STATEMENT OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES REGARDING THE 2020-2021 SCHOOL YEAR

During the past four months, the Board of Trustees has been actively engaged in managing the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic for our school. Through one-on-one interactions with staff, teachers, parents, students, and from attendance at the town halls, committee and staff meetings, we realize that there are many outstanding questions and concerns regarding the Board and how it makes the decisions that guide this school. In response to these concerns, the Board takes the opportunity to provide this statement to our VIMSIA community. 

We would like to begin by addressing the decision to not offer tuition refunds for the latter half of the second semester of the 2019-2020 school year. As a Board of Trustees, we are entrusted with safeguarding the institution not only for any given school year, but for generations to come. We are also mindful of the legacy we inherited from decades of Trustees before us who worked hard to make the school what it is today. It is important for everyone to understand that VIMSIA did not arrive at its current institutional stature overnight, but through generations of sacrifice and dedication of countless community members before us. As per our charter, the Board needed to take into consideration not only the year 2020, but the years 1990, 2030, 2050, and beyond. 

All teachers and staff are hired under one-year contracts that VIMSIA would need to honor even if tuition refunds were given. VIMSIA has always made an effort to make its education affordable for the entire community, and because of this, even full tuition is less than the actual cost incurred by the school for educating each child. Furthermore, nearly 70% of the student body receives some financial accommodation against tuition. VIMSIA always makes up this shortfall in income through fundraising, something that has been significantly hindered because of the pandemic. Therefore, if the Board had offered tuition refunds to parents it would have necessitated layoffs in staff and teachers, caused disruption in the continuity of VIMSIA’s educational program for students, unsettled VIMSIA’s strategic planning and budget, and set the school back in its progress many years, if not decades, all for a crisis, that while epic in scope, will be temporary. This was not a tradeoff the Board felt would have been responsible to take as stewards of this institution. 

The Board recognizes the hardships experienced with the distance learning program, and that some parents felt the value received from the distance learning program was not equal to the value of the tuition paid. However, it is important to understand that the transition to the distance learning system required staff and teachers to quickly learn and adopt new technologies to provide continuity of learning. Our entire community gave more time, and exerted more effort, than if school had just continued normal on-campus learning. Asking our entire faculty of staff and teachers to give more and do more, while experiencing layoffs and pay cuts was not the fair way to handle this situation. We are extremely grateful to our VIMSIA Head of School, administrative and staff teams for their dedication and commitment to the school. As they did after Hurricanes Irma and Maria, they rose admirably to the challenge and went way beyond the call of duty to provide an element of stability and educational continuance to our student population, in extraordinarily trying circumstances. 

We understand that distance learning was difficult for young children, but the Board must also balance that recognition against the fact that no school anywhere in the world had the perfect distance learning program. The reality is that the perfect distance learning program is not something that is achievable anywhere because distant learning is not as beneficial as on-campus education for younger children. Nevertheless, in recognition that distance learning for younger students does not work for every family, the Board decided to offer a refund program for the 2020-2021 school year for La Casa and Primary. The refund policy in 2020-2021 was made possible with the aid of forward planning, but will still create a significant financial hardship on the school if it has to be implemented. 

Please keep in mind that VIMSIA always works with families that need financial assistance. These financial accommodations are always done on a one-on-one basis in a confidential and dignified manner. 

The Board understands the difficulty the pandemic has caused VIMSIA’s families and community, not only financially, but emotionally as well. For this reason, we did not arrive at our decision lightly, but only after much research, internal debate, and thoughtful consideration. 

The Board also takes this opportunity to discuss some of the developments that we have been working on prior to and even during this crisis, namely the continued development of our academic leadership team at the school. VIMSIA made some phenomenally talented strategic hires and promotions in both Montessori and in the PGIA. In Montessori, we welcomed Ms. Heather McCabe to lead our Montessori program in 2019, and she will continue to grow in her leadership role in the coming years. Over at PGIA, we promoted Alex Silva to head of MYP and Matthew Stocking to head of DP to strengthen the PGIA program led so aptly by Gloria Arpasi for the last decade. In the coming years, we expect to continue developing our education leadership positions at the school, and we remain actively recruiting and looking for talent to fill those roles. 

Our next focus of growth opportunity is going to be in the improvement of the Montessori Skills Assessment. The Board understands that the nature of the Montessori program does create a feeling of risk for some parents because the educational development cycle of students is different, and the payoff in unmatched educational achievement and results is sometimes not understood until later. This different cycle, coupled with the fact that Montessori does not give grades, makes the End-of-the-Year Assessment particularly important for parents. The Board plans on working with Ms. McCabe this coming school year to make substantive improvements to the End-of-the-Year Assessments, understanding that this year will be unique and challenging because of the continuing pandemic. 

In addition to improvements in education, the Board intends to improve on its community outreach and transparency with concerted efforts to create better communication with parents, teachers, staff, and students. The Board agrees that greater transparency about school finances would be beneficial for the entire community. The Board is currently vetting several options, including Finance Committee newsletters, an annual Open Board Meeting for parents to attend, Finance Presentations at PTA meetings, and changes to student contracts to inform parents about the value of education and how the tuition money is spent. 

Recently, some have questioned whether Board Meetings should be open or whether Board minutes should be public. The Board disagrees that open Board meetings and public minutes are healthy ways to address Board transparency. The school is a private non-profit, under no legal obligation to publicize its Board minutes or finances. The Board of Trustees is an all-volunteer board, and there is not a single person on the Board that receives remuneration of any kind in exchange for dozens of hours of work per month. Board members are nominated, recruited and retained for the professional experience (fiscal, insurance, legal, medical, mental health, academic, entrepreneurial, organizational development and human resources) they bring to the table, so that VIMSIA does not have to spend its limited fiscal resources paying for these services. For the Board of Trustees to function, it is imperative that each member be able to voice concerns in strict confidence. Having open Board meetings would hinder frank discussions and make finding quality members for our all-volunteer Board more difficult. That being said, in an effort to improve transparency, the Board will implement one annual “open” board meeting for parents to attend, and a Board member will be present at the end-of-the-year PTA meeting going forward. 

While this statement does not address each and every concern, the Board is here to make the school better and for that reason, we are always happy to hear the suggestions and feedback from every stakeholder in our community. We attach a separate brief on our roles and responsibilities as a Board of Trustees of a non- profit educational institution. Our individual profiles are listed on the school’s website. We remain open to discussing and addressing valid concerns (understanding that the school also has a well-documented grievance policy and competent academic and administrative teams as first points of call for individual issues) while always staying mindful of our obligations to the institution and community as a whole. 

We look forward to many more generations of educational excellence and community development. 

Most Sincerely, 

Greg J, Ferguson, President
on behalf of your VIMSIA Board of Trustees 

A letter from VIMSIA Leadership in response to tragic events across our country.

To the VIMSIA Community,

Our hearts are heavy with the recent acts of hatred and violence and the resulting calls for justice taking place across the country. Our community joins all those mourning the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and countless others. The pain of these deaths require, at the very least, our solidarity and we must step up to denounce racism with one voice.  

In the face of these injustices, we must remain committed to building an inclusive community, the strength of which rests on our shared appreciation for a diversity of cultures and identities. This cannot be passive. We must each continue to find ways of taking action to demonstrate our values. This work is essential to fostering mutual respect, responsibility, and empathy in each of us, so we may carry these values out into the world.

VIMSIA’s goal continues to be the education and development of global citizens, which we are constantly working towards in both our Montessori and PGIA classrooms. We aim to provide a space to help students share their thoughts and feelings, as well as develop solutions and take action to address the world’s injustices. To that end, PGIA students are invited to a forum on the Causes and Consequences of Current Protests tomorrow, June 4th at 3:15 pm.  This optional, open forum will build and expand on conversations that have already taken place within Individuals & Societies and Global Politics classes this week. 

For anyone struggling to process these recent events in a productive and healthy way, know that you are not alone and we are here to support you.  We encourage students to reach out to our Guidance Counselor, Samantha Kaffenbarger, or any staff member with whom you feel comfortable. 

We have included a link to a library collection of vetted resources, some of which our staff are already using in the classroom. This collection is by no means an exhaustive list but it is a start to aid understanding of what is happening in our country.
Racism, Civil Disobedience & Global Unrest

Sincerely, 

VIMSIA Leadership Team   

Upcoming Virtual College Admissions Events

Coalition for College Virtual College Fair
Thursday, April 23rd, 4 – 6 p.m. or 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. EST
Hear from admissions officers –“Tips on Creating Your College List”
Behind the Scenes: How Admissions Decisions Are Made”
Then virtual “rooms” where representatives from more than 40 colleges will share an overview of their schools and answer your questions, live.
http://coalitionforcollegeaccess.org/april-2020-virtual-fair.html

College Block Party
Tuesday & Wednesday, April 28th & 29th, 6 – 9 p.m. EST
This is a FREE, two-day, after-school online event for high-school students from all grade levels, parents, and counselors. Drop-in, whenever you can, to get your questions answered.
Participating Colleges Include: Colgate University, Smith College, University of California Berkeley, Emory University, Washington University in St. Louis, and Tufts University!

Head of School 2018-2019 Year End Report

Michael Bornn, Head of School

VIMSIA’s focus is to raise the bar of education in the Virgin Islands via individual student learning. As one functions at VIMSIA, one should always ask yourself: “What is the impact on student learning?” Everything else falls into place after that.

 We have repaired most of the hurricane damaged facilities. We are embarking on a major construction effort of five facilities: BEC, La Casa, Art Trailer, Dance Trailer and Weight Room. They will rebuilt over the next several years. The first building will be starting this summer. All these facilities will be constructed to a higher standard than the original facilities.

 Our graduates continue to be accepted in their first choice schools with significant amounts of financial aid to enable attendance. Our graduates are well prepared for college. Several have gone on to excel at graduate programs; others have commenced highly gainful and exciting employment.

 For a school with only ten years of graduating classes, the successes of our graduates are very impressive. The IB program prepares our graduates for college. Our graduates have achieved. They are achieving.  And they make us proud. They prove our school is meeting the challenge of quality education.

 VIMSIA will continue to improve in areas of math performance, acquisition of languages, writing skills, classroom management, self-discipline, intrinsic curiosity, collaboration and developing the love of learning. We attempt to reach every child at our school.

 Art, music, dance and theater offerings will continue on their growth path. Speech will also be added as an elective next year. Swimming, sailing and tennis offerings are being developed for next year as well.          

 VIMSIA seeks to educate a diversified student body and our families is reflective of the world at large. We are indeed proud that our teachers have taught in over 70 countries as well as the Virgin Islands. International travel and interactions are a foundation of our school.

 Expanding the Montessori Method to reach every child in the VI is indeed a goal. Early childhood education is critically important and the Montessori Method has been proven to be a leading pedagogy in early childhood education. On island Montessori training for staff and parents will commence this coming school year. 

 VIMSIA now has an endowment to help ensure we have a financial cushion to help mitigate future disasters and more importantly to fund the pursuit of excellence in perpetuity.  Raising money to grow the fund is a priority. 

 The campus is 100% solar energized. A portion of the campus is operating on an off-grid basis with storage batteries and generator back-up.  We are in the process of installing additional storage capacity to take the whole campus off grid. The cost savings of this sustainable program goes directly to improve student learning.

 To further enhance teacher recruitment and retention, we are embarking on two offerings. First, a fleet of electric cars has been donated to the school. They will be available for lease to teachers desiring an electric car. The cars can be charged at our solar powered electric car charging station free of charge, with an estimated annual fuel savings to each teacher of approximately $2,400.

Secondly, we have acquired a two-unit house on Vessup Lane so we will be able to provide affordable housing for our staff close to school. This housing program is a long-term initiative with the goal of acquiring several houses in the area over many years. The vehicle and housing alternatives are purely optional for staff. Providing transportation and housing for faculty is a step in the direction of improving the quality of life for staff, which in turn improves student learning.

 We are working on a proposal to have the concession stand open daily for students and staff to be able to purchase items from a student-run venture. Such will also incorporate existing student fund raising efforts of selling pizza weekly.

None of our achievements and goals would be possible without the amazing support of our staff, students, parents and donors.

Thank You For The Carpets!

Ms. Bolinger and our Montessori classrooms would like to extend a huge thank you and expression of gratitude for a very generous act of kindness to one of our VIMSIA families for donating classroom carpets. Look at this wonderful classroom carpet in Ms.Bolinger's class. Most of our class carpets were soaked and ruined from Hurricane's Maria and Irma. Gracias to our donor who prefers to remain anonymous!

VIMSIA Welcomes New Chief Accounting Officer

Charmaine A. Duncan, Chief Accounting Officer

We are pleased to announce that Ms. Charmaine Duncan has joined our team as the Chief Accounting officer. Charmaine is part of the Administrative team and will report directly to the Head of School. 

Charmaine is a parent and former Board Member of VIMSIA. She comes to us from Caribbean Auto Group and TJ Johnson Automotive Group, where she has over 14 years of experience in accounting procedures and reporting. She has served on the Board of Trustees as the Treasurer for several years, thus she has a wealth of existing knowledge of the school. 

Charmaine grew up in St. Thomas and attended St. Peter and Paul Catholic High School.  She attended Howard University after graduation.

NEW Online Contracts Coming Soon

We are beyond excited to announce that soon, our current parents will have the option to enroll their children online! Peggy Hunt, Business Director and Kara Ebe, Director of Admissions, have been hard at work preparing for the roll-out of our new online enrollment portal. It hasn't been easy (as you can see by all the markers and flow charts) but the outcome will be worth it! Congratulations to our administrative team on this huge step forward! Parents, keep an eye out for contracts... coming very soon!

DOE Donates Collapsible Water Bottles

United Way has donated collapsible water bottles to the VI.  Department of Education brought us 360 (Yowser!) of them.  The good news is that we are allowed to spread the wealth.  So, if you think you could use one, please pick one up at school!

Welcome to SPAIN!

Saskia C., Kaia A., and Ava Jayne P

Our three 7th grade girls were warmly welcomed by their student buddies from Casvi IB School in Madrid, Spain. Our students are taking part in a 5-week Spanish Immersion Program. We can't wait to hear about their wonderful experiences!  Go Spanish!

Spanish Exchange Program with Casvi IB School in Madrid

Saskia C., Ava Jayne P. and, Kaia A.

Congratulations to these three 7th grade girls! They are off to Casvi IB School in Madrid, Spain for a 5-week Spanish immersion exchange program. We wish them safe travels while they represent PGIA in the international IB world. Go Spanish!

The Madrid students will be with us here at VIMSIA in February & March. 

Clothing and Book Drive

In order to help the homeless of our St. Thomas community, I am holding a clothing and book drive for the Bethlehem House.  I reached out to them and found out what items they are especially in need of.  They need books and clothing, and I would love to be able to give them a generous donation from our school.  I will be putting boxes for clothes and books in the gazebo, the science pod, PGIA library, and art room for donations.  Search your closets and bookshelves for items in good condition that you are willing to part with.  Remember, your donation could mean a lot more than you realize to someone in need!

Sincerely, Darby Williams (PGIA Grade 11)

Congratulations to Carter and Max!

Carter had a very successful swim meet this weekend in Puerto Rico.  She qualified to represent St. Thomas at the CARIFTA games as part of the USVI National Swim Team.  Such a huge honor!  Her time on the 50m free was 31.18 and the 200m free was 2.32.26.  She dropped a total of 17 seconds from her personal best this weekend.  Congratulations also goes to Max who won first place overall in his age-group. We are so proud of both of you.  

Head of School Social Thursday 9/3

The Head of School Social has been postponed until Thursday, 9/3 at 5:30. Concession will open at 5:00 for complimentary light fare and beverages.  Mr. Bornn hosts Thursday evening's Parent Orientation to help get our 2015/2016 school year off to a great start and ensure lines of communication are open and flowing!  We want to provide this opportunity to meet new families, as well as ensure everyone has a clear understanding of what to expect during this school year and years to come.  This meeting is open to the whole school and will feature vocal and piano performances by Ms. Luba Dolgopolsky, who will be teaching individual vocal and piano lessons on campus throughout the school year.

Luba was born in St.Petersburg, Russia and raised in the United States. First trained as a Classical pianist, and later as a Jazz pianist as well, she comes from a family of several prominent Classical musicians.  She earned her Master's Degree in Music Education from Teacher's College at Columbia University and currently makes her home in St. John, where she performs regularly with her own band, as a solo act,  and as a guest artist with other groups.  LUBA is on faculty at the University of Virgin Islands as a Vocal Instructor, as well as Vocal/Piano Instructor at the St. John School of the Arts and we are so excited to welcome her to VIMSIA as a vocal and piano instructor.   For more information and to hear Luba perform, visit her website.

School is Closed Tomorrow (8/27) due to Tropical Storm Erika

No School tomorrow due to the storm.  We are also cancelling Wednesday Night Lower Elementary Parent Meeting and both Parent Meetings (Upper El and PGIA) for Thursday evening. Continue watching your emails, or the website announcement banner, twitter, facebook and WSTA for announcements relating to Friday.

School is on! See You in the Morning!

School will open tomorrow (8/24) as expected.  We will watch the 5:00 A.M. update and provide any updates by 6:00 A.M., but expect to proceed with school as scheduled.  Remember no bus until Sep 8.  See you soon!