to
Before I begin my official
report to the Meeting, I want to acknowledge the many contributions that Betsy
Appelbaum made to
I want to thank Newtown
Friends Meeting for its generous support of
Steve Nierenburg,
Head of School, is going to make a more detailed report on our operations
shortly, but I want to say just a few things from my perspective as Clerk of
the School Committee.
Steve, as all of
you know by now, is retiring as Head of School after this academic year, so we
are currently in the final stages of a national executive search to find his
replacement.
As I reported to the Meeting for Business in September, the
We started with a strong pool of fifty candidates,
pared it to fourteen, then to nine, and then to five semi-finalists. After each of these five candidates visited
Newtown Friends this fall and met with many school constituencies, the search
committee recently narrowed the search to two finalists.
I should add, here, that part of this process has
involved “search support committees” consisting of separate groups of Upper School
and Lower School parents, faculty, students, parents of Alumni and friends of
the school – between 50 and 60 people -who have interviewed candidates for the
school and provided important feedback to the search committee. The process has been open and inclusive – and
the students, in particular, have felt empowered by their involvement in the
interviewing process.
Here’s a brief description of the two finalist
candidates: the first is Dana Harrison
who has served as Middle School Head at
The second finalist candidate is Matt Bradley who has
served as Head of School at
Dana and his wife, Stephanie,
visited the school this past week on October 28-29, while Matt and his wife,
Melinda, will be coming this week on November 4-5. During their two packed
days, the candidates meet with faculty and staff as well as the School
Committee and engage in the everyday life of the school, including classroom
visits, a meeting for worship, a TASC meeting (TASC is the student service
group which named themselves “The Agents of Social Change”), lunch at Pennswood
Village with students and residents, and a session with parents at drop-off
time in the morning, in which each finalist gives a talk and answers questions.
Now, briefly, I
want to mention three other matters.
First,
finances. In spite of the economic
turmoil and a slightly lower enrollment than we would like this year, NFS
continues to be in solid financial condition.
This is due to prudent operating budgets, conservative investment
strategies for our endowment, and the generous support of friends, parents and
alumni – and especially this Meeting and its members.
Second, our strategic plan. As an
outcome of the retreat last fall on long term planning, we reaffirmed our core
Quaker values and formulated four areas of inquiry, which over the year were
researched and investigated by various members of the School Committee,
administration, and experienced volunteers.
Our strategic plan, adopted this year, is the product
of research in the following four areas:
Program and
Curriculum
Financial
Management
Marketing and
Branding
Volunteerism and
Fundraising
The strategic plan is a
fluid document, meant to serve as a touchstone or reminder to guide our
decision making in the coming years.
Newtown Friends School is a fine school
offering an excellent learning environment, strong academics and a strong
Quaker ethos to its students. Able
administrators and a well-qualified and caring staff and faculty ensure
adherence to the mission of the school.
The governance of the school is sound.
End quote.
Finally, I want
to officially thank Steve Nierenburg here in front of the school’s parent body
and commend him for his 24 years of service to
Mark your
calendars for May 21 when
Respectfully
Submitted,
Ann Reece, Clerk,