Family Community Meeting Recap

Dear Friends,

Thank you to everyone who attended our second Family Community Meeting of the school year. Here is a recap of what was discussed:

Click here to download the presentation slides.

2013-14 Enrollment

• Enrollment for the upcoming school year will begin on February 25th.
• Be on the lookout for an email from TADS around this date. It will contain a special link that will take you to the online re-enrollment form for your child.
• If you currently participate in the Tax Credit Scholarship (Step Up) you will need to renew your scholarship. Step Up for Students expects to open up their renewal application during the month of February. Keep checking your email and their website for a renewal notice.
• The requirement for either the Tax Credit Scholarship or in school aid application is a current (2012) tax return. Do your taxes now, so you are prepared to apply.
• More information on the various financial aid programs that Bhaktivedanta Academy participates in can be found on our website.
• Help spread the word about Bhaktivedanta Academy. Your testimonial is our most powerful marketing.

Federal Funding

• Bhaktivedanta Academy receives limited funding from the federal government through provisions in the No Child Left Behind Act - Title I and Title II.
• This year we received a targeted allocation of $20,604 that has gone to fund our tutoring program and professional development opportunities for our teachers.
• We must re-qualify every year for this funding. We depend on your help to do so. Like in prior years, you will receive an income survey packet in your child's Friday folder. It is extremely important that you review, complete (if qualified), and return the Free and Reduced Lunch form to the school no later then Tuesday, February 12th.

PTO Update

• Adi Gopi, our PTO president gave an update on the activities of the PTO and encouraged all our parents to get involved.
• All money raised through parent-led initiatives go into a special PTO account. The account currently has over $700.
• The funds in the account came from Box Tops for Education, Target Credit/Debit card purchases, and extra profit from this year's cookie and fudge fundraiser.
• We sold over $5,000 in cookies and fudge, with a profit of $3,500. The school budgeted $3000 in profit toward new classroom materials that were bought at the beginning of the school year. The extra $500 profit was transferred to the PTO account.
• Through the work of the PTO, this year's Harvest Festival was a big success and fun for all.
• The next PTO meeting will be announced soon.

Krishna Sharanam Upper School

• Jaya Sri Radhe gave an update on progress toward the goal of opening our Krishna Sharanam Upper School this coming August.
• A lot of work has been done but much more is left to do.
• In our first year, we will be accepting 7th grade students and expanding enrollment by 1 grade per year until we reach 10th grade.
• Aligning our Upper School with the International Baccalaureate (IB) Middle Years Programme gives us an educational framework that is well rounded and provides the freedom to create a very unique experience that caters to the needs of adolescents.
• Many members of the temple community have been stepping forward to help.

Campus Expansion

• We have plans to replace all but the newest (Audarya Bhavan) classroom buildings over the summer to accommodate anticipated enrollment and the new Upper School.
• We are under constraints due to the stipulations in our special use permit, which allows the school to operate on the temple property. One such constraint is the number of buildings allowed on our 5 acre parcel.
• We are working with a civil engineer to gain the most classroom space possible while staying within the limits of our permit.
• The school will grow from 3,252 to 5,384 square feet of classroom space.
• Due to the constraints of our zoning and short amount of time available to swap space, we will be utilizing modular classroom buildings for this particular expansion. They provide the most cost and time efficient option for us.

Fundraising

• The total cost of the campus expansion and establishment of the middle school is $306,451.
• If we are able to finance the classroom buildings, we can proceed by raising $198,310 instead of the full amount.
• We have raised $32,000 to date.
• We intend on raising the remaining funds through a fundraising campaign website, modeled after Kickstarter, direct solicitations to prospective donors, spring event, and the contributions from our own families.
• The website and other promotional materials will be ready within the next few weeks.
• We are seeking written and video testimonials from our families as part of this effort. Please click here to provide a testimonial.

Again, thank you to everyone who came to the meeting. For those that were unable, I hope this recap gives some idea of what was discussed. Please don't hesitate to let me know if you have any questions or ideas. We welcome your input.

Yours in service,

Visvambhara das
Head of School