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Development Report
The 2020-2021 school year was, in a word, uplifting. The campus was alive with students, faculty, and staff PULLING TOGETHER AGAINST ALL ODDS TO CREATE A PLACE TO SAFELY LEARN during uncertain times. Was it easy? No. Were we concerned? Yes. But underlying the concerns and the what-ifs lay the determination of a community willing to go the extra mile to succeed.
Underpinning our success on campus was the greatest fundraising year in Millbrook’s history. The generosity of our alumni, parents (past and present), trustees, friends, and faculty helped us reach our ambitious Annual Fund goal. Gifts to the school totaled over $15,000,000, double what we raised the previous year. This incredible overall fundraising figure was the direct result of capital gifts and pledges in support of Millbrook’s future and included a bequest from James W. Laird ’65 and a generous donation from Jesse M. Bontecou ’44. Millbrook Momentum at its best!
COVID precautions necessitated new means to connect with our alumni and parents, and Zoom proved to be very successful in gathering our constituency together to have meaningful conversations. By May, we were able to hold in-person gatherings, including Commencement, which was followed by a special Class of 2020 gathering to honor the only Millbrook class unable to celebrate their graduation together
on campus.
We planned and enjoyed many other celebrations as we bid farewell to Linda and Drew Casertano in their final year at Millbrook. First came the dedication of the dining hall—now Casertano Hall—in November. In May, friends and the extended Millbrook family joined the entire school virtually as Drew gave a final chapel talk on the steps of the Flagler Memorial Chapel. The summer magazine featured Drew and Linda, and we presented at the faculty honors dinner in June a one-of-a-kind book of collected letters, Letters to an Educator. At a planned triple-reunion Alumni Weekend in June 2022, we will again celebrate Drew and Linda with a Saturday lunch in their honor.
Today, the campus is bustling with activity. Construction on Pulling House and a new alumni house will soon be underway. We are looking ahead and planning for a new field house addition to the Mills Athletic Center, new faculty housing units, a new boys dormitory, and other projects we expect to achieve by 2025. We are building on the many accomplishments of the 2020-2021 school year: 29 weeks of in-person school, the construction of a new counseling center and business office, a seamless transition of leadership, and a Board of Trustees eager to support and lead this school during an unprecedented time.
Strong leadership, a talented and hardworking faculty and staff, a full school, and our incredible donors who support and care for this school continue to fuel Millbrook’s Momentum. 2021-2022 here we come—full steam ahead!
