School News
The Season of Culmination - Reflections from the Fayerweather Board of Directors
There's a cyclical nature to the life of a school, and as we step into May, with the warming weather and greening trees, we're stepping into the season of culmination! Projects are wrapping up, families are starting to think about summer travels, camps and fun, and our 8th graders are finding the words to bring their Fayerweather journeys to a close at their graduation ceremony - now only six short weeks away. That wonderful ceremony, which I've been privileged to be part of as board chair, is something of a hinge moment, where reflection on the past and a vision for the future meet for our graduates.
As a board, we engage in that hinge moment as well, reflecting back on what we've worked toward in the last year and laying groundwork for what we want to accomplish in the next.
Our most important goal for this year, and one that we're happy to have met, was the creation of a strategic plan that will ensure we continue to deliver our mission well into the future. That plan, Fayerweather 2030: A Future of Purpose, was the product of broad participation by parents, caregivers, faculty, and staff, and the board is so grateful for the many members of our community who took time to involve themselves in the planning process: by working on a design team last spring or by providing perspective in a survey or a focus group. When we shared a preview of our priorities at our community board meeting in January, we were delighted, but not surprised, to see how much of our work resonated with members of our Fayerweather community. Those priorities are, after all, the product of community work to more deeply consider how our mission can be best achieved in a changing environment. That’s what strategic planning is: the intersection of market and mission.
Based on the market and the mission, we have set some ambitiously necessary priorities for Fayerweather, focused on situating our academic program in community and place, more deeply understanding the needs of our students now and in the future, and ensuring that our space, schedule, and financial model are attuned to the requirements of the program and the community. We envision through these priorities a Fayerweather that is recognized as a beacon of progressive education, built on our mission, the power of the Fayerweather community, and the need we see all around us for the compassionate, human-centered education that has been our essence for nearly sixty years.
By now all of you will most likely have received Fayerweather 2030: A Future of Purpose in the mail; I hope you'll take some time to think about the priorities we've set and how you and your family connect to them! The next steps for the board and the school leadership team in pursuing this vision are around implementation, and we have already begun to track how operational decisions and governance work this year connect to the plan's goals.. There will be further initiatives that emerge from this work in the coming year - initiatives that will call upon all our Fayerweather parent and caregiver community to get involved.
The Fayerweather Board, our Head of School and School Leadership Team, and the many talented educators and staff who work for our school have the key responsibility of making our academic program and student experience engaging, exciting, and rewarding for our students. But the experience of the Fayerweather community is also an act of co-creation, and parents are part of that work every day - in how we engage and partner with one another and with the school, in how we get involved with our time, talent and resources, and in how we act as ambassadors for Fayerweather in the larger community.
Next weekend, at the Big Night Out, we'll have a chance to celebrate the contributions of a Fayerweather parent and board member who has been key to bringing our mission to life: Carolina Sadowski. Carolina was one of the people who first drew me into the Fayerweather community - as I'm sure she is for many of you - and I feel so grateful for her contributions. She's someone who obviously has put time, energy and her good perspective to work for the school - in volunteer efforts, on committees, and on the board. She's also modeled how to engage in a learning community, showing up with curiosity and engagement whenever we have opportunities to learn, connect, work together, or have fun. Parents like Carolina are partners in co-creating the Fayerweather experience - and as a bonus, in doing so, they deepen their own connection to the school and one another! People are what make this school happen - and we all have the opportunity to leave a legacy in this community when we show up committed to living the mission every day.
The Fayerweather board wishes you a wonderful season of culmination, and we are excited to keep bringing the mission to life alongside you next year.
Fayerweather Street School | 765 Concord Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138 | 617-876-4746
Fayerweather is a private PreK, kindergarten, elementary and middle school. We engage each child’s intellect.