Page 3 - Priorities #11 1999-October Annual Report

Faculty: A Continuing Theme
Board of Trustees
“Putting faculty first” was the guiding theme for the Board of Trustees in the past year, and it will continue to command our attention as we strive to be a premier learning community. We made significant headway in three areas:
• After three years of
aggressively increasing faculty
compensation, the salary levels of
most of our teachers is in the top
third of comparable schools which
was our goal. However, there will
be substantial compensation
challenges ahead if Woodside Priory is to continue to attract and retain the teaching talent that we want. We want to thank the Priory parents, who also recognized the need and helped us support this goal. It remains a very high priority.
• We upgraded existing campus housing and added one new living unit. We plan to restore another home in the coming year. The board is continuing to examine the faculty housing issue as a possible program to further support the “faculty first” initiative.
• Planning and self-study efforts were continuous and extensive. They indicate our determination to give the Priory the educational program, campus, infrastructure (e.g., classrooms, technology, etc.) and financial strength it needs to be the premier learning community we envision.
Ours is a hard-working board, and one cannot help but be impressed by the diligence and dedication that so many Priory trustees bring to their board service. Iwouldliketotakethisopportunitytothank oneandall. Aspecialwordofcommendationmust go to Bob Ward, last year’s Chair, for the able leadership he gave us.
Art Schultz
Board of Trustees Chair
morning break time is now available for college counseling, meeting with teachers or group advisors, and holding all-campus meetings such as assemblies. The ASB has a stronger role to play in campus life this year, and time is provided for ASB officers to meet and talk with students about their plans. The school day now extends to 3:15 and three days a week that last hour is used for clubs, specialty classes such as music and publications, or study hall.
Finances - the usual focus of an annual report - are an essential underpinning of academic life. So is administration, the work of the boards of trustees and directors, and the volunteer support of the parent community. They make possible the academic life you will read about throughout this report.
WPS, since its inception in 1957, has worked to provide an academic program that takes its character from St. Benedict’s Rule for monasteries and from the tradition of Benedictine education spanning fifteen centuries. It is this foundation which directs us in creating a balanced college prep curriculum and set of educational experiences.
We are proud of our students, past and present, and hope we have communicated to them a love of God and a vision of life that is satisfying in its fulfillment. We hope you will enjoy reading this Annual Report and take pleasure in the many positive signs. Thank you for your part in making them possible.
Warmly
Tim Molak
Headmaster
Art Schultz, Board Chair, 1999-2000 Academic Year, and John Schultz, Class of 2004
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