Duke School Under the Oak Magazine, Fall 2017

A DIVERSE SET OF VOICES
Throughout the process, taskforces listened to a
diverse set of voices and regularly called for input
from the larger Duke School community. The
widespread involvement helped make the plan a
success.
“I was so impressed with the ideas generated
by the committees,” said parent and Steering
Committee member, Julie Shermak. “What I
found fascinating was the way those
ideas evolved throughout the
process as a result of the
discussions among the
committee chairs
and the Steering
Committee members
who brought to the
process their widely
varied backgrounds
and areas of expertise.”
Duke School parent and board
member, Jeff Welty, agreed. He
chaired the Institutional Sustainability taskforce.
“They add experience, background and
perspective that balance and enrich the plan,”
Jeff said. “That was invaluable in strengthening
the plan.”
Institutional Sustainability examined topics
including, a potential future high school, Indexed
Tuition and new land acquisition for the school.
“We wrestled with some big issues,” Jeff said.
“People engaged in that with so much energy; it
was just so great to work with all those folks.”
The group formed sub-committees for each topic
area, and according to Jeff, most of the work took
place in those subcommittees.
“They really took things very seriously and did a
lot of research,” he said.
In exploring the possibility of
a high school, the group
contacted other high
schools Duke School
students were likely
to attend, as well
as schools across
the country that are
similar to Duke School.
“Almost everyone had
thoughts and opinions and
experiences that were pertinent,” said
Jeff. “As we worked toward recommendations,
we used the voices of the full committee.”
They executed a parent survey covering all of the
Institutional Sustainability taskforce’s topics to
determine parents’ opinions.
“That data turned out to be really valuable,” said
UNDER THE OAK
7