Dear St. John’s Families,
On behalf of the St. John’s Board of Trustees, it is a pleasure to welcome you to the 2023-2024 school year at St. John’s! This is an exciting time to be part of our growing School and we are honored you have chosen St. John’s for your children’s education. We hope they have a terrific year.
What does a Board of Trustees do? Though certainly not as visible as the faculty, staff, and administration, it plays an important role in the life of the School.
The core task of the Board is to support the talented educators who provide the high-quality education St. John’s is known for, both now and for the years to come
There are three main components of this:
Formulating broad School policies and procedures to ensure completion of its mission;
Hiring, supporting, and evaluating the Head of School;
Securing the financial sustainability of the School, both now and in the future.
These three key areas, plus a number of others, occupy the Board in its deliberations, both as a whole and in committees, each year. The Board regularly communicates with the Vestry, which is the equivalent group at the Church. The Vestry must approve the School’s annual budget.
It is important to note that the Board assigns our very able Head of School, Lori Dembo, (its one and only employee) full responsibility for the day-to-day running of the School, including selecting, supporting, and working with faculty, staff, and administrators. In other words, the Board “does not become involved in specific management, personnel, or curricular issues.”*
This year there are 18 trustees, including current parents, past parents, members of the Parish, and professionals from outside the St. John’s community, three of whom are educators. All are unpaid. 15 of the 18 are elected, serving one or two three-year terms, and 3 are members because of their position. In this category we have the Rev. Mary Sulerud and Geoff Walker, Interim Rector and Junior Warden of the Vestry, respectively, and Head of School Lori Dembo.
Since the Board is always looking ahead, this year's agenda includes the formation of a Strategic Plan, plotting the way forward over the next three to five years.
Once again, thank you for being an important part of the St. John’s community.
Sincerely,
Stu Work
Chair, Board of Trustees
*DeKuyper, Mary, Trustee Handbook, Ninth Edition, National Association of Independent School
