Greetings, GreenMount Community,
Five
years ago, we completed an exhausting process of self-evaluation in order to
become accredited as an AIMS school.
That effort was successful, of course, and this week we will be visited
by a team as part of our five-year review.
The Association of Independent Maryland and D.C. Schools is diligent in
their effort to make sure that all members of the organization meet their
standards and demonstrate sustainability and devotion to the school’s
philosophy and mission. The visit on
Thursday targets our Action Plan, which was developed during the accreditation
process. The AIMS team will interview
teachers, parents, and board members along with the administration in order to
assess our progress in meeting our goals.
We
are proud of our progress over the last five years, during which time we have
added substantially to our student enrollment, going from 78 students to 110 in
that short time span. This is an
especially notable accomplishment in light of the fact that many independent
schools in Maryland have seen significant decreases
in enrollment. Additionally, many of our
Maryland schools are suffering financially because of their efforts to fill
seats by drastically discounting tuition.
Indeed, some schools that have done this have had to close their doors
simply because they reduced their income with this practice to the point that
they could not pay their bills. At
GreenMount, we have an advantage because of our size and the fact that we carry
no debt except for the rent we pay for our buildings. We also budget a set amount for tuition
assistance each year so that we know ahead of time what we will be spending in
aid to families.
Also, this year
we are creating a new strategic plan that looks into our future and the
maintenance of our institution. This
plan will include a financial plan that will ensure the sustainability of the
school for many years to come. Those of
you who have young children at our school will be happy to know that the plan
will provide for many years of continued service to our families and their
children. It should be reassuring to
everyone that we have established ourselves so well financially. Of course, tuitions and our expenses will
rise, especially as we seek to retain the excellent teaching staff we have here
at GMS. However, with your help as a
parent co-op, we are able to mitigate many of our expenses. You are also generous in your giving to the
Annual Fund, which is necessary to cover the additional 7 percent of our
expenses not funded by tuition.
You
may have noticed that I mentioned the word, institution,
rather than organization. It is the goal
of a good organization to morph into an institution where, by our definition, a
group of people follow ideas and ideals rather than other people. For example, we begin every staff meeting
with an examination of our philosophy.
That conversation and others verify the fact that our staff is true to
GreenMount’s ideals, always looking for ways to make our craft better in order
to practice them.
To
all of our veterans who have served our country, we say “thank you for your
service.” This morning I told the
students about my dad, who landed on Omaha Beach with the 29th
Division on June 6, 1944. All the years
I knew him, he never talked about that dreadful day. I do know that he was the only survivor on
his landing craft and that by some miracle he made it across France without a
scratch. He was a very modest man and
never sought recognition for his service or the fact that he received a Bronze
Star for his actions in combat. It was
not until I was older and he was gone that I could appreciate what he endured
for his country. I hope you have a
chance to express your thanks to your heroes, especially on this solemn day.
Cheers,
Steve
