'Tis the Season

Aloha Island School ‘Ohana!

Here we are at the close of another full week filled with both fun and hard work. Upper School students showed all kinds of spirit dressed in red and green or sporting their pajamas and plaid. Younger students came in with a skip in their step, many with a jingle hat on their head. Whatever one’s faith or family tradition, the spirit of giving can be found in many spaces this time of year. I appreciate all the families who made such an important effort to support their students to bring in food or toys for those in need. And it is in this window of time, a season to think about all the needs of the school, particularly our faculty and staff, but every single family as well, as I work with the Board of Directors to set the budget for the 25-26 school year.

I’ve been spending this past week particularly immersed in the financial life of the school. We surveyed our faculty and staff regarding how we can best serve them in terms of compensation so they feel they can continue to afford to be in the career they love while still living in Kauaʻi. And as the administrative team works with the Board to establish the landscape for next year’s budget, I must admit the challenges to give fair compensation to our team while also supporting the broad range of our families working hard to meet tuition can at times feel daunting. 

If you have been at Island School the last two years in particular, we have been talking about the puzzle, the riddle that we need to solve each year as we build a budget where tuition at Island School is lower than many similarly-sized schools, but we must pay our team in a way that allows them to remain committed to this important work we do each day. For the sake of conversation, here’s some updated information on Kaua‘i Cost of Living - Līhu‘e as a way to see the situation from another source, and here’s the most recent public information about tuition rates across our state for independent schools.

At Island School, we have just completed our accreditation, self-study process that we undergo every 7 years. We had to ask ourselves critical questions: What are our values? How do we center students and who they are as learners? How do we care for (and fairly compensate) our employees? I feel so grateful to work with a dedicated administrative team and Board of Directors that is creative and committed to solving this puzzle as best we can. This is the season where we annually put together the budget for next year, set tuition and fundraising goals, determine our financial aid line, and put all the pieces in place to set our compensation and benefits for our employees…which is over 70% of our operating budget!

And as some of you may know, the DOE here in Hawai‘i responded to this challenge in 2022 with a reset that moved educator salaries up 30% in the case of the most experienced and valued staff, as they faced record turnover and trouble finding teachers at all. And of course, we too have worked so very hard over the last two years so that we can do all that we can to have great teachers at Island School for your children. I am so grateful that we have a dedicated Board that understands this priority as we look at the long-term health and growth of our school.

As the program and operations team along with the Board of Directors grapple with the numbers to have strong plans in place for the 25-26 school year, please know that we continue to prioritize an excellent education for all of our students, your children. We also know each of you work hard to build a meaningful life for your family here, and we are so grateful for your choice of Island School. 

And so with all this in mind, mahalo, mahalo, mahalo to all those who have already given to the Annual Voyager Fund. Together, with gifts of all sizes we are making a difference for each and every student, faculty and staff member in our community. Everyday we get closer to our aspirational goal of 100% of our families participating in the Annual Voyager Fund, no matter the gift size. And so if you haven't yet, we hope you will join us today and help Island School to continue to be a place that supports your children and our educators to thrive!

Together,

Nancy Nagramada P’29

n.nagramada@ischool.org