NEWS + NOTES

Best Wishes, Goodbye & Welcome

GOODBYE AND BEST WISHES TO...

Kathleen Neal, business

manager, an alumni parent and grandparent, departed Independence in 2021 after 41 years of service in our business office. She had a variety of responsibilities during that time, including payroll, accounts payable, and financial aid management.

Kathy Osborne,

nurse, worked parttime as a nurse with Independence students for 10 years. Although a part-time employee, Kathy was an active member of the school community, frequently volunteering for special events, including the eighth-grade Boston trip.

Valerie Rodeheaver, Spanish teacher, retired

after 33 years of teaching Spanish at all the grade levels. For many of those years, Valerie served as our world language curriculum coordinator, and she inspired many students to pursue Spanish in high school and beyond.

Joan Valentine, administrative assistant,

retired after 40 years as the friendly and helpful face and voice of Independence in the reception office. During her time at the school, Joan responded to calls from parents and vendors, helped students with forgotten or lost items, and managed our substitutes. Jennifer Vrana, director of Finance & Operations,

retired after 14 years in the position. Prior to joining Independence as an employee, Jenny served on the Board of Trustees, including as board president from July 1996 through June 2005, and was president of the IPA in 1994–1995. She is the parent of two Independence graduates.

Welcome (back) to

WELCOME AND CONGRATULATIONS TO...

Tommy Brangs, Class of

‘07, who has returned to his alma mater for his student teaching placement. Tommy is passionate about environmental education and is working with our Middle School science faculty. He also served as assistant boys soccer coach in 2021.

Patrick Burns, director of Finance & Operations,

joins Independence from Centreville Layton School, where he was director of Finance and Operations for 10 years while also continuing to direct the technology office for CLS (his first role there). Pat holds a bachelor’s degree in business management and management information systems.

Congratulations to Jennifer Hayes,

kindergarten aide and summer camp staff, who has assumed the additional role of director of Extended Day in 2021. Kim Manno, administrative assistant, joins

Independence after 12 years working in administrative roles in the beverage industry. She’s happy to return to a school environment, since she began her career as a preschool teacher. In addition to supporting the business office and other school administrative functions, Kim greets and assists parents and students.

Leslie McGregor, extended day receptionist,

joined the Extended Day program after substituting in kindergarten throughout the 2020–21 school year. She is an attorney and the parent of two current Independence students. Since coming to Independence as a parent, Leslie has been a volunteer in the school community.

Christine Pelillo, early childhood aide, joins

Independence as a kindergarten aide. An early childhood and elementary education teacher with more than two decades of experience, she was most recently a kindergarten lead teacher at St. John the Beloved Catholic School. Christine is also a proud alumni parent.

Kylie Tarburton, communications specialist, joins

Independence following her recent graduation from Arcadia University with a degree in media and communication. She brings a creative eye, a talent for photography, and technical website skills that are valuable additions to our marketing and communications department.

BUILDING COMMUNITY WHILE MAKING A DIFFERENCE

The Independence Parents’ Association (IPA) has long been a strong contributor to the school community. We appreciate the many parents who are willing to give their time, talent, and treasures to help make the Independence experience exceptional—whether that be in support of classroom improvements, outdoor learning experiences, fascinating field trips, and more!

We are grateful for the IPA-sponsored lunch program, organization, and implementation of student and parent virtual social events, as well as the IPA’s philanthropic efforts. All faculty and staff have enjoyed the IPA’s thoughtful generosity throughout the year, including lunches, coffees, faculty/staff appreciation week, breakfast treats, and afternoon snacks!

Among the memorable events hosted by the IPA in 2020-21 was a virtual mixology evening for adults, a game night for students, and a pumpkin-decorating contest, to name a few. The IPA helped spread the Indy spirit by giving back to those less fortunate with a sneaker recycling program and a food drive.

While always friend-raising, the IPA is also fundraising. Their initiatives during the 2020-21 school year resulted in a $41,715 gift to the school.

A heartfelt thank-you to all!

With our appreciation…

Dear Independence community,

I am pleased to share with you the 2020-2021 Annual Report for The Independence School. From the beginning of the school year, we knew we would have to be flexible and nimble while still in this global pandemic. We were thrilled to bring students, faculty, and staff back to campus, while accommodating those who preferred remote learning. Zoom meetings and virtual events continued to be the norm for most of the school year. As winter turned into spring, we were excited to host outdoor events, including year-end classroom parties, a cornhole tournament, band and choral concerts, and graduation.

Thank you to all of our donors, event sponsors, committee members, and school volunteers. Your support is critical to our success as a school. To the right, I have listed ways for you to give back to the Independence community that we all love. Whether your passion is helping to close the gap between tuition income and our day-to-day operating costs through the Annual Fund, financial aid for students, classroom support for faculty, or programmatic and athletic enhancements, we thank you for choosing to invest in The Independence School.

Our strength is in our ability to come together as a community to collaborate, problem-solve, plan for today and tomorrow, implement, innovate, iterate, and repeat. We remain committed to preparing our students for the real world that awaits them every day, and the much-anticipated world yet to be imagined. I hope you will join me in the Patriot Pride that I feel every day in being part of this extraordinary community. Together, all things are possible!

Many thanks and much gratitude,

Michele C. Harra

Director of Advancement and Enrollment Management

Ways to give back to Independence

• Join the Independence Parents’

Association (IPA) and build connections.

• Volunteer as a homeroom representative and for schoolsponsored events.

• Calling alumni! Volunteer to be a class agent or a guest speaker in our classrooms.

• Participate in school functions, including IPA-hosted and athletic events and the annual Auction & Gala.

• For Amazon purchases, use

Smile.Amazon.com and select

“The Independence School” as your favorite charity. Amazon will donate 0.5% of eligible purchases to the school.

• Make a gift each school year to support the Annual Fund. These dollars help close the gap between what tuition covers and the true cost of educating an Indy student. Being an independent school means that we are a nonprofit organization, operating without financial support from local or federal taxes. We rely on tuition income,

Annual Fund income, and endowment income to support the day-to-day operation of our school. Our tuition, which aligns closely with that charged by our peer schools, covers only about 89% of what it costs to educate each

Indy student.

If you have any questions or want to discuss giving back to Independence, please contact Michele by email at mharra@indyde.org or by phone at 302-239-0332.

The Independence School Report of Philanthropy 2020–2021

The Independence School is so grateful for the continued generosity of our community, including 543 board members, parents, alumni, faculty and staff, grandparents, former parents, and friends who supported the school and our students with a philanthropic gift during the 2020-21 school year. All gifts enhance and enrich the school experience for our students and support the faculty. We are so appreciative of each and every gift. Thank you!

INDEPENDENCE CLUB

$10,000 AND UP

Anonymous (1) Benevity Fund Mr. Vance Funk and Mrs. Ashley Quill Funk ’95 Mr. and Mrs. Vincent Greggo Mr. J. Kevin Heitzenroder ’85 and

Mrs. Elizabeth Heitzenroder Mr. and Mrs. Francis R. Julian Mr. and Mrs. Alan Levin Schwab Charitable Mr. Jeffrey Shahan and Mrs. Kimberly

Criscuolo Shahan ’97 Mrs. Lisa Julian Spear ’94 and Mr. Mark Spear The Independence Parents’ Association (IPA) Turf Pro, Inc. Welfare Foundation Inc. Mr. and Mrs. Andy Wilke Mrs. Amelia Julian Wyant ’90 and

Mr. Jack Wyant Mrs. Victoria C. Yatzus

FREEDOM CLUB

$5,000 TO $9,999

Alpine and Rafetto Orthodontics Delaware Orthopaedic Specialists Mr. Amish Desai and Dr. Payal Desai Dr. Matthew Eichenbaum Fidelity Charitable First State Orthopaedics Dr. Mark R. Fiss and Dr. Marissa Schnelle Mrs. Bianca I. Fraser-Johnson and

Mr. Michael J. Johnson Mr. and Mrs. Douglas Giffin Goldman Sachs Matching Gift Program Mr. and Mrs. Robert V.A. Harra III Mr. Ryan Haydu and Dr. Barbara Albani Mr. and Mrs. Daniel P. Johnson Mr.* and Mrs. Robert Mark Panaro Law Group LLC WSFS CARES Foundation

SPIRIT CLUB

$3,000 TO $4,999

Mr. and Mrs. Nathan Cook Mr. and Mrs. William Doroh Dr. and Mrs. Andrew J. Glick Mr. Thomas J. Hanna and Dr. Lexie A. Hanna Dr. Deep Kahlon and Ms. Mona Singh Keen Compressed Gas Co. Mr. and Mrs. Bryan Keen Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Kenton Dr. Mia Papas ’86 and Dr. J. Morel Symons Mr. and Mrs. Doug Schneider Mr. Hayoung Seo and Mrs. Mijung Choi Dr. Jorge Soares and Dr. Elizabeth Bayley Mr. and Mrs. Vincent Thomas Mr. Ping Xu and Ms. Boon Huei Loh

STARS CLUB

$1,500 TO $2,999

Andrew N. Yatzus Scholarship Fund at Delaware Community Foundation Mr. Donald W. Ashwell Dr. and Mrs. Jeremie Axe C/MC Charles Baldwin Dr. and Mrs. Joachim Berkner Blackbaud Giving Fund Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Brindley Mr. and Mrs. George Brown IV Mr. and Mrs. Dennis Burke Mr. and Mrs. John M. Burris Dr. and Mrs. Evan Crain CSC Delaware STEAM Academy Evergreen Waste Services, LLC Mr. and Mrs. Randal Farabaugh Mrs. Jane Fouracre Mr. and Mrs. Robert J.A. Fraser Mr. Brian Funk ’94 and Mrs. Andrea Funk Mr. and Mrs. Michael Gilmore Giordano, DelCollo, Werb & Gagne, LLC Mr. and Mrs. Joseph A. Giordano