President’s Message
Welcome to this new website. We are thrilled with its attractiveness and functionality. Many people have been involved in creating it but special thanks go to Kevin Irwin, IT genius, Troy Williamson, Advancement Director, who helped drive this project, Catharine Jones, my assistant and our new webmaster, and T. Payton at OneCreative whose energy and creativity are a boundless key to creating this site. In addition I want to thank the two anonymous donors who made this new site possible.
Menaul School is committed to providing a traditional college preparatory experience for our students with untraditional tools. Technology is one of those tools. For the past year and a half a true blue ribbon committee titled The New Generation Learning Committee made up of technology experts and instructional technologists, have been strategizing on how to help our faculty and students develop those skills vital for success in today and tomorrow’s technologically driven marketplace. Recent improvements this year include wireless Internet in the dormitories, new laptops for learning support and implementation of our Edline system which is improving academic communication between teachers and families.
Technology is an important part of educating Menaul School students but it is having quality people driving all our projects and teaching our students that makes our community special. We are proud for Menaul School students, their accomplishments at school, but the most satisfying response are those alum who return to tell you how much the people at Menaul School meant to them. How great mentors shaped them and that the values of Menaul School continue to drive and inspire them.
Again, I welcome you to Menaul School’s website but would much prefer to shake your hand, meet you face to face and share a cup of coffee or a touch of chocolate. So stop by and visit!
As part of my commitment to using new technologies and to share some of my ideas of education and culture, I have begun my own blog. The look is still in the beginning stages but I am having fun learning. Its title is Nucleus and I hope you enjoy it. Click LINK to read.
3-YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN RELEASED
Guided by the Menaul School Board of Trustee's Committee on Strategic Planning and Governance, a three-year strategic plan was officially approved at the January Board of Trustee's Meeting.
The three-year strategic plan is a working document that outlines Menaul School's major policy goals. Two important points need to be made about this plan. It is a three-year plan, which is a relatively short period. Because of the rapidly changing business environment, businesses, including schools, are finding it difficult to create functional long-range (5-10 year) plans that are not overly vague. Often to create these plans, school trustees and administrations invest hundreds of hours, hire expensive consultants, and create documents that are outdated half-way through the cycle because of new opportunities and changes in demographics.
This is a document that the Menaul School Board and administration will review regularly and change as appropriate. For example, if our enrollment grows more rapidly than our plan, adjustments in facilities, staffing, athletics, etc., will change. This flexibility does not change the school's core values, instead it allows the school to adapt its strategy to achieve important priorities. The Board and administration did all the work in-house to control costs and created a working practical document with buy-in that will direct the school for the next three years.
