December 2010
Dear Friends,
We have expanded into the first floor of the Church from which we rent, and now the warm sounds of students and teachers engaged in teaching and learning float up and down the stairs each morning. Since our last appeal, our school has grown in other ways, too, thanks to the support of our generous community. Between last spring and this fall we increased our enrollment from 26 to 32, we hired a new Spanish teacher, and we added part-time teachers in life science, math, literature, art, and music. We also bought a new (used) van and tables and chairs for our classrooms.
We recently hosted 9 visitors from the Munich-Schwabing Waldorf School, and, while they were here, we had more than 45 persons present for our morning meeting each day—we had to move the meeting from the “Big Room” to the church sanctuary downstairs. Those of you who know our building will appreciate this change. The school is fuller than it has ever been, and it feels more alive and more vibrant than it has since we started with our thirteen pioneers nine years ago. For us, quantitative growth and qualitative growth go hand-in-hand, and, for now, bigger is better. More students mean more social interaction and more course offerings, and the increase in tuition revenue does its part to support growth and change at our school.
We grow closer each year to our aim—to create an excellent, small, sustainable, community-oriented and community-integrated Waldorf school in the Berkshires, one that students value and want to attend. But more and better teachers and programs and facilities mean larger expenses, too. We cover 80% of our costs through tuition, but, like almost all independent schools, rely on the generosity of those, like you, who value what we do. We accept gifts gratefully and put them to work efficiently to support education for adolescents and Waldorf high school education in the Berkshires. Please contribute as generously as you can. Thank you!
To donate online, quickly and safely, use the Google “Donate button” just to the right of this letter.
Sincerely,
Stephen Sagarin, PhD
Faculty Chair
Mary Louise Bedard
Board Chair