Inspiring Life-long Learning for 25 Years
Recap of Parent Night and FAB Intensive
by Kristine Fiskum
On Thursday September 21st, Waldorf and financial expert John Bloom and his RSF (Rudolf Steiner Foundation) peer Mark Herrera visited with DVWS parents, faculty, and board during our Reimagining Money Parent’s Night. John and Mark again visited with our faculty, administration and board (FAB) the following Saturday for our DVWS FAB Retreat. This visit was made possible by the generous support of the Mid-States Shared Gifting fund which strives to rethink money’s role in the world through a reimagination of the relationships and possibilities of working together in service.
Thank you to all who attended the parent night and for the outpouring of hospitality.
No one likes to be dependent, especially financially, on someone else. Yet we are, intrinsically. The us-ness of a small, private, school cannot do well without recognizing this nature. We are dependent on each other: parents, teachers, staff, and students. John encouraged us to see this reality and strengthen the relationships by being very clear about what, how, and why we are. No talk of sustainability, fundraising, or future plans can be had without strong and clear communication about what binds us together.
At the parent night conversation, it was heartening to hear and remember parent stories of their beginnings with the school. It was also useful to begin talking about money without asking for money. The picture of us co-producing a show (aka Waldorf education) where we all have our parts and everyone knows the script, took us some distance into the roles we play financially for the school. John asked us how the show would be if we didn’t have costumes, a set, or lights? I think what we began to realize is that the school, although it has leadership and the pedagogy, is not a commodity but a living community where the education is the core.
The faculty, administration, and board continued to work on this theme for a day-long workshop with John Bloom. What we began requires further work. Top on the list is to develop a values statement based on the lists we made about what and who we are. This will be the basis of talking points/ messaging going forward. Trustee Harish Rao and I have signed up to draft this statement and present it to faculty, staff and board. Guiding questions for this process are: What do we care about at DVWS? How do we work? What "outcomes," if any, do we desire? What do we stand for?
Additionally, it was suggested that we develop a Parents' Bill of Rights from the handbook and from new meetings with parents. The idea is that we will present a picture of what the school is/ who we are/ what we do through the values statement, and parents will make an agreement to this statement through the development of a Bill of Rights. The goal is that we all know what we are doing, and have boundaries and involvement toward that goal. If you would like to be involved in this process, please let me know.
We also talked about revising the governance model to reflect students and community at the core. We saw that the service and mission of the school in the current model makes an assumed, yet not visible, place for students and places the parents on the outside of the three rings. The rest of the model is good and can be adjusted.
Anita Zagranicnzy visited a portion of the workshop. She shared her passion to connect with parents through conversation. The board is working with her on a timeline and messaging. She is a force that seems to already be steaming down the track. We want to allow this momentum while being clear about goals and process. She will present a plan to the board in November.
It can difficult to sum up the thoughts and breadth of such an experience. We are inspired and see clearer the work that can be be accomplished. We look forward to our follow up conversation with John Bloom at the end of October, expecting some crystallization will have occurred and our path ahead will be brilliant!
P.S. If you enjoyed the Spicy Lentil Vegetable Soup, the recipe can be found here.
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