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Volume 15, Issue 5 www.facebook.com/sagehillschool
Sahale Greenwood Fostering faculty-student connections. President Gordon McNeill talks with students in Town Square which is what he hopes to do more of in his new position. By having a greater connection with students he can better realize the first priority of the strategic plan to “dynamically enhance the student experience,” he said.
Keep Your Eyes and Ears Open By Hawken Miller editor-in-chief
Gordon McNeill, former professional basketball player in Australia and history teacher at Corona del Mar High, is determined to continue the strong and strategic growth of Sage Hill School following his selection as president for the 2014-15 school year. This selection has already prompted change within the administration as Patricia Merz stepped up to fill the void that McNeill left at the head of school position. They still work closely together. “I have a close partnership with Ms. Merz,” McNeill said. “We collaborate on everything.” McNeill’s new role as president takes on a lot of responsibility. “I primarily advance the mission of the school,” McNeill explained. His new role carries a newfound weight for the future of the school. “My goal is to fully execute the strategic plan, which outlines the goals of Sage Hill from 2014 to 2018.” There are five priorities for the next four years according to the strategic plan: “1) dynamically enhance the student experience, 2) fully realize our commitment to diversity, inclu-
sivity, equity and justice, 3) foster an environment where great educators come to thrive, 4) strengthen the dialogue around our mission, values, program and expectations and 5) to actualize our vision by completing the campus Master Plan, expanding the endowment and building Sage Hill’s national reputation.” Part of the success of McNeill and Sage Hill lies in the increased connection among alumni. Just this year he has already traveled to schools in Chicago, Boston, New York and San Francisco bringing past, present and future students together in order to better build Sage Hill’s national reputation, he said. “I see myself as the ambassador to Sage Hill,” McNeill said. “I want to visit colleges to offer up what our students are like, and connect with alumni to see how I can best support them as they launch out into the world.” Many of these alumni have started their own families and businesses. Raj Sidhu ‘09 has created his own coding board game, Peter Frankuchen ‘09 and Peter Bishop ‘07 have started a sustainable gardening program called Aquaponics and Paolo Leon ‘04 is on the Board of Trustees. “I am constantly helping with making connections, finding internships and connecting alumni to potential employers,” McNeill said. The future is open to numerous
possibilities and ideas in order to foster future educators and students, and it is McNeill’s job to make sure that they are realized. An innovation space known colloquially as “The Space” by administrators and faculty, six tennis courts and a new pool with locker rooms are all on the future agenda. The new innovation space is the focus of future learning at Sage Hill. “During the in-service faculty session on Monday, Jan. 5 we discussed our innovation space as a faculty and staff,” McNeill recounted. “It will be a place to get your hands dirty as a student. When you actually do the hands on work yourself, learning tends to goes through the roof.” And McNeill turns these dreams into reality by spearheading fundraising from donors and garnering community support. “We have approved the Master Plan and now we want to build it out while at the same time increasing the amount of financial aid for students,” said McNeill. One might wonder where the money comes from in order to pursue these enormous endeavors. It comes from one of two places: the annual fund, which supports annual operating costs, and the endowment fund, which supports future financial aid. The true cost of attending Sage is actually more than the tuition charged. “The tuition only covers 93 percent of the actual cost of educa-
tion,” McNeill said. “That is why the annual fund is so important.” The fund covers that remaining 7 percent and is capped at $1 million annually. “The endowment, on the other hand, is a pool of money that the school raises to fund specific projects,” McNeill explained. “The goal is to never touch the principle and to then take a 4 percent draw off of the targeted 7 percent of growth in order to support programs like financial aid. Right now we are have a $13 million endowment and our goal is to raise an additional $10 million, primarily for financial aid.” That’s a lot of money. But McNeill is confident that it is being used in the best way. “In order for Sage Hill to remain one of the best independent schools in the nation, we will need to continue to offer extraordinary programs and we will need to draw in extraordinary students,” said McNeill. Already McNeill has been asked to fill a large void, but has been largely successful so far, raising $50,000 to help digitize curriculum and entering into the early stages of fundraising for the tennis, aquatic and innovation facilities. Hopefully McNeill follows his own advice to outgoing seniors with the future of Sage Hill resting on his shoulders: “Keep your eyes and ears open. You never know what might be around the corner.”