I am happy to share this link to our State of the School video message, and to provide an executive summary.

The State of the School focuses on using the January survey of our parents, faculty, and students in grades 7 – 12 to help our community identify areas of strengths and weakness and help us chart a path of growth and improvement.

We are a culture of high expectations – we want the best for our students – and our commitment to lifelong learning means we are committed to constant improvement for Woodlawn, gathering valuable information and using it to build on strengths and improve weaknesses.

We share a strong shared vision of the school’s strengths. The top three reasons parents choose Woodlawn and recommend us are: the quality of our academics, our approach to education, and the preparation of our students for success in college and beyond. Our students say their top three reasons: supportive teachers, our educational approach, and the quality of academics. In all these things, the data shows we meet or exceed our high expectations in vital areas.

High Expectations, High Challenge, and High Support:

• High Academic Standards - 92% of students, 91% of our parents, and 88% of our faculty believe our school meets or exceeds those high expectations.
• Excellent Academic Support – 96% of students and 94% of parents say our teachers meet or exceed their expectations.
• Care & Concern of Faculty – 92% of students and 96% of parents say we meet or exceed their expectations.

Strong Sense of Place – Feeling Safe, Confident & Connected:

• 98% of our students, 93% of our faculty feel safe at our school every day, and 94% of our parents feel safe sending their children to our school. That has been especially important throughout the pandemic.

Developing Life and Learning Skills – In all these things, students, parents, and teacher ratings of “meets or exceeds expectations” averaged 95%:

• Developing critical thinking skills.
• Developing creative thinking skills and innovative approaches to problem-solving.
• Learning how to build teams, collaborate effectively with others, and lead.
• Developing strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Fostering empathy for others.
• Developing resilience and perseverance.
• Social and emotional development.
• Character education.

We share a common vision of things we want to improve:

• Variety of course offerings – students, parents, and faculty all identified this as a priority.
• Athletics, Performing Arts, Electives, Clubs, and Activities – we share a common desire to improve these essential elements of school life.
• Improving the socio-economic diversity of our school, a strong priority we all share.
• We want the Upper School to grow. We value the benefits of a small school, and we want to successfully address concerns that come from being too small.

In the State of the School video message you will hear of immediate steps we are taking – new initiatives underway now – to respond to all these priorities quickly and effectively.

We share a common mission, vision, and values - an approach to teaching and learning that is unique and powerful. We share a common view of the school’s essential strengths and successes. We are united in our focus and desire for improvement; we see the same needs and want the same things.

Together, we can build on our strengths and improve our school in all the ways we value most. I ask for your help. Your time and talent, your philanthropy, and, to our parents, enrolling your child are the best ways to achieve the growth we want. Together.

Come grow with us!

With kind regards,

Paul Zanowski
Head of School