for your - Meadowridge School

institution it is to be. We already had a clear plan of where we wanted to go
but the plan had never been properly funded, and could not be executed
without this funding. It was recognized that it is the Board of Governors
responsibility to ensure adequate financial resources to allow Administration
to implement the Strategic Plan as instructed.
The Board decided that the school should stay the course, and become an IB
continuum university preparatory school, providing quality programmes at a
reasonable cost, compared to similar schools.
We determined that the value of our programmes, culture and nature of our
school continue to be excellent. By all measures the school produces much
better than average results at comparatively lower than average costs. It was
recognized that Meadowridge needs to be the most effective school for our
teachers to function in. High quality teaching is central to the outcomes of our
students, and we need to ensure that teacher development is outstanding,
and that teacher retention remains high. To support this we need to fully
develop our facilities for curriculum excellence.
Armed with the set of new Key Decisions, a strategic planning session was
held in January of 2012. An updated Strategic Plan was developed by the
Board of Governors in order to carry out the intents of the Vision that had
been developed the previous year.
The most notable result stemming from the January meeting was that the
Board of Governors made a firm decision that we would move towards
adequate funding of the Strategic Plan. It was realized that we could no
longer continue to direct our Headmaster and his staff to implement the
Strategic Plan without sufficient funding. The only three available streams
for increased funding were identified as tuition, donations and increased
enrollment.
Our long-term Strategic Plan now calls for expansion and a Campus Master
Plan to support the growth of enrollment to 800 students. In addition tuition
levels were increased, which was subsequently announced in a letter to the
parent body. A number of families contacted the Board of Governors with
questions and concerns about, not only the tuition increase, but also about
the fact that this announcement was made very close to the midline for reregistration.
A parent meeting was held to answer concerns on January 18,
2012 and was well attended. It was clear that the sudden increase in tuition
fees was a significant cause of hardship for some parents. Many suggestions
on alternative revenue streams were discussed.
The Board of Governors acknowledged that this information had been poorly
communicated and also at a very late date.
It was decided to develop and maintain a rolling five-year financial forecast
budget that would include tuition, and to establish a Board Communications
Committee. These measures were implemented to ensure that our parents
are well informed and are provided with adequate information for financial
planning. Mr. Burke also met with a group of parents to consider alternate
fundraising plans for the school.
The Board of Governors met with members of the Administration for a
strategic development workshop in April of 2012. This reaffirmed our goal
to be stable, effective, and mission-driven. There was consensus that we are
still driven by our Vision, and this has underlined the guiding principles of
the 2012 Strategic Plan. The Board of Governors is confident that the 2012
Strategic Plan will preserve the character and sustainability of our school.
Meadowridge is doing very well on all fronts. We have been able to maintain
our student numbers with a record low attrition of 9%, and a projected
student count of 540 for next year. In addition, participation in our Annual
Giving Campaign is now at 54%.
6
DeSIGn the next 25 years
The 2011-2012 Board of Governors term was the first year of Meadowridge’s
second quarter century. It has been an exciting year and an honour to chair
the Board of Governors.
This year the Board of Governors welcomed three new members, Jessie Hill,
Bob Gill and Roy Choi. All three have already made a significant contribution
with their unique perspectives, talents, enthusiasm and energy. We are very
grateful to have them on board.
I would personally like to thank Susan Waugh, Secretary of the Board, for all
the work that she has done over the last term. In spite of there being times
when the workload must have exceeded her day job, she always managed to
keep correspondence timely and thoughtful. I specifically would like to thank
Gareth Mason (Vice Chair), John Becker (Past Chair) and Hugh Burke for
their support and mentorship during my first term and especially during my
unexpected absence earlier in this year. I would also like to thank my fellow
Board members for the significant time and effort they put in over the last
year, often spending evenings and Saturdays in meetings.
On behalf of the Board of Governors, and also as a Meadowridge parent,
I would like to sincerely thank Hugh Burke and his administrative team for
providing our children with the best opportunity to thrive in life.
Daniel Gouws
Chair, Board of Governors