Page 3 - Priorities #13 2000-July

From the Headmaster
Dear Priory Community,
Over the Memorial Day weekend
the Priory graduated its largest
senior class ever and the
following weekend hosted a large
number of alumni for a variety of
activities at Reunion Weekend 2000. At
both events I was aware of the special
spirit shared by all who have experienced the Priory as part of their formation as young men and women.
While talking to alums and grads, I was struck once again by the impact that teachers, whether monks or lay people, have on students. Throughout our history, teachers have been what people remember about Woodside Priory School. They are the strength of our past and the promise of a strong future. We are always looking for the best possible educators to minister the Benedictine message to students and parents.
These days, economics are a driving force in education. The relaxed, rural environment of Portola Valley is great - but it doesn’t protect us from the pressures of California demographics or the Silicon Valley economic engine. Like virtually all other schools here, we are facing a teacher shortage, possibly a teacher crisis.
A baby boomlet has already reached school age. We in the private school sector experience it as a boom in applications for available space; public schools feel it as pressure to add more classes. Recent legislation cutting class size in the public school primary grades results in an even more hurried search for qualified faculty.
Housing is a crucial part of the problem - and, for us, the solution. On-campus housing is not only a tool in attracting and retaining the best teachers. It also is a critical ingredient in preserving our Benedictine way of life.
The hot local economy drives housing prices out of range of teachers. Several articles in the Bay Area media have documented the issue. Teachers are sharing rentals as they did when they were students. They are adding many hours of commute time to their already busy day (just remember the hours of night meetings and school event supervision teachers log each year).
With teachers in short supply, many schools - and Woodside Priory is among them — now
frequently conduct nationwide searches to fill faculty positions. Officials from public school districts to Stanford University report the same response. Talented teachers are excited about coming until they hit housing costs.
I think our ability to create on-campus housing will give Woodside Priory an edge in the competition — as it does for Stanford University, just five minutes away. Currently we have six family homes and two single-individual apartments, plus an additional home nearly ready for occupancy. We are looking at plans to further increase the number of houses available to faculty in the future.
The Benedictine way of life is community-centered. The rhythm “ora et labora” — work and prayer — develops from the core community of students, teachers, staff and monks who live and work together. That sense of “home” gives our school a distinctively different feel from others in the SF Bay Area.Itallowsustoimpartmorethanbookknowledge. Our education, as our mission statement says, includes “a love of learning and a love of God...that is forward looking in its goal and satisfying in its fulfillment.”
In the year 2000, the Priory is alive and well, drawing its energy and vision from the 1500-year old-tradition of Benedictine excellence. To quote from the first line of Benedict’s Rule, may you always — “Listen... with the ear of your heart.”
Tim Molak Headmaster
...our ability to create on-campus housing will give Woodside Priory an edge in the competition for great teachers, just as it does for Stanford University...
3