Greetings from the ASW Board of Trustees, and congratulations on a successful first semester! We are more than halfway through our first year fully moving out of Covid-19 endemic protocols. And I have to say that seeing so many families actively engaged in all aspects of our school and community life again is a breath of fresh air. Our careful navigation through all stages of Covid and ongoing meaningful partnership with Kiev’s Pechersk School International this past year has further anchored our status as a lighthouse school in both the CEESA region and through our collaboration globally under the Association for the Advancement of International Schools (AAIE). Our school and community’s commitment to “service about self” in all aspects of our Ukrainian refugee relief efforts – and service learning overall – has been a model for other schools around the world. Truly, we have much to be proud of.
We continue to have a strong enrollment and financial infrastructure that will sustain us through the coming year. As a result of careful stewardship, the Board of Trustees has been able to keep us on track with our long term and strategic goals for operational integrity and maintenance of healthy financial reserves for the future. I am pleased with the ongoing due diligence and commitment of all involved.
These achievements are due largely to the leadership and quality of the instructional, administrative, and support staff at ASW. However, none of this success would be possible without you, the ASW parent community. This success is a true testament to your investment of thoughtful energy and resources through grade-level volunteer support, PTO participation, Board and committee membership, generous financial contributions, and willingness to give back whenever the need arises to support a vibrant and inclusive international community. Together, we are making the vision of top notch school vitality and academic learning at ASW a reality, even under continued unpredictable circumstances.
2023-2024 Tuition & Fee Schedule
ASW is a private, not-for-profit educational institution that devotes all its resources to education and program requirements, which includes prudent planning for contingencies through allocating funds to a strategic reserve. Every year at this time, the Board of Trustees approves the ASW Tuition & Fee Payment Information for the upcoming school year. Taking into account current and future financial requirements to support academic programs, operations, staffing, facilities maintenance, and necessary capital improvements, the Board approved a tuition and fees increase for the 2023-2024 school year at the February 13th meeting. After five years of maintaining tuition increases to three percent or below, the economic environment materially changed in 2022. Inflation will have a significant impact on our 2023-2024 expenses, especially salaries and facilities costs. Facility costs alone are budgeted to increase by 70 percent. The PLN portion of tuition rates will increase 14 percent across all grade levels. The USD portion will remain unchanged, yielding an effective increase of 7.9 percent - 8.3 percent depending on grade level. The 2023-2024 tuition rates are shown in detail in the attached fee sheet.
If you have questions about the 2023-2024 Tuition and Fee schedule or policies, please contact the Business Office at +48 (22) 702-8553 or email aswbusinessoffice@aswarsaw.org.
Re-Enrollment Process for Returning Students
As in years past, a deposit will be required for each returning student to secure a seat for the 2023-2024 school year. We are increasing this amount, and an invoice for each student’s “seat deposit” of 10,000 PLN will be sent to your email on February 17th, with payment due by Friday, March 3, 2023. Once issued, invoices will also be available in PowerSchool. Seats not secured by deposit will be made available for new applicants after this date.
Board Community Engagement and Master Facilities Project Approval
The Board’s focus in the coming months demonstrates our re-commitment to our strategic work under our annual goals. I am personally most passionate about our goal of improving our community engagement by leveraging the strengths and talents of our diverse community to involve all stakeholders in currently adopted strategic areas. In that realm, we started our monthly family dinners in January, have established close relationships with the PTO Board, and are present at numerous school and community events. We genuinely enjoy and appreciate the opportunity to dialogue with you and learn more about your experiences at ASW.
ASW is continuing to evolve and develop its facilities to reflect the best in modern educational practices and thinking for the 21st century. To that end, ASW is committed to maximizing efficiency in facilities utilization, providing educational facilities that support ASW’s Vision and Objective, and ensuring all facilities allow for equitable access to education across all divisions. This is the culmination of a 30-month community-engaged process with students, parents, teachers, Board members, and administrators contributing to the final project. On February 13, 2023, the Board voted on authorizing a Master Facility Project budget of USD 30,000,000 with construction planned to start this summer. More details are coming soon. The most recent overview of the project was shared in a November 9th Town Hall, and you can still watch that HERE.
Please know that this strategic work remains the focus of the Board’s purpose: to bring the design, projects, and innovation of the school to fruition for the benefit of the students we all serve. It truly is an exciting time to be a part of the ASW community!
Board/PTO Membership and Training
I would like to draw your attention to several rewarding opportunities to get involved in ASW. The annual election cycle for ASW Board of Trustees and PTO Leadership is rapidly approaching in the coming weeks. Interested candidates for PTO leadership positions should reach out to the current PTO President Rupali Dua at ptopresident@aswarsaw.org or PTO Vice President Christina Turner at ptovicepresident@aswarsaw.org. Interested candidates for the Board should fill out the brief application, as noted in recent eNotes, and reach out to Sarah Kyle (Chair, Governance Committee) at skyle@aswarsaw.org to express your interest. In addition, a second offering of the Aspiring School and Non-Profit Board Member Training will be offered on Thursday, March 2. This opportunity fulfills one of the candidacy requirements for Board membership and also serves those interested in understanding more about governance in a variety of settings. Watch future eNotes for links and more information about this process.
The Board of Trustees, composed of members of the ASW parent and US Embassy community, is eager to dialogue with all stakeholders and increase community awareness and interest in the governance of ASW. As part of our commitment to transparency and inclusion, all meeting agendas of our full Board meetings are published, and meeting recordings are posted on social media. These meetings, which occur every month, are open to all members of the ASW Community, and we encourage your in-person or virtual attendance and input. Our next public meeting is on Monday, March 20th.
As we continue to establish an exciting “new normal” with robust school events and community engagement, the ASW Board and I want to thank each of you for your continued support, generosity, and commitment to ASW. Working together with the Director and his team, we can extend ASW’s long-standing 70-year tradition of success and excellence long into the future. It is an honor to serve you.
