Dear New Amsterdam Community,
After our open meeting last Wednesday, The 5-10 Year Plan
Committee would like to share an update regarding our work. We feel it is
important to be transparent about the tasks that we will be working on in this
committee and would like to share our mandate with you all. A mandate is an
agreement with the decision-making bodies of the school (in this case the
Faculty Circle and Board). Our mandate outlines the timeline, tasks,
responsibilities, and articulates the goals of the committee. Please follow
this link to find our mandate.
Also, we would like to invite all members of our community
to participate in our weekly study for the remainder of the school year. Please
join the 5-10 Year Plan Committee this week May 21, from 4:00-5:00pm. RSVP to
Meaghan (Meaghan.witri@newamsterdamchildhood.org).
Thank you for your interest and we look forward to
continuing our work together.
The 5-10 Plan Year Committee
Mandate for a 5-10 Year Plan
Committee (Final Name TBD)
Members
of the Mandated Committee
Patricia, Mayra, Meaghan, Brigitte
and Lisa
Length
of Mandate
This mandate would go through June
2015
Context
and Background
These are times of intense growth
for the New Amsterdam School. To coordinate the many aspects of this growth
effectively a 5-year plan is needed. This fall, the Work-Pay committee found it
difficult to develop models for a healthy salary structure because such a
larger
plan was missing. A sketch of this
plan was created. Having recognized the need, we would now like to work on it
in earnest. Such a plan will make the work of all committees far more effective
(and, in addition, it is something that any outside Waldorf agency, such as
AWSNA, will rightfully expect from
us if we seek accreditation). We are committed to researching and developing
ideas to help create a sustainable future and life at New Amsterdam.
The context for this
work springs from the source of the social mission of Waldorf education: to
build individual and group capacities,
to develop gift consciousness and to bring about a renewal of education for
human beings. Self-education is the doorway into understanding any
structure or form, and Waldorf education can be the doorway to the future.
Bringing these ideals into clearer and pertinent articulations can support this
much larger task of our work in relationship to unfolding the future.
Overview
Our proposal is to start a new 5-10
Year Plan Committee, that would take up what has been developed by the Work-Pay
Committee. We also propose ending (and, in a sense, merging with) the Towards
Societal Wholeness group, so that we have more time to dedicate to this
essential task. We also expect that some evenings and weekends will be
required.
This group will be
looking into the following aspects of the current plan: salary structure,
tuition models, governance structure and the community life. Also, we will look
into developing our school in relationship to, and including these foundational
ideals: building capacities, gift consciousness, building partnerships,
creating cooperatives. We will be
working primarily with Rudolf Steiner’s ideas and indications on these ideals
brought to us out of Anthroposophy.
Accountability
We take responsibility for
facilitating this work between the faculty, board and committees as needed. We
will report to the faculty on a bi-weekly basis and to the board monthly. As
specific areas are identified within the plan, we will work directly with the
individuals or groups involved. This collaborative effort will result in
proposals made to the faculty and board for final decisions.
Please find below some examples of the topics we will
explore and the corresponding groups with whom we will collaborate.
Salary Structure ⇄ Faculty, Finance Committee and Hiring
Committee
Governance ⇄ Board, Faculty, Parents, all Committees and
Mandated Groups
Tuition (including finance, tuition assistance and
admissions) ⇄ Board, Faculty, Parents
Community Life (this depends on what area but likely) ⇄
Faculty, Board, Parents
Peer mentoring ⇄ Faculty
College of teachers ⇄ Faculty, Board
Co-Teaching ⇄ Hiring, Faculty, Finance
Partnerships ⇄ Board, Faculty, Parents, Other
Organizations
Cooperatives ⇄ Board, Faculty, Finance, Hiring, Parents,
neighborhood community
Intentions
and Tasks
Specifically, we propose the
following:
· Focusing
our work on the 5-10 year plan that the Work-Pay group has developed, while
still including broader questions around social hygiene and societal context
· Continuing
with the same schedule as Towards Societal Wholeness (Wednesdays from 4-6pm),
but more intensively - meeting weekly with some additional evenings and
weekends as needed.
· Keeping
the group open to faculty, parents, board members, and friends of New
Amsterdam, and to anyone we feel is connected to the school and these
questions, with the requirement that all participants are excited by this work
and want to make the above time commitments.
- If anyone has individual
constraints that would prohibit their participation, we ask them to speak with
us about their needs (childcare, finances etc.) and we will find a way for them
to join us.
- We will also strive to include
those who can't make such a commitment with weekend workshops or open meetings.
