Achieving Excellence

At the beginning of 2006, it's interesting to think back to my arrival at Woodstock eight years ago to find that one of the items for the attention of the new Principal was the question of 'Woodstock's relevance to India'. It was also a time when there was a larger question about India's place in the world. It was one of those situations where our microcosm reflected the macrocosm.

Today, I do not think that either India's significance in our new multi-polar world, or Woodstock's place in India, are questioned. The school is clearly seen by many parents as the leading international, residential school in the country, distinctively good in terms of the education and care of students. This overall improvement in the school's reputation and position is one consequence of ten years of planning and implementation of change that has both been dependent upon the support of the broader Woodstock community and which has also energized, expanded and broadened that community. It is enormously encouraging to see that the love and pride in the school that is evident in many of our older alumni is also being continued by younger generations of alumni, many of whom spent less time here and in a much less homogeneous student body. The growing engagement of our alumni is gratifying and this is one opportunity that I have to say 'thank-you' for your practical and moral support and your continuing interest and engagement with us.

The changes at Woodstock up to the 150th anniversary were a learning experience for all of us directly involved, both here and in the USA, about what it would take to 'secure the future' of Woodstock. What has come out of this period is a much-strengthened institution in terms of governance, management and development. We have learnt a lot about the cost of improvement in human and resource terms and have a clear agenda for action in this next cycle of improvement at the school. This is not to suggest that we have thought of everything. Life and the pace of external change will continue to surprise us by creating more possibilities and priorities. During 2005, we have put together our midrange plan called 'Achieving Excellence: 2005-2010', distributed it to staff, parents and alumni supporters and carried out an extensive professional planning study to gauge the extent of support for its goals.

'Achieving Excellence' sets priorities for improvement in thirteen broad categories of our 'School Standards', from Philosophy, Mission, Beliefs and Objectives and Governance and Leadership, through Educational Programmes and Student Services, to Finance, Health and Safety and Facilities. The intention is that everyone involved in the school, including parents, alumni and supporters has a clear picture of where we are going. The primary focus of 'Achieving Excellence' is people: our students, staff and employees. We plan to strengthen our staffing through professional development and the improvement of our compensation package so that well-qualified and committed national and expatriate staff will be able to come to and stay at Woodstock. We will continue to improve our recruitment of well-qualified and suitable students, including those who need financial support. The ultimate objective for these priorities is to make Woodstock a distinctive, world-quality school that produces outstanding students, the key to which is the quality and longevity of our staff and the nature and capabilities of our student body.

Our plan is to build two endowments, one to support staff needs and the other to provide annual income for student grants. These are long-term investments in the future of the school. In addition, we clearly do need to continue with the building programme. Staff and employee accommodation is a major priority. This year, we plan to complete the long awaited Mumby Gym and to commence work on the expansion and re-development of Hostel. Now that we are purchasing Edgehill, we can draw up plans for the whole estate. We will continue to improve teaching areas in the Quad and High Schools. Although we have made progress with the service infrastructure, we need to pay attention to new needs ranging from campus wireless connectivity to waste disposal systems. Finally, we are continuing to give thought to the proposal that Woodstock should develop its own initial teacher-training programme to strengthen our ability to recruit appropriately-trained teachers for our distinctive needs and situation.

The process of developing and refining this new plan has coincided with the complex process of change occurring in North America in terms of the future of KWI and the changing pattern of relationships between WOSANA, the new Friends of Woodstock School foundation and the school. This will come to fruition in mid-2006, when the new foundation will take up KWI's baton on behalf of Woodstock and North American supporters of the school and when support functions for North America alumni will be transferred to the school. After two decades of leadership from KWI, we can see this as a 'coming-of-age' for the school. We are indebted to KWI's Board and Executive Director for the work that has been done to make the transition possible and effective.

The overall cost of the improvements envisaged by 'Achieving Excellence' is in excess of $10 million, funds that will be raised from the school's income, from our supporters and new sources including foundations, corporations and other long-term funding options at the instigation of the Board. We will focus our development effort on major donors for specific projects and on planned giving and bequests for endowment-building. At the same time, activities like the now-global Annual Fund and class gifts are crucial because they represent the engagement of the breadth of our alumni body. It is this broad engagement and interest which has enabled us to develop new alumni programmes that support our students when they apply to colleges and when they emerge from college into the job market. It is all part of making Woodstock a global network, as well as a 'school of distinction in South Asia'. I hope you enjoy the 2006 'Quad' with its news from classes, WOSA and the school. Thank you for your support and interest in Woodstock. I look forward to seeing many of you during the course of 2006.