I hope everyone had a fantastic school year and you are all off to a great summer. In my eyes, this has been one of the best, if not the best, year for Soundview. Chris and Chrissy have done a fantastic job chronicling what’s happened on campus already, so I am going to share a quick update about activity on the Soundview Board.

First things first, the Board is welcoming four new Trustees for the upcoming school year: Bri Dwyer, Chris Sweeney, Emily Hallowell, and Preat Kansal. We are super excited to have each of them join and bring their own special perspectives and skill sets to the Board. 

Their joining also marks a key milestone for the Board’s growth and stability. When I took the role as Board President three years ago, we had eight Trustees with many set to roll off over the next couple of years. We set an ambitious goal to grow the Board within three years to a total of 14-16 Trustees. With these 4 additions, the Board will now have 16 Trustees, setting us up for long-term sustainability. I am excited about the high quality of individuals on the Board, all of whom are passionate about Soundview and are working very hard to ensure we set the school up for long-term success.

You can meet all of our Trustees HERE. If you are interested in working closely with the Board, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me or Chrissy directly. 

In addition to welcoming the new Trustees, the Board was very busy in a number of areas this past year. Here is a snippet of some of the things we did: 

• Established clear charters and goals for each committee. 

• Reinforced and invested heavily in our commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging so that the Board can continue to serve as a guiding force in fostering an inclusive and equitable future for Soundview. 

• Developed an equitable and rigorous new Trustee recruiting process.

• Partnered closer than ever with the school administration to advance the philanthropic efforts of the school, with specific attention to donor stewardship.

• Established a new, sustainable 5-year financial plan for the school.

On that final bullet, I want to highlight that the school is in a strong financial position, one of its strongest in the past decade, thanks to the incredible and generous support of our community. That being said, there is still important work ahead to ensure the school’s long-term stability and success. 

Over the next year, the Board will be spending significant time extending our strategic plan out into a 10-year view so we have clarity on the opportunities and challenges we face. This will include things like how we manage variable expenses that are out of the school’s direct control, improving teacher pay, planning for the improvement and replacement of our physical infrastructure, and generally supporting efforts that enable the school to stay true to its mission. 

Last, and certainly not least, I want to both thank Chris for all he has done and welcome Chrissy into her new role. Chris has been an incredible partner to me personally and to the Board overall. He has helped steer the ship through some rough waters, always doing so with grace and integrity. Every one of us at the school is indebted to Chris for all he has done. Fortunately, he won’t be going very far. And I have his cell number!

In the same breath, I am super excited to have Chrissy step up into her new role. We couldn’t have asked for a better scenario than having Chrissy take the helm. More than just knowing Soundview already, Chrissy has been a key force in making Soundview what it is today. I can’t wait to see Chrissy add her own flair as she takes the school to the next level. 

Thank you, everyone, and have a fantastic summer!

Shawn Heidel
Soundview Board President

Fall is in the air, and the school year is zipping along. I wanted to take a few minutes to provide an update from Soundview’s Board of Trustees. As the board, we are primarily focused on long term strategy that will impact the school five to fifteen years into the future. As a result, our goals have a lot of consistency from year to year. At the start of the previous school year (2022-2023), we set out two primary goals for the board, and they remain in place today: 

1. Define Soundview’s growth strategy

   While there are things we like about Soundview’s campus, we recognize the current facilities are maxed out from a capacity standpoint, and many of the structures are nearing the end of their planned life. Soundview’s long term sustainability requires opportunity for growth in program, services, and enrollment. 

   This challenge has resulted in critical and creative thinking (growing within the existing location, adding another location, or even moving to a new campus). We are actively evaluating campus options and know our work is not done until we have a clear path to enable growth. Over the past six months, we have also been heavily engaged with an architect to determine the spatial needs of the school’s program, and to define options for growth and configuration.
   

2. Grow the size and diversity focus of the board

   At the start of last year we set out to optimize the size of the board within two years. We believe having a larger, more diverse board will better support the school’s needs. We now have twelve trustees, with a goal of sustaining a board of fourteen trustees. 

   The board also plays an important leadership role for Soundview's ongoing commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. We have a strong, active committee leading efforts here, and believe the board must lead by example. We are in the process of participating in the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI), which is used to build cultural competence. We will be leveraging the IDI results to further our own understanding and help define future focus areas for the board within the DEIB space. 

We look forward to sharing more details about the board’s role and agenda during the State of the School meeting on December 1st, from 4:00 to 6:00 PM, in the Soundview Performing Arts Center. We are also always looking for members of our community that are interested in working with or on the board. If you would like to learn more, don’t hesitate to reach out to me or any trustee. You can find our info HERE.

Thank you!

Shawn Heidel (Finn, 6th grade)
Soundview Board President