It’s not hard to find inspiration at Colorado Academy; this week is no different. Pick your moment – students learning outdoors at a Leadership Retreat, a parent’s pride at Back-to-School night, a moment of awe at the autumn beauty on CA’s campus, and a comment at CA’s Board of Trustees meeting. No, really. 

 

This week, we had our first Board of Trustees meeting of the year. This is a group of parents of current and former CA students who are deeply committed to and invested in CA.  Trustees set our strategic vision and work to ensure that the bar is always set high for CA as an institution. They care about faculty, about student diversity, and access to opportunities. They make key decisions about the future of the school, ensuring its fiscal and programmatic viability for years to come. They challenge the school to be its best, but they also challenge each other.

 

In a discussion about the See it Through Capital Campaign, one trustee brought to bear the metaphor of “standing on the shoulders of giants.”  Though the metaphor’s origins date back to the 12^th century, it was Isaac Newton in 1675 who famously said, "If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” His reference, of course, was to the scientific advances of those who had come before that help each new generation see more and farther than its predecessors.

 

Said the trustee, "Everything you see and touch on CA's campus is built on philanthropy.  Our buildings have happened because someone gave it to your children."  The idea is that at CA, we pay it forward. Whether it is CA’s capital campaign currently underway to fund Phase II of our Athletic Center and a new Performing Arts Center, or whether it is our just-launched CA Fund campaign that helps us provide the signature programs at CA, it is important to recognize that families whose students are long gone from this institution made an investment yesterday so that all of our kids can thrive today.

 

Tuition does not cover the full annual cost of a child’s education at CA. This "gap" in operating expenses and tuition revenue is about $2600 per student.  Our buildings are not built with mill levies or taxes; as a private institution, all that we do is done because we make it happen… now for our own children, and in the future for the children yet to come. Your support elevates our ability to educate the whole child.

As you receive solicitations for these important campaigns this year, I sincerely hope you will join our trustees, our faculty and staff, and me in digging deep to be as generous as you can and to give at a level that is meaningful to you.  And know that there is urgency to our request. Our CA Fund campaign is condensed – shorted by half this year – in response to feedback about fundraising. And there is a looming deadline for signing contracts, ordering construction materials, and making a commitment to move forward with the next part of our See it Through campaign, Phase II of the Athletic Center. As scheduled, we will then turn our attention to the Theater. 

I am very grateful for your support.