2016-17 Annual Report

Princeton

Montessori School Nurturing Potential. Igniting Passion.

Nurturing Potential. Igniting Passion.

2016-2017 Annual Report www.princetonmontessori.org

Dear Princeton Montessori School Community, It is with great satisfaction that we reinstate our practice of providing an annual report to our school community. As a school, we are committed not only to providing the highest quality of education according to the Montessori philosophy, but also to providing transparency, meaningful and timely communication, adhering to best practices as an independent school, and engaging our parent body in a way that serves its educational and community-building needs.

It is our hope that this report will shine a light on the very good work being done on behalf of the children we serve, as well as call attention to the forward-thinking vision and needs of the school, and applaud the contributions of many of you who give of your time, talents, and financial support.

Our faculty and staff are committed to our three year strategic plan, which is focused on ensuring the exceptional quality and longevity of our nearly fifty year history as an independent school serving the greater Princeton community. We are so proud that we have provided the highest standard of a Montessori education to thousands of children since our doors opened in 1968 as Princeton Montessori School. With your support and the sound governance of the trustees, we will be here for generations to come.

In gratitude,

Princeton Montessori School Board of Trustees

From left to right:

Joe Hargrove, Sunanda Bidkar, Michelle Morrison, Maeve Egner, Ugur Koyluoglu, Lee Gardner, Rita Zetterberg, Jennifer Ni, Peter Egbert

Our Mission Princeton Montessori School is dedicated to developing passion and nurturing the potential in each child, through the values and principles of the Montessori philosophy. We promote intrinsic motivation, independence, social responsibility, and a love of learning so that as global citizens, our students can lead fulfilling lives and work to better the world.

“Maria Montessori recognized that the foundational years of a person’s life are the most important for providing the very best environment, not only for learning, but for developing as a human being. A Princeton Montessori School education is the very best of Montessori and is an exceptional and proven investment in your child’s future.”

- Michelle Morrison, Head of School

Parent Association Dear Parents, The Parent Association of Princeton Montessori School is a vibrant and active organization of parent volunteers. The mission of the Parent Association is to maintain a strong partnership and open communication among parents, faculty, and school administration. It strives to foster a warm and welcoming sense of community and opportunities to connect with other Princeton Montessori parents, as well as be involved in school life. Parents or legal guardians of students currently attending Princeton Montessori School are welcome and encouraged to participate.

The 2016-17 school year was an active year for the Parent Association with activities that connected parents with one another, and connected the school to the community. The year began with Get Acquainted Socials, and throughout the year, members of the Room Parent Committee hosted family outings including weekend play dates, and a visit to the Liberty Science Museum. A parent Paint-and-Sip night hosted by the Social Committee was a great success, giving parents an opportunity to connect in a relaxed environment of creativity and fun.

In an effort to connect the school with the greater Princeton area community, the Parent Association organized activities that supported several child-focused charitable organizations. The Community Service Committee coordinated the school’s participation supporting the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen, a winter hats-and-gloves drive, Toys For Tots and the Cuban Arts Project. In addition to helping our less fortunate neighbors, these community service activities were designed to engage our children so that they would learn about the needs of others and how their efforts can make a difference.

In addition to these charitable activities, the Parent Association’s Farm-to-School Committee established a relationship with a local area farm to design educational programs for our Middle School students designed to help students better understand where our food comes from. In addition, the Farm-to-School Committee worked with a local farm to offer discounted memberships to a farm share program offering weekly deliveries of fresh organic fruits and vegetables to Princeton Montessori families.

The Parent Association recognizes that it is the teachers and staff that make Princeton Montessori School such a wonderful experience for our children. This gratitude and appreciation was expressed with a Holiday Lunch, and an end-of-year Faculty Appreciation Lunch with food generously provided by parents from all programs.

The Parent Association looks forward to another year of connecting with families, the school, and our community. We encourage all of our families to get involved!

Warm Regards,

Laura Shepherd 2016-17 Parent Association Chair

Strategic Plan 2017-2020 Overview Princeton Montessori School is a prestigious educational institution with fifty years of service to the greater Princeton area, and is home to the renowned Princeton Center for Teacher Education, which ensures the strictest adherence of American Montessori Society standards for our school.

Princeton Montessori is an authentic Montessori institution, true to the values and mission of a Montessori education and 21st century best practices of education. The school offers education and care for children from infant through eighth grade.

Princeton Montessori School is dedicated to developing passion and nurturing the potential in each child, through the values and principles of the Montessori philosophy. We promote intrinsic motivation, independence, social responsibility, and a love of learning so that as global citizens, our students can lead fulfilling lives and work to better the world.

The highly trained and dedicated faculty and staff of Princeton Montessori School value their strong connection with families, and work together to make the school a true support system for both students and parents. In addition, the school is governed by a Board of Trustees committed to the highest ethical standards in serving the financial and strategic interests of the school. Princeton Montessori School is proud of its work on behalf of the families it serves.

Vision As we look to the future of the school, we envision a thriving, accessible, and diverse institution that is exceptional, progressive, environmentally friendly; and grounded in the philosophy of Montessori and best educational practices. Our future community of learners and their parents will be connected, equally dedicated, and supportive of the organization and its constituents. The strategic work we do in the coming years will be to this end.

Strategic Plan 2017-2020 Education Ensure all programs have healthy enrollment and offer the highest quality education by incorporating research-based, 21st Century best practices in keeping with American Montessori Society standards; and provide measures on student outcomes.

Three-Year Outcomes: A. Increased Innovation - Continue to seek and implement innovative improvements for our school that aid teachers in delivering an exceptional education. Implement measurable, targeted professional development tied to meeting these goals.

B. Q uality Assurance Communication - Establish curriculum benchmarks and educational screenings to ensure both a transparent academic structure and proper student learning intervention when needed. Maintain exceptional parent and student support on all areas of student progress and in the transition process to high school.

C. Full Enrollment - Build and maintain healthy enrollment in our school, across programs.

Faculty & Staff Attract, retain, and develop an outstanding, compassionate, and diverse faculty who embody a growth mindset, are committed to our organizational goals, and work in alignment with administration to ensure excellence in education and strong relationships with families.

Three-Year Outcomes: A. E nhanced Accountability Measures - Consistent and effective adherence to new annual progress reporting, holding each accountable to set and reach milestones aligned with organizational goals. A structure of observations and support from Coordinator, Director of Education, and Head of School.

B. Clear & Competitive Compensation - Streamline our faculty compensation model to make further strides on ensuring a fair, competitive, and transparent structure based on degree of contribution to the School, degree of training and qualifications, and years of service.

C. Exceptional Staffing - Retention of those who consistently meet the high standards of the school, and staffing that meets or exceeds American Montessori Society requirements for teacher-to-student ratio at each program level.

Finance Strengthen our financial platform to best serve the school’s mission, values, and long-term sustainability.

Three-Year Outcomes: A. Expense Model - Maintain a three to five year sustainable operational expense model for multiple scenarios.

B. T uition & Retention Model - Formulate a long-term tuition and retention model that allows us to build and sustain healthy enrollment while maintaining a generous tuition assistance program.

C. Data-Driven Action - Stay ahead of market trends by using industry data on independent schools, which take into account economic factors, and regional variables.

Strategic Plan 2017-2020 Internal Community Ensure parents have a solid understanding and an appreciation of how a Princeton Montessori School education meets and exceeds academic standards while incorporating life skills that serve children as they reach adulthood. Communication models and parent offerings will aid in building community involvement and school appreciation.

Three-Year Outcomes: A. Increased Knowledge and Appreciation - Parents understand and embrace the principles of a Montessori education and trust the school to deliver exceptional preparation to their children for higher education and adulthood.

B. I ncreased Parent Participation - Strong and sustainable parent involvement in the school and attendance at school events, including Parent Association participation.

C. Effective Communication - A model of communication that meets parent needs in medium, frequency, and information.

D. Strong Relationships - Consistently strong relationships that are cultivated with alumni and current and past parents.

External Community Leverage relationships with outside service organizations to increase educational offerings and create broader community awareness and support of the school.

Three-Year Outcomes: A. Local Relationships - Mutually beneficial relationships are made with local institutions that could enhance our educational and extracurricular resources and offerings.

B. M ontessori Relationships - Relationships are strengthened with other Montessori and independent schools in our area for educational and extra-curricular collaboration, and to build awareness of our school.

C. Community Give Back - Annual educational or festive events are held on site and are open to the public as a gesture of goodwill to the community and to raise awareness of the school.

Campus Maximize the potential of the school’s beautiful grounds and state-of-the-art facility for student learning purposes. Promote this aspect to seek other revenue sources for the school by engaging mission-friendly organizations across the greater community. Ensure the facility is maintained and improved upon for long-term sustainability.

Three-Year Outcomes: A. Maximize our Campus - Use and promote our grounds as one of our key assets as a school.

B. E nvironmentally Friendly - Achieve more environmentally-friendly operations of our facility.

C. Revenue-Generating Alliances - Maximize use of the grounds and facility by the greater community.

Communication Effectively convey the attributes and advantages of a Princeton Montessori School education to current and prospective families.

Three-Year Outcomes: A. Strong Reputation - Exceptional reputation for all program levels according to the Montessori philosophy.

B. B rand Awareness - Visible and consistently present in the community.

C. Effective Marketing - Effective execution of marketing dollars through savvy selection of media placement.

Financials Dear Princeton Montessori School Community, Princeton Montessori School’s fiscal year runs from September 1 to August 31. Our revenues for the 2016-17 fiscal year totaled $5,199,000 versus $5,028,000 of expenses and $213,000 of capital expenditures. This financial performance is made possible by comprehensive budgeting and updated forecasting of each revenue and expense item, aggressive management of expenses throughout the year, and having a strong Annual Fund.

Our revenues are mainly driven by tuition and fees. The other sources of revenues are the SummerQuest program, PCTE education and the Annual Fund, which continues to be essential to meet our expenses. In fiscal year 2016-17, 85% of our revenues resulted from tuition and fees. Thanks to the donations of parents, staff, alumni and board of trustees, the Annual Fund totaled $131,000 versus its budgeted target of $150,000.

Our expenses can be summarized in six categories: personnel (including salaries and benefits & professional development), supplies and class activities, operating, premises, debt service coverage and other. 73% of our revenues were paid to cover personnel’s salaries, benefits and professional development, and 10% to meet the interest and principal of the loans that had financed the construction of our facilities.

The school invested all of its net surplus of $171,000 to improve the facilities and technology.

Kind Regards,

Ugur Koyluoglu Board of Trustees, Finance Committee Chair

Enrollment Overview September 2016-2017

September 2017-2018

Infant

11

11

Toddler

36

38

Primary

64

81

LE

21

23

UE

31

25

MS

16

20

Total

179

198

Financials Financials (unaudited ) for the 2016-17 Fiscal Year 3% 5% 6%

Revenues: $5,199,000 n Net Tuition and Fees - $4,358,000 n Summer Quest - $380,000 n PCTE - $286,000

85%

n Annual Fund - $131,000 n Other - $44,000

Expenses: $5,028,000

10% 5%

n Personnel - $3,661,000

8%

n Supplies and Class Activities - $193,000 n Operating - $391,000 73%

n Premises - $291,000

4%

n Debt Service Coverage - $492,000

Surplus Income: $171,000 = 3%

Capital Expenditures: $213,000 $118,000

$59,000 $23,000

n Building Improvements and Accessories

n Technology Software n Furniture n Other

$13,000

Above presented figures are our unaudited financials for the 2016-17 Fiscal Year. They are sourced from the school’s financial management reports. Each year, an external auditor audits the school’s financials records and prepares an independent report on its findings by the end of November. This audit report is used for official filing purposes.

Annual Giving

Dear Princeton Montessori School Parents, Faculty, and Friends, On behalf of the Princeton Montessori Trustees, we extend our sincerest gratitude to all of you who contribute to our community. For those who donated to the 2016-17 campaign, your generosity allowed the school to fund faculty development, purchase new materials and equipment for the children, and ensure our ability to maintain operational expenses.

We were delighted to see so many families among the list of our caring contributors as participation by all of the community is our main goal. Do take a look through this Annual Report attachment to see the impact our school community’s generosity has made on our programs, our children, and our faculty. As with many other independent schools, tuition alone does not cover the full costs of running the school; we couldn’t deliver this exceptional Montessori education without everyone’s support and we thank you for your steadfast participation in each year’s campaign.

As we look ahead to the 2017-18 school year, we hope to focus our annual campaign on the key areas that go beyond basic expenses, such as supporting educational enhancements, campus and facility renovations, professional development for faculty and staff, and more community-wide events. Each of these focus areas will benefit the current and future community of Princeton Montessori Society.

Save the Date! We want to kick this year’s campaign off on Tuesday, November 28th, 2017, which is now known as ‘Giving Tuesday’ nationwide, and we hope you will make it a priority to pledge online on or before this date so that our Princeton Montessori School students, current and future, can benefit. In order to make this year’s campaign a success, we need to reach $120,000. Can we count on you to show your support?

Our heartfelt appreciation goes out to our 2016-17 Campaign Volunteers. The campaign would not succeed without their gifts of time and energy!

Thank you so much for considering a tax-deductible donation to our school. Together, we can do so much for our current students and those to come!

Sincerely,

Rita Zetterberg & Peter Egbert Trustees and Co-Chairs of the Princeton Montessori School Annual Fund

Annual Giving 2016-17 Princeton Montessori School Annual Fund Donors Leaders Club $10,000-19,999

Innovators Club $500-999

Sustainers Club - up to $299

Peter & Mary Ellen Egbert Sean & Ana Cecilia Fieler Joe Hargrove & Carla Servin Christina Kirby & Joshua Kulkin Ugur & Ayse Koyluoglu Lee & Marjorie Maschler

Maeve & Mark Egner Rita Zetterberg & James Kaplan

Bing Bai & Yihua Wu Choi-Shields Family Jon & Patricia Hlafter Vincent Li’s Family Darren & Alissa Miele Philipp & Bettina Neumann Amit & Vaishali Patel Alexander & Irina Sidorenko Joe & Marsha Stencel Anne Wright Wilson

Cornerstone Club $2,500-4,999

Creators Club $300-499

Urvish & Sunanda Bidkar Nigel & Lee Gardner Michelle & Rick Morrison Victor & Lilly Peng Jim & Deborah Peters The Saltarelli Family Nili & Jamie Schnitzer Kevin Sullivan & Rebecca Piccone Wei Sun & Jennifer Ni

Banner Family Barrood Family Elizabeth Szpiek Bremser Chen / Lu Family DeCheser / Shepherd Family Friedlander Family Giblin Family Huang / Que Family Janssen Family Kalb Family Khorsandi Family LifeTouch Photos Liu Family Moola Family Sadhu Family Scherer Family Wolfson Family Wu / Lin Family Zhang / Jia Family Zhao / Sheng Family

Anonymous Akinyanmi Family Bartlett Family Baskin Family Berness Family Burnfield Family Cannon Family Anita Canzano Chambers Family Chen Family Elizabeth Clarke Nancy D’Andrea Eldridge/Myers Family Fang Family Friedland-Parker Family Fruscioni-Loizides Family Damon Grandbouche Jane Green Brittany Hendricks Maria & Liv Johnson Lin / Weber Family Mehrotra / Prasad Family O’Donnell / Hindes Family Petry / Reitknecht Family Richmond-Moll Family Ruszala Family Smart Lunches Soccio Family Aria Song Family Chris Sullivan & Katie Baran Surti / Shah Family Undavia Family Wimmers Family

Pacesetters Club $5,000-9,999

Patrons Club $1,000-2,499 Cindy & Peter Betz Anita Chatterjee George & Sandy Faltaous Robert & Cheryl Gregov Shuyun Hou & Zhaohui Liu Chris & Andrea Mecray Thomas & Caroline Scriven Freddy & Julie Song John Wei & Hui Cao *Faculty and staff not listed

2014-15

2015-16

2016-17

%

Amount

%

Amount

%

Amount

Trustees

100%

$43,500.00

100%

$57,750.00

100%

$43,100.00

Faculty/Staff

100%

$12,189.99

58%

$4,125.00

87%

$4,200.00

Parents

59%

$78,463.00

53%

$82,600.00

55%

$55,000.00

Friends/Alumni

37%

$20,806.26

40%

$9,400.00

22%

$12,000.00

2016-17 Total Donations: $154,908.25

Princeton Montessori School 487 Cherry Valley Road Princeton, New Jersey 08540 609-924-4594 www.princetonmontessori.org