Greetings from the ASW Board of Trustees, and congratulations to you all on a successful first semester! We are more than halfway through year three of a global pandemic and continue to remain fully engaged in our children’s education. Our top priority continues to be keeping our kids safe in school and learning in the most rigorous and productive learning environments possible. Our success again this 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 leadership and the commitment of our community, in implementing protocols that allowed us to remain open for in-school learning under daunting circumstances, continue to be a model for other schools around the world.
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.
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 participation in creative ways to support an international community. Together, we are making the vision of top-notch school vitality and academic learning at ASW a reality, even under quite unpredictable circumstances.
ASW is a private, not-for-profit educational institution that devotes all revenues to education and program requirements, which includes prudent planning for contingencies through allocating funds to a strategic reserve. Each 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 very modest tuition increase for the 2022-2023 school year at the February 7th meeting. This tuition increase takes into account increasing costs for programs, salaries, and services, while also absorbing the ongoing operational cost of crisis mitigation. Tuition rates will increase 3% across all grade levels, consistent with last year. The 2022-2023 tuition rates are shown in detail in the fee sheet available on our website HERE.
If you have questions about the 2022-2023 Tuition and Fee schedule or policies, please contact the Business Office at +48 (22) 702-8596 or write to aswbusinessoffice@aswarsaw.org.
A re-enrollment survey is now active in the Powerschool Parent Portal “Powerschool”. Please login to your student’s Powerschool account and indicate if you will be returning to ASW or withdrawing for the 2022-2023 school year. The survey will be open for response until February 16th.
As in years past, a deposit will be required for each returning student to secure a seat for the 2022-2023 school year. An invoice for each student’s “seat deposit” of 4,000 PLN will be available in PowerSchool on February 18th, with payment due by Thursday, March 8, 2022. Seats not secured by deposit will be made available for new applicants after this date.
Strategic Planning and ASW Advancement
Our focus in the coming months demonstrates our re-commitment to our strategic work under Board goals. Having launched our Culture of Giving initiative last year, we are expanding its potential and reach with the hiring of a new Development Director this year. Our ongoing focus on pandemic mitigation has uncovered new competencies, and our work in strategic planning is uncovering the silver linings of our success to project our work going forward.
Starting last year, we began undertaking a broad approach to master facilities planning. We are thrilled to announce that the next 3-5 years of building enhancements aligned with our Core Values, Mission, Vision, and Objective will likely commence in August 2022. 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 Maria Diafoti at ptopresident@aswarsaw.org or PTO Vice President Rupali Dua at ptovicepresident@aswarsaw.org. Interested candidates for the Board should fill out the brief application, as noted in recent eNotes, and reach out to Anna Hutten-Czapska (Chair, Governance Committee) at ahczapska@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 3. This opportunity fulfils 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. These meetings, which occur every other month, are open to all members of the ASW Community, and we encourage your virtual attendance and input. Our next public meeting is on Monday, April 11.
As we continue to navigate another challenging pandemic year, the ASW Board and I want to thank each of you for your continued support, engagement, creativity, positivity, and commitment to ASW. Working together with the Director and his team, we can extend ASW’s long-standing 69-year tradition of success and excellence long into the future.
