Welcome - or welcome back - to Harrisburg Academy! Whether your children are returning for another year or joining our Academy community for the first time, I firmly believe your family will have an engaging and successful experience.
Each year, independent schools such as Harrisburg Academy successfully educate more than a million children. My wife, Lisa, and I are grateful for the strong educational foundation that Harrisburg Academy has provided to our children. As president of the Academy's Board of Trustees, I'm excited about the new year and the future of our school.
Below are a few updates that I would like to share with
you.
We achieved our enrollment goal of 326 students largely due to the successful reenrollment of last year's students and the positive response to our newly expanded Early Childhood program. Thank you for enrolling your student at the Academy, and entrusting our faculty and staff with the education of your children.
Achieving our net tuition revenue goal and reducing expense has helped to start our new year in a better position than we had initially budgeted. However, net tuition revenue comprises only 80% of the total revenue needed to support the education of our children and their activities. We intend to secure the remaining 20% from contributions from our alumni, alumni parents, local businesses and foundations, and you. I hope you will respond generously to fundraising appeals from the Academy's Development Office.
The search for our next head of school began this summer. We have received interest in the position from a number of qualified applicants, and we will begin the interview process this week. We are encouraged by the level of candidate interest and the quality of applicants. More to come on this as the process continues.
We engaged a third-party firm, with extensive knowledge of independent school markets, to conduct qualitative and quantitative studies of the region's parental expectations and preferences about schooling. We plan to use the results of the market study to implement new strategies to help us achieve future enrollment goals.
Our trustees believe these initiatives and others will further assist our faculty and staff in strengthening the educational experiences and outcomes that you expect for your students. Together we can continue to grow as a school community and commit to our common goal - the successful education of our students. During its long history, Harrisburg Academy has learned how to evolve successfully. The Academy has demonstrated this time after time. So, please engage now with our trustees, other parents, alumni, faculty, and staff. It is a very good time to be an active participant in the Harrisburg Academy community.
Have an enjoyable Labor Day weekend.
With warm regards,
Javier Idrovo
President, Board of Trustees
