Dear Gardner School Community,

We hope you are doing what you can and need to in order to stay healthy, safe, and well. We know this is a tough time. Our strength lies in community and taking care of one another.

This month’s Board of Trustees meeting was abundant with updates from our committees, and our Board is moving forward with the necessary work to best support the Gardner School.

Head of School Emily Davis shared a COVID-19 update. She shared about the rising case counts in Clark County and the shifting guidelines. The administrative team will continue to stay apprised of the guidelines and make any necessary changes. Thank you to all of you in our community for doing all you can to ensure the health and safety of our students and staff.

As part of our upcoming NWAIS accreditation process, our school is undergoing a financial audit, which will allow us to proceed with our candidacy. Director of Business Operations Sheila FitzPatrick has been working with an auditor who will present their final report later this month.

Last week, a tuition letter was sent to the Gardner School community. After months of thoughtful and intentional conversation, the Board of Trustees unanimously approved a tuition increase, a cost of living adjustment for staff, and an increase in financial aid. These increases will allow us to continue delivering on our mission, retain excellent teachers, and support an array of families in our community. We will continue to explore compensation models that can best support Gardner staff.

Each of our committees is hard at work on a range of initiatives. Our Governance committee has amended the Board of Trustees by-laws, and we have sent our updated Articles of Incorporation to the State of Washington. Our Development Committee previewed our spring fundraising events, including two live events March 18 and May 19 (mark your calendars). March 18-April 1 is our two-week annual fundraising initiative. Our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee appointed a new chair, Juna Kim McDaid, who reported that the committee has been working on a lexicon of DEI terminology the board will adopt for our meetings and within our school community. The committee is also working on assessing the diversity of the board as it relates to the NWAIS accreditation process and our site’s commitment to DEI. Our PTO has been dedicated to supporting our community, including monthly teacher appreciation events. Stay tuned for communications for this spring’s activities. 

This spring, we are looking to increase community participation in our committees and on our Board of Trustees. If you are interested in working with incredible people and deepening your support for the Gardner School, email Head of School, Emily Davis (edavis@gardnerschool.org) and Board Chair, Lori Cohen (boardchair@gardnerschool.org).

Thank you,

Lori Cohen, Board Chair

Anamaria Bambaren Call, Vice Chair

Paula Savage, Secretary

Aaron Christian, Treasurer

Kevin Fischer, Trustee

Denise Case, Trustee

Saumya Kumar, Trustee

Brynnen Guthrie, Trustee

Juna Kim McDaid, Trustee

We are thankful to share we have still had no spread of Covid-19 on campus! While we are thankful our procedures work so our students can continue learning in school, we have seen an increase in Covid-19 cases and close contact situations for family members of our students. Covid-19 cases in Clark County continue to rise, and we rely on parents to monitor symptoms closely, communicate with health@gardnerschool.org if symptoms arise, and continue to follow best practices when off campus. 

Vaccination Update
What's our percentage?

Many children in our school ages 5+ have received their Covid-19 vaccine. Out of the children eligible, we have 66% having completed their second doses and 12% with their first dose complete. We estimate we will be at 78% of eligible students vaccinated in February. 

Taking Care Of Each Other
Our Community

We have community members that are unable to be vaccinated due to health reasons, are too young to be vaccinated, have high risk family members at home, or are still high risk even though they are vaccinated. We appreciate the care we all to take to keep our more vulnerable community members safe. 

Campus snapshots