Celebrating Academic Excellence with the Shorecrest Fund
Source/Author: Nancy L. Spencer, Head of School
October 16, 2020
Schools are fascinating organizations. Our goal is deeply rooted in achieving our mission of creating lifelong learners by providing academic excellence with character development. Unlike business organizations, however, the success of a school can’t be measured in financial profit. Yet for a school to succeed, its economic model must still make fiscal sense. The challenge is how to achieve our mission and measure success, while ensuring the financial sustainability of the organization.
As many of you know, this is my first year at Shorecrest. I have worked at a number of independent schools, and while all of them are different, some things are the same.
One consistent aspect is the business model of an independent school. The reality is, like most private educational institutions, the tuition that we charge to families does not cover the entire cost of a Shorecrest education. The school relies on the generosity of its donors to bridge the difference between tuition revenue and the entire cost of operating the school. In a normal year, we would also have revenue from auxiliary programs, but as you can expect, that amount is greatly diminished this time around.
So this year, we are especially reliant on the newly named Shorecrest Fund, our main community giving priority that supports all our programs and also enables donors to choose specific programs to recognize as areas about which they are particularly passionate.
New this year, we will be highlighting five different areas of strength throughout the school, through the concept of “Giving Days.” The objective is to spotlight key achievements on campus and also demonstrate the direct impact that philanthropy can have on the people and programs of Shorecrest. The five Giving Days support the pillars of the Shorecrest Fund.
More than ever this year, we have seen the importance of utilizing technology as a powerful tool to achieve academic excellence. As an Apple Distinguished School since 2016, Shorecrest has earned this honor based on continued evidence of innovation and academic excellence. Academic excellence means providing students with the technology skills and strategies they need to be successful, no matter the learning environment. Academic excellence entails empowering teachers to embrace technology to support communication, collaboration and innovation as a way to ignite the potential of all learners.
Defining individual success is deeply personal. Put simply, a successful school such as Shorecrest achieves its mission by having the financial resources to provide the education that our students will use to change the world.
My sincerest thanks to everyone who has participated in our first Giving Day, whether with a financial contribution or sharing a story on social media about what academic excellence means to you. If you’ve not yet had the opportunity to get involved, I invite you to visit the Shorecrest Fund online at https://www.givecampus.com/1yeoqm to learn more.
All the best,
Nancy
As many of you know, this is my first year at Shorecrest. I have worked at a number of independent schools, and while all of them are different, some things are the same.
One consistent aspect is the business model of an independent school. The reality is, like most private educational institutions, the tuition that we charge to families does not cover the entire cost of a Shorecrest education. The school relies on the generosity of its donors to bridge the difference between tuition revenue and the entire cost of operating the school. In a normal year, we would also have revenue from auxiliary programs, but as you can expect, that amount is greatly diminished this time around.
So this year, we are especially reliant on the newly named Shorecrest Fund, our main community giving priority that supports all our programs and also enables donors to choose specific programs to recognize as areas about which they are particularly passionate.
New this year, we will be highlighting five different areas of strength throughout the school, through the concept of “Giving Days.” The objective is to spotlight key achievements on campus and also demonstrate the direct impact that philanthropy can have on the people and programs of Shorecrest. The five Giving Days support the pillars of the Shorecrest Fund.
- October 15th spotlighted Academic Excellence
- November 12th will focus on Athletics
- January 21st will honor Innovation and Technology
- March 18th will celebrate Visual and Performing Arts
- April 15th will demonstrate our commitment to Community & Service
More than ever this year, we have seen the importance of utilizing technology as a powerful tool to achieve academic excellence. As an Apple Distinguished School since 2016, Shorecrest has earned this honor based on continued evidence of innovation and academic excellence. Academic excellence means providing students with the technology skills and strategies they need to be successful, no matter the learning environment. Academic excellence entails empowering teachers to embrace technology to support communication, collaboration and innovation as a way to ignite the potential of all learners.
Defining individual success is deeply personal. Put simply, a successful school such as Shorecrest achieves its mission by having the financial resources to provide the education that our students will use to change the world.
My sincerest thanks to everyone who has participated in our first Giving Day, whether with a financial contribution or sharing a story on social media about what academic excellence means to you. If you’ve not yet had the opportunity to get involved, I invite you to visit the Shorecrest Fund online at https://www.givecampus.com/1yeoqm to learn more.
All the best,
Nancy
