The Board of Directors: 2024/25 Priorities
As you read in the last issue of The Wellspring, the Board of Directors is one realm of the three-fold governance structure of a Waldorf school. The Board is responsible for strategic planning, budget oversight, and critical leadership. We take seriously the Waldorf commitment to collaboration and shared responsibility. We are also committed to transparency, and so it’s with that in mind that we’d like to share some insight about our current priorities as a Board.
Our board regularly discusses ordinary business, like enrollment numbers, fundraising, and snow days, but we also seek to guide the school by identifying or acting on opportunities to grow our programs and our community. As Board members, we are also members of this school community, and we are eager to see it thrive! It has been through listening to our faculty, our parents, and our students that we have identified some key priorities, and through careful thought and conversation, we are making strides towards addressing these priorities. We’d like to share a little about them:
Living Wage: in 2022/2023, our Board enacted a bold 5 year plan to increase wages and enhance benefits for our Lead Teachers. While we truly are a community with so many essential contributors, we acknowledge our Lead Teachers play a vital role in educating our students. They hold and guide our students every day of the school year, they foster relationships with our parents, and they serve other vital roles in our school community. As we grow, we are focused on hiring and retaining outstanding educators. For a small school, this is no easy task. This requires a significant financial investment. Now three years into our 5 year plan, we have made considerable strides toward offering competitive wages to our Lead Teachers, and we are on track to accomplish this plan by 2026/2027.
Specialty Growth: in Waldorf education, the arts play a crucial role in nurturing creativity, fostering emotional expression, and supporting the holistic development of our students. Our students step out of their main lessons throughout the week to engage in learning with our Specialty Teachers. Our specialty programs at COFS are Foreign Language, Handwork, Movement, and Music. These programs are currently embedded in our educational rhythm throughout each week, so our students are enriched by learning another language, using their hands to create, moving their bodies, and creating music with a variety of instruments. Similar to our Living Wage, we are evaluating a similar multi-year plan to recognize our Specialty Teachers. We are continually evaluating how our Speciality Programs might grow along with our school.
Playground Enhancement: we all likely have our own special playground memories from our childhood, and we watch as our students make their own memories on the playground at COFS. Play holds a special place in Waldorf education, and because of that, we are eager to create a space that promotes holistic development through open-ended play and interaction with nature. As we gather input, and as we collaborate with our landlord, Keystone United Methodist, we are seeking to create a space that supports child development and also nourishes all of the senses. It’s through movement, balance, and touch that children experience the world and develop physically, mentally, and emotionally. This is a very important project for our community, and we see this as a collaborative effort where we’ll be seeking lots of support, ideas, and input. We would love to have your feedback! Please click here to participate in our poll.
While these are our current priorities, and effectively accomplishing these will take both time and commitment, we welcome input from our school community. If you would like to share your thoughts or feedback, feel free to connect with the Parent Association or directly with any one of the Board members.
