A Letter From Collegiate School's Board of Trustees, April 8, 2020

 

We hope this letter finds you and your family healthy and well.

 

We wanted to write to provide a behind-the-scenes look at how the Board is managing its way through the COVID-19 storm, and how we will come through this stronger than ever. It’s all about resilience.

 

Resilience is in our School’s DNA. Collegiate has been around for more than 100 years. Since 1915, our institution has successfully navigated times of war, pandemics, economic depression and recessions, an oil embargo and more. 

 

Decades of research on resilient organizations point to several characteristics that define success. It’s from this perspective that we want to take you inside Collegiate during this extraordinary time.  

 

 

Resilient organizations, especially in time of crisis, have strong leadership – gifted leaders and governing boards. Throughout our history, we have had both.

 

Today, we have a truly remarkable leader in Penny Evins. Penny’s integrity, leadership, vision, compassion, inclusivity and strong sense of community are even more clearly evident as she guides us through this crisis.  

 

We are incredibly fortunate to have a remarkable group of senior leaders as well. Chief Academic Officer Susan Droke, Upper School Head Patrick Loach, Middle School Head Tung Trinh, Lower School Head Debbie Miller, Vice President for Finance and Administration Phyllis Palmiero, Vice President of Development Kristen Williams, Athletic Director Karen Doxey, a strong technology, communications and admission team, and an incredible group of faculty, coaches and staff are working tirelessly learning, planning, preparing and executing our School’s response to COVID-19. We have the human capital, their skill, knowledge and dedication, and this is why we have resilience. Please keep up your expressions of encouragement and support of Penny and the faculty and staff as we head toward the full impact of COVID-19 in mid-May.

 

Resilient organizations also have experienced and committed boards. Collegiate's Board is comprised of 28 individuals who serve as stewards of our School's mission, vision and strategic plan. During this crisis, the Board’s Executive Committee meets virtually every two weeks. The Board’s 10 standing committees are managing short- and long-term COVID-19-related issues in their respective focus areas. There is at least one virtual Board committee meeting taking place every week and the entire Board will meet virtually next week. Our spirit is strong. We are united around our important work – advancing Collegiate’s resiliency.

 

We value each other and the unique perspectives that each Trustee brings to our Board. Some are immersed in COVID-19 response and recovery for national companies and entire regions. We have practitioners in fields ranging from human resources, executives for corporations, CEOs, a former university president, a therapist, legal experts, finance specialists and community volunteers. Their real-time experience and advice are so helpful for our School’s own COVID-19 response and recovery. Many, as current parents, are witnessing firsthand the Herculean efforts of our faculty to continue our mission delivery. All of our trustees, past and present, personify servant leadership and collectively keep our flame bright. 

 

 

Resilient organizations have a clear purpose that help guide them, especially in times of crisis. We understand our role is to be gatekeepers for the future. However, we remain locked in and committed to our mission.

 

During the COVID-19 crisis, safety continues to be our No. 1 priority. We will remain vigilant. 

We are continuing our focus on delivering the highest quality education. For now, this means using remote learning technology until it is safe to return to campus. We place a premium on the sacred opportunity to be together, in person, on our campus as one Schoolwide community.  

 

 

Resilient organizations and their stakeholders communicate frequently and in a transparent, two-way fashion. Moreover, all parties know that it is critically important to increase the level of communications in a crisis. 

 

During this crisis period, Penny is in constant contact, every day, with Board Chair John Martin '78 and Board Vice Chair Michelle Wiltshire. In addition, Penny and the School’s communications team are using every communication opportunity and channel to keep Collegiate’s stakeholders informed of the shifting landscape and Collegiate’s position.

 

Our efforts are being noticed and applauded. In a recent Collegiate parent survey, 96% of the current parents said the School’s communications thus far regarding COVID-19 have been timely and helpful. Our handling of the crisis is being noticed beyond our community as well. Collegiate’s COVID-19 communications and policies are being shared in the independent school industry as a best practice for other schools to follow. If you haven’t read them, all of Collegiate’s COVID-19 emails and news shared to date about the JK-12 Continuity of Learning Plan are posted on the School’s COVID-19 Awareness and Information page. 

 

The School’s team is hard at work creating a holistic communications plan for all constituents to create connections, provide timely information and be creative as we support and build our community while not being able to meet in person. In addition, we continue to provide wellness resources for our families. 

 

 

Resilient organizations are always scanning the horizon to identify and understand emerging opportunities and threats and their impact. 

 

Through the School’s membership in the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS), Southern Association of Independent School (SAIS), Virginia Association of Independent School (VAIS), our INDEX benchmarking group and many others, we are always monitoring the major trends shaping the future of independent schools. As the COVID-19 crisis unfolded, our need for immediate and accurate information became acute. 

 

We tapped dozens of listservs, attended webinars and sought advice from individual experts near and far, and we will continue to seek information and perspective from expert sources. Penny’s national reach has been extremely helpful. For example, two members of the NAIS board on which Penny serves are heads of school in Seattle, a community that is weeks ahead of the nation in understanding the true local impact of COVID-19. Hearing about schools’ experiences in other regions continues to inform our work. The Director of Global Online Academy, also a NAIS Trustee, serves as a terrific resource, too, in our planning for distance learning. In addition, many informed parents and alumni have provided informed insights and advice. We are tied in to a great, ongoing information network. 

 

 

Resilient organizations have a bias for action, especially in the middle of crisis.

 

Penny's time surveying the educational landscape during and post-Katrina in New Orleans allowed her to learn, during and after high-risk situations, how to bolster and strengthen mission delivery and community. 

 

All the Board’s standing committees are actively taking actions to mitigate the downside risks, plan for the immediate future and think about what the future may present. Here are just a few examples.

 

The past work of the Audit & Risk Committee, chaired by Morenike Miles, helped put the School in a position to respond well to this crisis. This Committee is now engaged in additional generative work, profiling the most likely COVID-19 inspired scenarios we might experience over the next three to 24 months and the implications of each. This work is informing other board committees. 

 

The Board Finance Committee, chaired by Mason Chapman ‘84, is working closely with Phyllis Palmiero and our School’s Business Office on our COVID-19 response and recovery. We are continuing the good work of this committee pre-COVID-19, and are adjusting our agenda accordingly.

 

The Board Investment Committee, chaired by Brandt Surgner, is working closely with Makena Capital Management, our investment management firm. As you suspect, the financial market turmoil caused by COVID-19 has not spared our endowment. We are closely monitoring the markets and our portfolio exposure. We are well-diversified with a long-term orientation and some downturn protection built in. Our Investment Committee is not overreacting to any short-term news or sudden market movements.  

 

The Board’s Responsible Citizenship Committee, chaired by Michael Laming, and working with Susan Droke and Sara Boisvert, Director of the Powell Institute for Responsible Citizenship, will start exploring how our core values and sense of community can be advanced through our distance learning platform and virtual experiences and how rejoining can release and strengthen our best. 

 

 

Resilient organizations are innovative and creative. 

 

We have just witnessed the best example of our innovative and creative culture in action. In one week we pivoted from physical to digital classrooms. This involved the creation of new procedures, tools and manuals, and then the training of more than 100 educators to use these tools, position themselves in professional in-home spaces, practice and be prepared to receive evaluation one week later on their delivery. 

 

The stories of how faculty members have converted their homes into their virtual teaching studios are inspiring. Please visit Collegiate’s Facebook page and Instagram to take a look at their creativity. 

 

Collegiate’s Alumni and Parents’ Associations are other examples of our innovative and creative spirit in action. The Alumni Association, led by Mayme Donohue Willis ‘03, recently launched Cougars Connect (https://cougaralums.com/), an online portal that offers a place for Cougars to support, collaborate and care for each other and build community. Our Parents’ Association, led by Rita Ryan, is using creativity and innovation to support the School’s mission. This includes the planning of a Virtual Village Green Fair. Although in a different format, we all want connection with our Collegiate community and we applaud our volunteers for their "can do" spirit. 

 

 

Resilient organizations crave constant feedback to drive continuous improvement.

 

Under the leadership of Chair of the Development Committee Mark Stepanian ‘89 and Kristen Williams, the Collegiate’s Development Office, along with staff volunteers from across campus, are calling every Collegiate family in JK through 12th Grade to ensure we remain connected and to gather input that can improve our performance during the COVID-19 crisis. Answer our call; we want you to feel Collegiate’s care, no matter the distance.

In addition, we just completed a short feedback survey on remote learning after the first week of implementation. We are delighted to report that overall satisfaction is extremely high. Thank you for offering suggestions on how we can continue to improve. Your feedback has given us tremendous encouragement that we are on the right track. We couldn’t do this without you. 

 

 

Resilient organizations are constantly planning for what’s next. 

 

This is, in fact, how your Board operates. We spend the majority of our meeting time in a generative mode, learning and discussing the implications of major trends and mapping the future of Collegiate. Under the leadership of Past Board Chair Frank Mountcastle ‘83, we took deep dives into the transcendent trends shaping independent schools of tomorrow. Every three to five years, we memorialize our strategic planning work in a written strategic plan, one that is posted on the School’s website. This practice also satisfies our formal school accreditation requirement. 

 

This year we are conducting our strategic planning process in an open and transparent way that is involving the entire Collegiate community. The Board’s Strategic Planning (SP) Committee, co-chaired by Carter Reid and Peter Mahoney, has been hard at work identifying internal business and admission trends and external demographic and educational trends. In addition, the SP Committee has held 26 listening sessions, where more than 400 Collegiate stakeholders participated.

 

Our community’s input to date has been invaluable. We are now inventorying and prioritizing what we learned during the first half of the planning process. Several themes are emerging. These include the value people place on being part of the Collegiate community, our academic excellence and our commitment to being a diverse and inclusive community.

 

Serendipitously, as COVID-19 hit, we had reached a point in our planning process where our listening sessions had concluded. As we now find ourselves in the middle of this crisis, we believe it’s prudent to put our planning process on hold for the time being. This includes suspending the launch of the two planned SP surveys. 

 

 

Resilient organizations are defined by grit and integrity. 

 

Grit drives achievement and success, perhaps more than talent or intelligence. Grit is about finding strength and willpower to persevere. Integrity is about doing what’s right, what’s best for all, and a sense of fairness to which we all aspire. Together, grit and integrity make people and organizations unstoppable. No wonder “grit” is embedded in the word integrity. 

 

As Cougars, we get this. We are a tough, “can-do” pack that knows how to work hard as one School and move forward in a way that helps others. Not a day goes by that someone doesn’t call or email Penny or contact the School with offers of assistance. And this goes both ways. Our creative faculty members are going the extra mile in creating digital programs and videos that extend to the entire family. Our true grit and integrity are simply inspiring.  

 

In closing, Collegiate is resilient. We have been for more than a century and there’s no looking back.

 

By all accounts, the COVID-19 virus’ full impact on our world, nation, state and local community is yet to come. As we feel a growing sense of uncertainty and rising fears of the unknown, we can find solace and reassurance in that our School has all of the characteristics that enabled us to successfully navigate periods of disruption in the past. We will come through this event even stronger because of it.

 

As Mac Pitt, former Head of School, once shared in an Upper School gathering four decades ago, “Every day offers us teachable moments to help us grow as people to help each other.” Never has his wisdom been more poignant. 

 

The Collegiate community has been, and always will be, stronger together. In the months ahead, we are going to need each other more than ever. We will get through this together.

 

Our hearts go out to our families and our broader communities in this challenging time.

 

We focus our collective attention, praise and support to the Class of 2020. This group of Cougars is a hearty bunch and they love their School with all they have. We love them back and hold all of our students close as we thank them for their incredible attitudes, flexibility and adaptive behaviors. We have no doubt that our future is bright with these Cougars on the cusp of being change agents and “good citizens in the widest sense.” Ms. Baker, our founder, would be proud of our seniors and all Cougars, JK-12.

 

We cannot thank you enough for all you do for Collegiate. We look forward to the day when we can thank you in person.

 

John W. Martin ‘78, Chairman of the Board, Parent ‘10, ‘11

 

Michelle P. Wiltshire, Vice Chairman of the Board, Parent ‘07, ‘10

Frank F. Mountcastle III ’83, Immediate Past Chairman of the Board, Parent ‘14, ‘17, ‘21

Penny B. Evins, President/Head of School, Parent ‘22, ‘23

Ellen T. Bonbright ‘86, Trustee, Parent ‘24, ‘26

Callie Lacy Brackett ‘95, Trustee, Parent ‘22, ‘24

Mason T. Chapman ‘84, Trustee, Parent ‘22         

Jeffrey W. Congdon ‘78, Trustee, Parent ‘02, ‘05      

David A. Gallagher, Trustee, Parent ‘18, ‘24           

Eucharia N. Jackson, Trustee, Parent ‘17, ‘19

Michael S. Laming, Trustee, Parent ‘17, ‘19

Peter E. Mahoney, Sr., Trustee, Parent ‘15, ‘19, ‘26, ‘26 

Neelan A. Markel ‘96, Trustee, Parent ‘27, ‘30    

Morenike K. Miles, Trustee, Parent ‘24, ‘25

Carter M. Reid, Trustee, Parent ‘16, 18

Lisa E. Roday, Trustee, Parent ‘09, ‘10

Rita M. Ryan, Trustee, Parent ‘16, ‘18, ‘21, ‘22

Kenneth P. Ruscio, Trustee, Parent ‘08

Danielle D. Scott, Trustee, Parent ‘25, ‘25

L. Mark Stepanian ’89, Trustee, Parent ‘16, ‘18, ‘21, ‘23

Wallace Stettinius, Life Trustee, Parent ‘77, ‘79, ‘84, Grandparent

W. Hildebrandt Surgner, Jr., Trustee, Parent ‘11, ‘14, ‘17, ‘19

Rupa Tak, Trustee, Parent ‘27, ‘29

Robert S. Ukrop, Life Trustee, Parent ‘88, ‘89, ‘92, ‘95, Grandparent

R. Gregory Williams ‘69, Life Trustee, Parent ‘01, ‘04

Mayme Donohue Willis ‘03