Barrie Annual Report 2012-2013

School | Camp | Institute for Advanced Montessori Studies

Academic and personal excellence

Social, emotional, and physical well-being

Respect for self, others, and the environment

Collaboration and teamwork

Diversity of thought and culture

Community outreach

School | Camp | Institute for Advanced Montessori Studies

Annual Report | 2012-2013

Annual Report | 2012-2013

As I reflect at the end of another academic year, I sense that once again, Barrie’s faculty, staff, parents, Board, and students have distinguished themselves as a community that values learning and its ability to improve lives and our world. Our plan and commit-ment to NAIS 21st Century Education goals allows us to be a leading independent school in the Washington area, shaping the meaning of excellence in independent education. Our 2012-2013 accomplishments include:

● Opening the Learning Studio and Research Learning Lab for the Middle and Upper School. These two flexible, imaginative, and environmentally friendly buildings move Barrie toward greater collaborative learning, integrative thinking, and interdisciplinary education. In addition to winning two architec-tural and design awards and being the subject of several articles, being prominently featured in the Green Schools exhibit at the National Building Museum for a year further affirms the significance of these facilities.

● The Teaching Fellows Program. Four aspiring educators experienced a year-long opportuni-ty to develop their craft in the Middle/Upper

School’s student-centered environment and to foster lifelong learning in their students. This enhancement was well received and liked by our students.

● The Lower School Intern Program. As part of our Institute for Advanced Montessori Studies (IAMS), we provided top-flight training for aspiring Montessori teachers. I am proud of our quality teachers who take on the responsibility of mentoring the interns.

● Safe, modern, and green playgrounds. Our students and summer campers now have an improved array of playground equipment in two locations, adding to our campus experience for their health and fitness. Their constant use proved their value.

● Partnerships with our surrounding communi-ty. Whether it’s existing collaborations with the Wat Thai Temple, Olney Theatre, or the University of Maryland, Barrie continues our outreach that makes us a community asset and provides our students opportunities to benefit.

Numerous people deserve credit for these achieve-ments. Head of School Charlie Abelmann collabo-rated with the Barrie community on every improve-ment we sought. Our faculty responded to the high expectations placed on them, and our staff consis-tently provided them with crucial support. The Board of Trustees deepened its commitment to growing our school, and worked tirelessly to promote Barrie in the community. I am truly thankful for the oppor-tunity to work with everyone so committed to our students and our mission.

I also know that our work to improve is never finished. In the 20-year span my three children attended Barrie, I saw them and their friends thrive and have experiences due in large part to the support and commitment from donors and volunteers. For this reason, I encourage everyone to become actively involved in Barrie’s and your child’s future with your gifts of time, talent, and donations. With our whole community’s support we will be able to provide the enriching educational expe-riences we value so highly as an independent school.

On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I want to thank everyone who helped to make the past year a successful year for Barrie. I look forward to everyone continuing to be part of the excitement creating even richer educa-tional experiences for Barrie students.

Bob RobertsChair, Board of Trustees

Reflections on 2012-2013

Bob Roberts

I want to use this Annual Report to celebrate some of our accomplishments. We served over 1,100 campers and students, as well as 45 adult learners in the Institute for Advanced Montessori Studies. We welcomed In-terns in the Lower School and Teaching Fellows in the Middle/Upper School. Most importantly, we provided a place for our students to grow in every way. We ad-opted our new mission and core values, and used them to guide all that we do (this report revolves around our six core values). We created a safe environment for students to take risks, try new things, find the power of their own voices, and explore a world of ideas. We en-couraged our students to perform service projects, both locally and abroad. Through our school, students gain critical skills, global knowledge, and habits to succeed in college and beyond. As such, we continue to be at the forefront of progressive education.

In 2012-13, the Lower School shined as an example of Montessori education. We also said goodbye to a Barrie legend. Kenna Armstrong retired as Head of the Lower School, after 30 years with us. Nikki Moody, a veteran Montessori teacher and leader, joined us as the new Head of Lower School to start the 2013-2014 year. Given Nikki’s passion, leadership talent, and seem-ingly boundless energy, I have every confidence that our Lower School will continue to be an exemplar of Montessori education.

We enhanced our Middle/Upper School through the launch of Project-Based Learning (PBL), and nothing distills the essence of the Barrie education so well. In PBL, our 6th graders devised and played musical in-struments fashioned from discarded materials. Our 8th graders created an animated video about human rights. Our 12th graders developed a policy to guide hydraulic fracturing (fracking) on our campus. These and numer-ous other PBL projects document what happens when Barrie students collaborate and use their intrinsic love of learning to solve real-world problems. We also look ahead to having Kristin Arndt join us for the 2013-14 school year to share MUS leadership duties with Joanna, before taking over as MUS Head in 2014-15.

For all of our students, we collaborated with the Ben-son-Henry Institute in Boston to launch a mindfulness program. Three decades of research into mindfulness show it to be uniquely effective in fostering openness to learning, empathy, optimism, working memory, and conflict resolution. All of these are vital skills for our students, and we will continue to make mindfulness a major part of daily life at Barrie.

Because of these achievements, I am so grateful to our families. Not only have you entrusted Barrie with such a major role in your child’s development, you have also

forged a real community that supports us through your time, energy, volunteerism, and donations. Your efforts are a big reason we were able to open our new Learn-ing Studio and Research Learning Lab. Both buildings have garnered attention from those who want to learn how we did it. If you have not been on campus or been in the buildings, please let us give you a tour to see the buildings. More importantly, you can observe the classes inside.

People, programs, and facilities embody what Barrie offers. We have a remarkable staff, whose profiles are available on our web site at www.barrie.org. Our Master Plan (that Montgomery County recently ap-proved) includes additional campus improvements for our Lower School. However, these parts of the whole don’t tell the whole story, but our families do. Every year, new families visit our school and become part of our community. After seeing what we offer that other schools don’t, and then seeing their children thrive at Barrie, I am reminded of what Barrie stands for, and what we accomplish.

And it’s only going to continue…

Charlie AbelmannHead of School

Reflections on 2012-2013

Charlie Abelmann

Millennium Club $50,000+Michael & Michelle Fannon*Bob & Eveline Roberts*

Nautilus Society $5,000 - $9,999Jeffrey & Carolyn Kramer*Zekeria MokhtarzadaRobert & Stacey Page*Dorothy & Jay Weinstein*

Head of School’s Circle $2,500 - $4,999Anthony & Ann KingBarbara BensonHarry Bigham & Anne SavareseKevin Creamer &

Cynthia Shields*Draycott Family Foundation, IncKenneth Rehfuss & Redonna

ChandlerRobert & Mary RichardsonScott & Deborah Silverman*Daniel Woubishet &

Betelihem Damte* (MedImmune, LCC)

Leadership Circle $1,500 - $2,499Norman Fortenberry &

Janet RutledgeGary Gilbert & Diana BlitheCynthia Gingalewski &

Dana Andersen*Glenn & Janet Horenberg*Kimberly & Saul Moskowitz*

Benefactors $750 - $1,499Charlie AbelmannHarold AldermanSudhir & Kamni AroraEugene Canjels

& Gauri Prakash-CanjelsChristopher & Dorothy CastelinoJohn & Cristeta ComerfordPatricia Grooss-GetzfredWinslow & Francine HaywardJonathan JustiShreenivas Narayanan &

Suzanna Pereira

Lillian PotterMarina Vernalis*

Patrons, $350 - $749Benjamin Bederson*Sonya J. Bruton*Kim ColettaHarold Collins &

Bridgette Roux-Collins*Jason FisherJames FortneyGiant Food StoresJoanna GidrewiczLois & Christopher HendricksonJoanna A. A. HoadNeil & Angela JaffeeGene LiangHanh Nguyen*John NilssonRobert OllingMatthew OwingsKenneth L. PollackAndrei PovodyrevJason Schiller

(Google Matching Gifts Prog.)Richard SeabrookDarwin SellersBrad SiegelLisa StewartChandrashekhar Tamasker &

Bernadine KarunnaratneRoberto & Eva VilarrubiChristina L. Zuazua

Friends, up to $349Rebecca AdamRachelle L. AdamsIan AndrewsMichael D. ArabeAmanda L. ArcherKenna & Mitchell ArmstrongDae Sung BatoffErnest Beyard &

Jacqueline GillanJohn BinfordBarbara BiscegliaMelvin BlackwellPhilip BlattPatrick BondMelissa BordenskiChris Brandolini

Martine BurkelCatherine & Terry CarpenterDavid & Linda CarterRichard ChinThomas E. ChrislerLisa & Tim ClarkeConnections Education LLCKaren & Jeffery CroninJeffrey DearthElizabeth DumanRonald Dziengiel &

Elaine PovichJudith EgbarinRobert & Susan EstyFannie MaeAudra N. FannonMartin FelsenJames FortneyJames GaglionePaula GallagherIris GilbertAnna GilcherColleen GillespieVirgilla GistJames GrahamHope GrandelHilary GreenAlan GregermanSara GrossmanJames GrovesPatricia A. HannonJoseph D. HenderySarah HillJoanna A. HoadChhaya KapilashramiKaitlin KehlCaitlin (James) E. KellerWalaiporn (Nong) KingpuwarakKimberly KirkmanWilliam LauckPaul LeistraFelice LevineMichael MarksNancy MartinoMark McLaughlinFrances MerendaJohn NilssonJessica North MacieSelcuk Ozturk

Annual Fund Contributions

Estela PascaleIrene PfeffermanJulia RobertsMalikkah RollinsAnne & Richard RollsPaula N. RubinMark SachsTimothy SchafferPatricia H. SchaibleJayme SchomannJill SchorrJohn C. ScrogginsErnest ShanamanMichael ShumannChristopher SibiskiPatricia E. SimonSylvia Z. SlaterWilliam C. SmithPaul & Maria StagnittoPaul J. StagnittoTyrone StanleyBarbara L. StephensonJudy SternKathleen A. SuydamBryan D. TaylorGary ThompsonDarrin ThompsonMarcus TomlinPhillip A. TorrezColleen M. TullyBarbara VazquezVerizon FoundationMarina VernalisMa’ati WaffordTimothy WebbRiki WeeksSusan E. WentzelArlene WilsonAnne WiseValaida WiseFrances E. WoodburnMichelle WoolfolkLucy WyattHuijin YanJudith A. YormickCarl A. YoungIngrid Yuryev

* Contributed to the MUS Modular Building Fund as well

Fiscal Year 2012-2013REVENUETuition and Fees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $6,811,832Annual Giving & BCA . . . . . . . . . . . $2,513,476Other Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2,433,559Investment & Other Income . . . . . . . . . . $61,410

Total Revenue 11,820,277

EXPENSESTeaching & Materials . . . . . . . . . . . $4,279,740Financial Aid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,676,587Other Program Costs . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,521,546Administration & General . . . . . . . . . $1,359,914Plant Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,077,759Depreciation & Amortization . . . . . . . . $588,719Interest/Bond Interest Swap/Bond Fees . . . $75,902

Total Expenses $10,580,167

Investment & Other: 0.5%

Tuition and Fees: 58%

Other Programs: 21%

Annual Giving & BCA: 21%

Teaching & Materials: 41%

Interest: 0.7%%

Financial Aid: 16%

Depreciation & Amortization: 6%

Administration & General: 13%

Other Programs: 14%

Plant Operations: 10%

NOTE: Administration & General includes Head of School, Admission, Institutional Advancement, and the Business Office. Other Programs includes Technology, Camp,

Institute, Equestrian, Extended Day, Transportation, and Misc. Programs.

At Barrie, we believe that all individuals possess an innate curiosity about the world and that the best education transforms that curiosity into passionate and sustained intellectual pursuit. We also believe that our society is best served by confident, creative, and independent learners who demonstrate a commitment to community through respect for self, others, and the environment.

The key thing for the Lower School is that we pursue excellence for each child,

not for a class. Every child is a universe of one is a Montessori mainstay, so we take each student as far as they can go,

starting where they are.

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Academic and personal excellence are deeply intertwined. Characteristics associated with personal excellence such as grit, resilience and resourcefulness enable academic excellence and encourage overall growth and success.

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ACADEMIC AND PERSONAL EXCELLENCE

Emphasis on well-being is continuous throughout our curriculum. We want students

to think, constantly ask good questions, contemplate cause and effect, and consider

better alternatives and solutions for the challenges they face.

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SOCIAL, EMOTIONALAND PHYSICAL WELL-BEING

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As a primary educator, I’m not just a teacher – I am also a nurturer, mentor, and care-giver. I help to empower young children with the tools they need to construct their intelligences as they grow into and fulfill the greatest potential of their developing personalities.

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From the summer reading list to the grade level themes, the Middle School is designed around respect for self, others, and the environment while Upper School students build on this foundation, operating with self-awareness as they affect change in their various communities.

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In the Lower Elementary, respect for others often means learning to take turns and to work in groups.

These practices help develop skills necessary in working collaboratively

with others later in life.”

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RESPECT FOR SELF, OTHERS AND THE ENVIRONMENT”

At the toddler level, teamwork and collaboration with the parents is extremely

important. We work together as a team to help their child reach their fullest potential.

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Effective collaboration occurs when individual achievement directly correlates

to the success of a common goal. Aware that the contributions of each

individual will inform their own learning and growth, students embrace the

collective effort and work as a team.

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COLLABORATION AND TEAMWORK”

DIVERSITY OF THOUGHTAND CULTURE

We have students from all over, so we put diversity in the curriculum, but we also live it. We consciously reach out to world cultures and work on our peace curriculum, which is not political pacifism, but rather asks, How do we get along with everybody? How do we respect differences?

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Helping to prepare food for patients with HIV/AIDS at Food and Friends, recording oral histories from Holocaust survivors at local nursing homes,

and creating a multisensory mural for the Rock Creek Nature Center are just a handful of ways that

community outreach lives at Barrie.

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COMMUNITY OUTREACH”