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Greetings!
 Upon the completion this summer of my fifth year as the head of Rio Grande School, I will be leaving to become the head of High Meadows School in Roswell, Georgia.
This was not an easy decision for my family and me to make. Rio Grande School is where I took my first steps as a school head, where Maureen and I found many lifelong friends, and where Sara and Paige have thrived since kindergarten. The past five years as head of RGS have been the greatest honor and privilege of my professional life. But with our extended family living on the east coast and our girls soon to be entering middle school, we feel the time for change is right. |
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| There's much I still hope to do in these intervening months to help steer this school I love so deeply. Most importantly, with the support of the Board of Trustees, we are putting in place a new strategic plan to assure that RGS will continue to provide an exceptional educational experience for current and future students. I am confident that under the leadership of our visionary board, extraordinary faculty and staff, and experienced administration, Rio Grande School's children will benefit for many years to come from one of the finest elementary programs in the Southwest. |
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Maureen, Paige, Sara, and I have been warmly embraced by the Rio Grande School community since day one, and we hope that you will remain in our lives. After departing Santa Fe for our new home in the Atlanta area, we hope that you will visit us. Just remember to bring us some red chile and to don your RGS spiritwear!
Gratefully, |
Jay Underwood
Head of School
Rio Grande School
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November 12, 2009
To the Rio Grande School Community,
On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I want to congratulate Jay on his appointment as Head of High Meadows School, a highly respected pre-kindergarten through eighth grade independent school located in a northern suburb of Atlanta. We are pleased for Jay that he and Maureen and Sara and Paige will be closer to their family, although we will be very sad to see them leave Santa Fe. |
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We are deeply appreciative of the transformational leadership that Jay has provided Rio Grande School during the past five years. By every measure, RGS is a better place than when Jay arrived. Consider:
- Enhancements to our academic program including the creation of the Early Childhood Program, the addition of associate teachers in the upper grades, and the implementation of comprehensive science and social-emotional learning programs.
- The hiring of Associate Head Maureen Devlin, who works closely with the faculty every day to improve and strengthen our children's educational experience.
- Tuition assistance dollars have grown by about 50% in the last five years, which has increased access and affordability for roughly 20% of our students.
- Approximately 25% of our student body this year is composed of students of color, including several children who are enrolled as the result of an exciting partnership with The Pueblo of Pojoaque.
- Annual Fund parent participation has increased from 68% in 2004 to 85% or higher for each of the past four years. Faculty and staff participation was 100% last year. Dollars have more than doubled.
- The $4.5 million "Building a Grande Future" capital campaign erased our existing debt, established an endowment that now exceeds $1.5 million, and added new instructional spaces and administrative offices.
Jay will continue as our Head of School through June 30, 2010. He remains devoted to addressing both the challenges and the opportunities that RGS faces in the coming months. The Board has already begun discussions about the search process, which will be both transparent and broadly inclusive of all constituencies. We will make an announcement about that shortly. |
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Given the quality of the faculty, students, parents, staff and administration at RGS, as well as the strong state of the school, I am confident that we will attract and hire an excellent new Head of School. In the meantime, please join the Board of Trustees in expressing our gratitude to both Jay and Maureen Underwood for all that they have done for the Rio Grande School.
Sincerely, |
Fred Nathan
President, Board of Trustees Rio Grande School | |
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