We will spend the rest of the year highlighting the accomplishments of our students. But today, before the school year officially begins, I want to take a moment to honor the adults of our school community. ISW is a remarkable place, and everyone who visits us sees that immediately.

At ISW, our parents volunteer. It’s part of the deal if you decide to send your child(ren) here. We don’t spend a lot of time tracking hours or comparing ourselves to one another. We each take responsibility for the things that we are able to do and do well. It shouldn’t work, and yet it does. We don’t have what economists call “free riders” –people who benefit from other people’s generosity without contributing something of themselves. We don’t have a lot of entitlement at ISW. Our families are 100% committed to their children’s education. When we have a need, someone steps in to fulfill it.

As we return to school this fall, the fruits of our volunteerism are easy to see:

  • The building, which we affectionately nicknamed “The Pink Palace,” is now a more traditional tan and black, thanks to ISW grandparent Kay Hallett and ISW parent Bob McDonald.
  • Our students will enjoy a new play set assembled by ISW parent John Butler and a fence installed by ISW parents Mary and Gerry Axelson and Becky and David Lloyd.
  • Our Lower Elementary, Upper Elementary, and Math Lab classrooms and the women’s bathroom all sport new coats of paint thanks to our teachers—Laura Viner (and her husband Jay), Erin Gilbert, and Brigitte DeHaven (and her husband John Britto)—and ISW parent and Board member Susan Nyberg. We also have a huge number of interior improvements thanks to the work of Gerry Axelson.
  • We have a new fundraiser, Clues and Blues, headed by the very capable Kate Gregori. More on that shortly!

One of the biggest reasons that our community works is that we don’t see education as a consumer good—something you buy for your child, hand them and walk away. We see learning as a process and a delight that the whole family can participate in and enjoy.  Learning only happens when you invest yourself.  Families who choose to send their children to ISW and teachers who choose to work at ISW invest themselves wholeheartedly in the education process and in the school. And, as a result, our little school thrives.

Thank you, ISW adults, for all you have done this summer!

Claire