Board of Trustees Update | January 16, 2025

When we were first welcomed into this wonderful community in 2016, Burke’s was in the initial stages of its 2014-19 Strategic Plan: Our Community. Our Campus. Our Commitment. Over several years, we saw the Makery become a core part of the curriculum across all grades, the piloting of a school bus program that has provided greater accessibility and convenience for prospective and current Burke’s families, and a gender inclusion policy and expanded uniform options that better accommodate the identities and preferences of all Burke’s students, to name only a few initiatives. We saw the successful completion of “Many Voices. Many Hands. All Burkes: The Campaign for Girls” which resulted in reimagined classrooms, beautification of many outdoor spaces (a truly visionary initiative that preceded the pandemic!), our state-of-the-art Campus Center, and new funding for classroom innovation and inclusion programming. It also resulted in a significantly healthier endowment. Thanks to strategic yet conservative management, the endowment has continued to fund key pillars of the school’s values, like increased financial aid and top teacher salaries and incentives, even during economic uncertainty. 

 

I would be remiss not to mention the pandemic in the middle of our Burke’s experience, and though I don’t wish to dwell on those years for very long, I can’t help but think about our community’s resilience in navigating unprecedented challenges and emerging as strong as ever. I already hold our teachers in the highest regard, but when I think about what they endured during COVID, I am blown away by their courage, devotion, and patience. 

 

I am equally blown away by Michele Williams’ steady and strong leadership. I am writing this letter as she celebrates a milestone birthday (39!), and I hope and trust that she knows how much she has positively impacted so many people’s lives throughout her 13-year tenure as Burke’s Head of School. We are forever grateful to Michele and the Admin Team for their professionalism, thoughtfulness, and care. It’s easy to take all of this forward progress for granted, and I often have to remind myself of how much effort goes into making Burke’s the incredible place it is.

 

So what’s next? What changes will the current Kindergarten class – the class of 2033 (that seems so far away!) experience over the next nine years? What will Burke’s Strategic Plan bring to a 100+ year-old institution that has touched many lives and enriched many students? Below are a few recent highlights. 

 

The three key strategic goals of the five-year Strategic Plan center around Experience, Connection, and Growth. Under the Experience branch, highlights include continued wellness programming like a facilitated conversation inspired by the book The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness, exploring how our children and families are navigating the effects of smartphones and social media; and inclusion of wellness resources in Tuesday Notes on topics such as sleep, resilience & thriving, nutrition and digital wellness. Burke’s continues to implement recommendations from Independent School Management to provide a schedule framework that supports student wellbeing and optimizes learning through longer and staggered lunch, SEL time, community time, more flow to classes throughout the day, and access to learning support like daily Conference. 

 

Under the Connection branch, sustainability continues to be a central theme in the curriculum across all grades (teachers in both divisions have developed 17 units related to the Core Education for Sustainability Standards) as well as on the Burke’s campus. Some examples: expansion of successful rain catchment; move to drought-tolerant, native plants; replacement of all light fixtures to LED with a projected annual energy reduction of 59%; automation of all thermostats to energy-efficient mode; and implementation of an expansive recycling program through Ridwell for textiles, mixed-use plastics, and household items. 

 

Last but not least, the Growth branch has brought about a Collaborative Tuition rebrand, resulting in materials that provide more clarity and emphasize user friendliness and de-stigmatization of financial aid to make a Burke’s education accessible to more families. Burke’s continues to hone its efforts to attract and retain the best teachers by adding benefits and incentives to its faculty and staff compensation package, including increasing retirement plan contributions and adding a wellness reimbursement program. 

 

These highlights are only a few of the many initiatives throughout the campus in support of the Strategic Plan. I am excited to learn how all of these efforts will play out, and I am confident that the Strategic Plan will move the school forward in countless ways that will benefit our students throughout their Burke’s journey and beyond. On behalf of the Burke’s Board of Trustees, I am deeply grateful for this community and look forward to seeing you on campus.