know we are also experimenting this year with increasing the size of the 7th and 8th grade student population and I will make a mid year report in terms of the success and effects of this experiment. This report will include the input of our seventh grade students and parents. This spring Phil and I will make a projection of the number of incoming seventh grade students. We will be attending at least two middle school fairs this fall and also putting on a fair in Brattleboro mentioned below.

*I continue to meet with the Heads of Schools from area independent schools and this month we met at TGS. Phil led us on a tour of our school and then we met to discuss an independent school fair in Brattleboro this winter and forming an independent day school consortium. Our first meeting was last spring at The Neighborhood School House. The original group consisted of Heads of School from Neighborhood, The Compass School, Hilltop Montessori and TGS. We expanded the group to include Saint Michaels in Brattleboro and will be inviting The Green Valley Waldorf School in Putney and Westminster and the Oak Meadow School, a home schooling resource, not actually a school in itself.

*The Putney area Principals and Heads of Schools have been meeting with Paul LaVasseur, representing Transition Putney, to discuss and develop more concrete plans to provide authentic community service and leadership opportunities for our students. I will report on this again.

*I met with the Principal of Putney Central Elementary School, Herve Pelletier (a current parent of a 7th grader at TGS). I had a tour of the school and the grounds, met some staff, talked about sharing resources etc.... . It was a great visit and resulted in my bringing over our student council to meet with their student council and advisors. Their student council will in turn be visiting with us.

*Pauline, Phil and I are getting out and about to meet with donors, radio stations, friends of TGS, past Heads of School and trustees. It is my intention as well, to do 2 to 4 school visits with a variety of staff, faculty and trustees during the school year. These have always proven to be very worthwhile.

*Teaching American Studies has been fun and very satisfying. As I have said on a few occasions I am ready to quit my day job and go back into teaching. Then progress report time arrived and I was reminded of the time and effort required of teachers to report out to students and parents and the importance of doing so in a quality manner. So being back in the classroom is helping me to remember the many facets of teaching.

*Libby Cowan, Eve McDermott and I attended a New England Association of Schools and Colleges workshop to help us prepare for our ten year reaccreditation and self-study. This is a huge undertaking and will take the time and efforts of staff, faculty and trustees. Eve, Linda, Libby and I will begin meeting with faculty and staff in the next two months to begin the process of looking at the 12-14 standards, forming committees etc... . Jim Mooney former Head of Vermont Academy and now employed by NEASC will support us. This is an 18 month process culminating in the spring of 2013. I will keep you informed.

*Finally, I was able to attend, with some of our staff and faculty, the “Celebration of Life” for Edmund Brelsford. It was an amazing service that lasted for almost three hours. He was an amazing individual who touched so many people. As some of you know he had his 5 children and 6 grandchildren attend TGS, , and was a trustee and much more to the TGS community. We dedicated the Medieval Faire to him and will be dedicating our next Roots and Wings publication to him as well.

Thank you for all you do, in support of TGS. I look forward to working with our new trustees and welcome Bill Helm, Natalie Thomson and Julie Burns to the board. This is an exciting time to be a part of the TGS community. I look forward to working with all of you as we advance the school on so many fronts. As usual, if you have any comments or questions about this report or anything to do with TGS feel free to be in contact with me.

Respectfully Submitted,

Steve Lorenz
Head of School

Dear Readers of the Head of School Page,

This is year two of my HOS Page. Last year I found it challenging to keep it up, but have vowed to do a better job this year. My page will include each of my monthly reports to the trustees. These reports will contain a variety of information that relates to the various aspects of doing business at The Grammar School from the perspective of the Head of School. I think you will find some interesting bits of information in these reports.

Periodically, I will add notes and thoughts from my writings in the Wednesday Notice and our semi annual publication Roots and Wings. If there are certain items you would like me to address here on my HOS page or in The Wednesday Notice, please send me a message to slorenz@thegrammarschool.org.

Sincerely,

Steve Lorenz

September 2011 Head of School Report

 Dear Trustees,
I hope this note finds you all healthy and enjoying the last remnants of the summer. I think you will find, by reading the Administrative Reports, that we are off to a very good start here at TGS. We have been saddened by the passing of Edmund Brelsford, a former parent, current grandparent, trustee, and a true friend and fan of The Grammar School. There is a brief piece about him in the Wednesday Notice and our next issue of Roots and Wings will be dedicated to his memory and honor his commitment to TGS. If you are not on our Wednesday Notice mail list please let me know.

There are many meetings, moments, events, and important encounters I could report on. However, most of my work over the last month can be reflected in the other Administrative Reports and your Trustee Committee Reports, as I venture to be both participatory and supportive of the TGS team. Day to day interactions with students and parents, after school meetings, visiting, and meeting with faculty and staff fill my days and are important to the well being of the school. 

I believe that the courses of action that Ray and the Executive Committee are setting in terms of long term planning for the physical plant and the financing of our institution over the next five years are critical and important.

The current strategic plan (which sunsets in the 2012-2013 school year), is calling out for a redirecting of our signposts and goals. Most of the faculty related goals are accomplished, leaving some of the staff/trustee goals remaining. These will be addressed in the Building and Grounds and Finance plans that you will be helping to develop and set in motion. This work will dovetail with our ten year NEASC Self Study and Reaccreditation, and set the stage for our next five year TGS Strategic Plan.

As I look at the various administrative reports, I must applaud Deb and Tara for their vigilance and once again managing to end the year with a surplus. I thank Chris Harlow for his one man Director of Physical Plant and Transportation “show," and for substitute bus driving for Tammy the last three weeks as she recovers from a medical condition. I appreciate Mary Heller Osgood for her willingness to wear many hats, her keeping TGS in the news and her dedication to the school.

I would like to once again welcome Pauline O’Brien and Phil Blood. As you can see by their reports they have recognized the work that needs to be done and have jumped right in. Looking at Pauline and Phil’s reports, there is no doubt that these are the two departments/offices, that you as the trustees (individually and in committee), and I as the Head of School, must support with as much of our energy and time as possible.

We, you and I, must once again hit our fundraising goals and prepare for the next capital campaign by cultivating and stewarding a new donor base. We must also turn the tide on what appears to be a shrinking enrollment and population base in southern Vermont and southern New Hampshire, by marketing (at all turns and using every means possible) what we all know to be a quality educational product delivered by The Grammar School faculty on a daily basis.

Based on our 2011parent survey, and the feedback Phil and I are receiving from our new parents and students, I would say we are very well positioned to advance The Grammar School in a positive manner on all fronts. We must, as our mission statement indicates, work in a conscious partnership of parents, students, and teachers to integrate high expectations for achievement, creativity, self-discipline, and social responsibility. We must help to insure that we cultivate in each student a lifelong enthusiasm for learning and a desire to contribute constructively to society and that our program provides students with an excellent academic, artistic, athletic and ethical foundation.

We will fulfill our mission by securing the school financially, by hiring the best staff and faculty available, and by enrolling students who embody the core values of the school. The future of the Grammar School is in our hands and I am confident that we will collectively set a course that will guarantee another 50 years of success.

 Steve Lorenz, Head of School

August 2011

Head of School Report

Dear Trustees,

The countdown is on already. As one of our students informed me yesterday, there are 18 days left to the start of school! Crazy! I hope this note finds you all in good health and having had an enjoyable and relaxing summer. My wife and I were able to take two one week stints to get away, which were enjoyable.

Much of my time this summer was spent being available and visible during summer camps, helping to transition Phil and Pauline, meeting with staff and faculty, touching base with the executive committee of the trustees, and planning for the upcoming school year!

Phil and Pauline have worked hard to make the transition a smooth one. I have met with them many times over the summer. Please note my plans to continue supporting them in my HOS goals for the coming school year, which are below.

My report for August will focus on three areas: new technology/software solutions that will make our administrative staff more productive and the school run more efficiently; my Head of School goals for the 2011-2012 school year; and the schedule of the summer faculty/staff inservice days.

Respectfully submitted,

Steve Lorenz, Head of School

inResonance and New School Yard-Our New Partners in Advancing TGS

In an effort to continue to advance the school and position us strongly for the next 5, 10, 50 years we have made three “capacity building” commitments/decisions that I believe will greatly enhance our position in the areas of efficient administrative and customer service operations in the main office, the development office, and the admissions office.

In concert with the executive committee and the administrative team, we researched and then decided to make a commitment to empowering our professional administrators with 21st century simple but powerful tools that will help us to accomplish our mission by harnessing the appropriate technology. With this decision, The Grammar School will be investing in two software programs and a new website. 

Sandbox is a software program that will allow us to: manage student, family and personnel data; to track admissions, enrollment/re-enrollment, daily attendance, emergency contacts, financial aid applicants, required forms; and to produce merged letters, class lists,the school directory, reports and lists, mailing labels, and name tags. In addition, the Sandbox program will provide web services that include but are not limited to: online attendance, online family directory, family information updating, and teacher pages.

The Generations program will provide the Development Office with the tools to: manage gifts, funds, campaigns, prospects, pledge payments, multiple addresses, correspondence, attributes; to track pledges, cash gifts, matching gifts, stock gifts, gifts in kind, soft credits, contacts; and to produce integrated reports, letters and labels.

Our contract with inResonance provides for 5 days of on site training and data integration and conversion as well as continued support. Training and conversion for the Sandbox program will occur in October and the Generations program in November.

**The cost of this program will come from the money allocated to the Capital Expenditure Budget (PPRRSM) over the course of two fiscal years and via fundraising.

Finally, with Phil Blood’s guidance and research, we have purchased the services of New School Yard, who will recreate our website and web services for both our external and internal customers (parent, staff, faculty, trustees). This will occur over the course of 12-15 weeks and be completed by the end of the first semester.The funds for this will come from the admissions and marketing budget, with a small amount from developmen,t and will be paid over two fiscal years.

The Head of School Goals for 2011-2012

Please find below my proposed goals for the 2011-2012 school year.

I would expect the trustees to respond to my proposed goals and add or delete from them  

as appropriate and in concert with the HOS.

Support the transition, education and work of the new DOD and DOA.
*This has begun and will continue for the year. As per Pauline and Phil’s report, I will work closely and in concert with them in regards to advancement and enrollment. This year I will:

 *Spend time, with the help of the DOD, cultivating and stewarding prospective, major donors for either the annual fund or a capital campaign. 

 *Assisting the DOD to form a development committee.

*Assist the DOA in fully enrolling the school and in developing a marketing plan and forming a marketing committee.

 *Assessment/measurement of my success will be the meeting of all fundraising and enrollment goals. 

Support the NEASC reaccreditation committee as we begin the process for a spring 2013 deadline.

*This will be accomplished by meeting with the committee and our regional representative, attending a training session(s), forming self study committees, informing and communicating to the TGS community about the process.
*Assessment/measurement of this goal will be our readiness to proceed with the self study and visiting team for the 2012/ 2013             School Year.

Support and help to transition  of  our new 4th grade teacher and new 6-8th grade social skills teacher.

 * Informally visit and check in with Emily on a weekly basis with 2-3 formal observations during the school year. Assign her a faculty mentor (Linda or Eve) to help with teacher related items.

Observe and evaluate all faculty who are in new teaching positions this year and other faculty who are part time.

*This will include informal visits and formal observations/evaluations. Those on             schedule for this year will be: Emily Weinberg, Karen Blumberg, Ken Brautigam, Chris Harlow, Jared Stolper, Carol Cutts, and any other part time teachers we might add.

Work with Eve and Linda to develop and pilot a Peer Coaching model for the 2011-2012. 

*This year we will pilot the program with the Preschool-2nd grade teachers school year. Measurement of success will be via self evaluations among the participants and evaluation by Eve McDermott.

Attend least two professional development conferences and visit 2 or three peer schools.

*I will attend these with varied administrative staff, faculty and trustees.

*Assessment and measurement will be simply by attending and reporting out.

New Parent Orientation Schedule

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

                                                        A G E N D A

8:45                             Parents and Students arrive

9:00                             Welcome by Steve

                                    Message from Board of Directors

9:10                             Overview by Steve about

1)  Communications with parents  and, 

                                    2)  What to expect at TGS in the Fall

                                                All School Potluck (9/l6)

                                                Medieval Faire (10/15)

                                                Annual Fund Appeal (October)

9:15                             Self introductions by staff with brief explanation of TGS role,

                                    years at TGS, affiliation with TGS as an alum/parent, etc.

                                    (please keep remarks under 2 minutes)

                                                Phil – Admission, Financial Aid, Marketing

                                                Chris – Bus Service

                                                Tammy – Front Office

                                                Deb – Business Office, et.al.

                                                Tara – Tuition

                                                Pauline – Development

                                                Mary - Alumni and Communications

                                                Ponnie – Library

                                                Alli  – Music

                                                William  - Art                       

                                                Joanna - French

                                                Susan – Spanish

9:35                             Steve leaves to meet with new students outside front office

9:35                             Self-introductions by parents

9:50                             Steve returns with students/faculty 

                                    Q&A Session

10:00                           Wrap-Up/Parents leave for Teacher Conferences

                                    Childcare provided!

10-12                           Teacher Conferences

Cubby Room Bathroom Renovations and Other Accessibility Projects

Four major gifts/donations from four TGS familes and family foundations, totalling $29,000, have allowed us to begin and complete by August 31 three very specific projects. First, the renovation of the two cubby room bathrooms so that they are truly accessible: the Building and Grounds Committee worked on and approved the final design of these two spaces and the student council voted to have this as part of our first phase of accessibility work. Secondly, this combined with the planned replacing of the side cubby room door and the ramp that was installed this past school year, makes this area/ level of our building truly accessible. 

This area was chosen because of its frequent use during and after school and because it is the site of the future main elevator. Finally, this summer the back door(s) of the auditorium will be replaced along with the outdoor platform and landing, so that entire upper floor will be accessible by all three entrances. All of this work is being completed or has been by Vermont contractors and will range in cost from $23,000-$26,000. 

Next steps will include a site visit by Vermont Access Board, a new plan to fundraise additional monies, and the re-formation of the accessibility committee. That said, I apologize for the length of time it took for me to create and send this update and report to you. I will continue to keep you informed of our progress and would appreciate your continued support of our work. 

The Grammar School Trustee Building and Grounds Committee plans on including the accessibility initiative in our new Master Plan for Building and Grounds, our Master Financial Plan, and to include any remaining/needed accessibility funds in our next capital campaign project.

That said, I am hoping to reinvigorate the “accessibility sub - committee” of the Building and Grounds Committee to keep this important work in the forefront and in minds of The Grammar School community. I am personally committed to providing “accessibility for all at TGS," whether it be for students, parents, grandparents, visitors, etc. To quote the president of the United States on the 20th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, “accessibility is about life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.... to advance opportunity and prosperity for all of our people."

Other Physical Plant  Summer Projects

One office and one classroom have been painted. The Upper School Common Area will receive a new carpet and a dividing wall creating a room for small group and tutoring instruction. Drainage work was completed in front of the original lower school building to keep water from infiltrating the 3 and 4th grade rooms. There has been some outside painting and many smaller cleaning and repair projects.

Photovoltaic Solar Panels

As you may or may not remember, the student council, with input from Chris Harlow and the Sovern Solar Energy Company, put forth a proposal for Photovoltaic Solar Panels to provide for a majority, if not all, of our electricity needs. The project has been embraced by the trustees and the building and grounds committee. There are significant cost savings and environmental impact positives that come with the project. The proposed site is the upper field near the school garden.

The next steps include further planning and then finding several investors for the project. The return to an investors investment will be substantial. Between investors and Federal Tax Credits, the project would cost TGS very little investment. Our return will obviously be many dollars in cost savings and an investment in the health of our planet. Realistically this will not occur until next summer.

TGS 2011Parent Survey

This year’s parent surveys indicated a very high level of satisfaction with most of what we do here at TGS. There is always room for improvement; however, take a moment to pat yourself on the back for a job very well done. I will share the tabulated results of the survey and the summary with you electronically and will meet with individual teachers and staff members to share specific comments relative to their work.

Welcome to our New Colleagues

Once again welcome to our new colleagues: Emily Weinberg (fourth grade), Karen Blumberg (6,7,8th Social Skills), Phil Blood (Director of Admissions), Pauline O’Brien(Director of Development), and Jessica Sardinas(Preschool Assistant).

Social Skills Preschool-5th Grade

This coming school year classroom teachers in grades preschool-5th will be conducting their own socials skills programs. Chris Danforth will not be joining us.

NEASC Accreditation 

Libby McCawley will be chairing our committee and  leading us toward a year of self study in  2012 and a visit by the reaccreditation team in 2013. She will keep us informed.

Administrative Staff Summer Work 

As is the case each summer, the TGS administrative staff have put in a significant number of hours this summer managing the operations of the school. I would like to thank each of them for their time and efforts this summer on behalf of TGS.

Faculty and Staff Inservice Days-August 29 and 30th. 

These days are important and their content quite varied. Please find below this summer’s inservice days' agenda, which is self explanatory. Linda, Eve and I met several times over the course of the summer to prepare for these days. Please feel free to ask questions.

PLANS FOR AUGUST 29, 30 2011  IN-SERVICE:

                        Where:  in auditorium!

*MORNING OF MONDAY, AUGUST 29:

8:30-9:00 FOOD/SOCIAL TIME

9:00-10:00  SARA DUNBAR: Review first-aid protocol, procedures, forms, etc.

BREAK

10:15- 11:15 Work on writing portfolios led by Eve: Teachers of writing, please bring writing portfolios of incoming students for a productive session of writing sample evaluation. Other teachers will check in with Steve during this time

11:15-12:00

Review first week schedule (e.g. Welcome Back at Wednesday ASM, etc.)

“Usual Business”:

sign up for: hosting faculty meetings, Buddy Activities leadership, Putney Food Shelf (Linda)

Recess/ Bus duty schedule-(Linda, Kathy)

Cubbies assignments/labels

All School Meeting: (Tracy will lead this.)

Welcome Back bulletin board  (William will lead this.)

Workjob assignments (Ponnie)

Rules and Student council (Steve)

Sign up for afternoon SHORT meeting with Steve/Eve on professional development plans

ALL, PLEASE BRING HARD COPY OF YOUR CURRICULUM GUIDE FOR READING ON 8/30/11!

*MORNING OF TUESDAY, AUGUST 30:

8:30-9:15 STAFF time with faculty, introduction of new folks

9:15 –10:00 Proofread curriculum guides, share changes in your upcoming curriculum

10:00-10:15 BREAK AND GET TO LIBRARY!

10:15-11:00 IN LIBRARY:  Global Theme Plans, time to relook at available materials and to establish teaching partnerships and activity/project plans

11: 00 – 12:30 SPLIT GROUPS:

*Teachers of grades pre-k thru 5 AND teachers of specials:

Generate year-long calendar (following upper school calendar model)

Parent Information Night/Math night plans (specials teachers’ roles)

Plans for October 19 whole school activities

*Teachers of grades 6,7,8: Individual students discussions & Information Night

*AFTERNOON FOR BOTH DAYS:

Room prep, chance to meet and plan with peers, etc.

 Steve & Eve meet with individual teachers for self-evaluation/professional development plans

Respectfully Submitted,

Steve Lorenz

Head of School