Waverly Fami­lies,

Reach­ing out to share with you some impor­tant infor­ma­tion that I presented at the parent educa­tion meeting on Monday. I want to use this letter to share with you some specific and impor­tant devel­op­ments for our school. 

Waverly received a trans­for­ma­tional gift of $4 million this fall. This gift from an anony­mous donor is trans­for­ma­tive for Waverly, because it allows us to take major steps towards real­iz­ing our mission. We remain stead­fast in our commit­ment to progres­sive peda­gogy and social justice educa­tion and will use the gift to strengthen our program and invest in our mission. 

There are four specific areas that are imme­di­ately impacted by this gift:

• Campus expan­sion and improvements
• Profes­sional devel­op­ment for faculty and staff
• Compen­sa­tion for faculty and staff
• Launch­ing the Waverly School Endowment

This gift allowed us to purchase the prop­erty imme­di­ately adja­cent to the middle school on Waverly Drive. Our campus expan­sion will have an imme­di­ate school­wide impact. Any of you who have expe­ri­ence with schools know that campus expan­sion to adja­cent prop­er­ties is essen­tial when possi­ble and will permit us to make changes and improve­ments without relo­ca­tion. This is a huge win for Waverly. 

What is most impor­tant is that the acqui­si­tion will have an impact on every Waverly student and family. In the near term we will use the new prop­erty for office space, storage, and outdoor space for our middle school students. By shift­ing offices to the new prop­erty, we will open up new meeting spaces and break­out space for elemen­tary school students and teachers. 

In the longer term, we will start a process of envi­sion­ing how we want to use the prop­erty. What is certain is that we need new spaces to support our visual and perform­ing arts program and develop a larger library to serve students. Devel­op­ing these spaces will also free up the elemen­tary school art room and allow elemen­tary school teach­ers more space for our youngest students. New construc­tion and build­ings will be used for all Waverly students and will require the collec­tive wisdom and contri­bu­tions of all community members. 

I want to make an explicit connec­tion between what is happen­ing with this trans­for­ma­tive gift and the Waverly Fund. They go hand in hand. The Waverly Fund will be the fuel that feeds the engine of new, excit­ing projects. The Waverly Fund can also help us get crit­i­cal compo­nents that will make our school better: a new pair of vans or buses, laptops for students, repair­ing roofs on school build­ings, sending students to Costa Rica, and the support of faculty goals can all be funded with a contri­bu­tion to the Waverly Fund. 100% partic­i­pa­tion in the Waverly Fund also demon­strates that our commu­nity under­stands why we need to raise funds, supports our projects, and is invested in our long-term growth. This opens up the possi­bil­ity of increase foun­da­tional support for our school. Waverly is an awesome place that should be a regional leader in progres­sive educa­tion. Part­ner­ing with you all to make that happen is an honor and a great source of excite­ment. If you haven’t taken a moment to pledge, please do so. Your personal participation matters. 

In closing, I want to note that this major gift is a reflec­tion of and a testi­mony to the work of a gener­a­tion of Waverly fami­lies, faculty, parent volun­teers, students and board members and commu­nity members. The work of Heidi Johnson as Waverly’s long-time Raven-In-Chief cannot be under­es­ti­mated. I know that I person­ally and we collec­tively owe her a debt of grat­i­tude for her courage, enthu­si­asm, and care for this wonder­ful school. It is our task to build on the collec­tive efforts of Waver­ly’s past to forge a future that deepens progres­sive peda­gogy and social justice educa­tion in the years and decades to come. 

Wishing you all a posi­tive end to the calen­dar year, I look forward to speak­ing with you soon and invite your ideas on how we build together. Please be on the lookout for ways to be involved. 

Thank you,

Clarke Weath­er­spoon
Head of School