Page 3 - Priorities #33 2006-April

Sincerely
Tim Molak,
Head of School
From the Head of School
I want to thank Brother Edward, who again headed this monumental effort, and all of the students, staff and parents, who participated over the last three years. The final report and accreditation will be issued later in the spring by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.
Our deans and ad hoc scheduling committee have spent much of this
past year studying various ways to arrange class and student schedules to find the right blend of learning opportunity, challenge, and fiscal soundness. In the Middle School, we want to integrate students’ studies a little more. In the High School, we want to keep the range of courses our students need but balance the teaching load (and the academic loads students choose to take) a little better. Saint Benedict advised balance in life and “being fully human” in one’s experience, and we are always trying to make this possible in our students’ lives.
I want to close with a public “thank you” to a generous family that came forward in November with a $1 million challenge gift for our Trinity Project. Their gift made it possible for us to meet our year-end financial goal and continue towards groundbreaking this summer. This family had already made a gift to the campaign, but said they were inspired to do more when they saw the momentum that could be lost and the good work that would be wasted if we failed to meet that goal. We still have $2 million to go by June, but their gesture of confidence and the willingness of many other friends of the school to meet the challenge or pay early on their pledges convinced our Board of Directors to add their support. Generations of Priory students and families will benefit.
A year-end community effort, led by a Priory family’s generous gift, kept the Trinity Project plans on schedule.
We have some exciting times
ahead of us! Our three
years of preparation for
our next school accreditation came
to a conclusion with the three day
campus visit in early March by the
accreditation visiting committee,
led by Mike Baker, President of
Maryknoll School in Honolulu.
The committee members read our
documents carefully, visited many classes and talked with teachers, students, parents and staff. To borrow a phrase from the prologue of Saint Benedict’s Rule, they “listened. . . with the ear of their heart.” Their commendations and recommendations meshed with the reflections and action plans we had documented in our report. This validation of our self-study is invigorating and encourages us all to move ahead.
Among the main things the committee commended are: • the essence and vitality of our mission statement, • our effort to keep all salary compensation and benefits in the upper quartile of comparable Bay Area schools,
• our on-campus housing goals and fundraising efforts,
• the creation of the Academic Resource Center, and • the hospitality and enthusiasm they witnessed among students, staff and parents.
Their major recommendations ask us to focus on:
• diversity and multicultural awareness,
• continuation of the Benedictine heritage,
• several areas in the curriculum and in use of staff time, and
• alumni outreach.
3