When a Community Comes Together, Anything is Possible!

As some of you may know, we are one year in on our new strategic plan. A major goal of the plan is to Inspire the Next Generation of Scholarship. One of the action items under this goal is to take full advantage of our unique location in Vero Beach to create a leading signature program that sharpens our academic focus, leverages our location and provides distinct experiential learning opportunities for our students.

Obviously, given the fact we have a lagoon and a freshwater pond on our beautiful campus, the signature program that made sense was our environmental science program. Under the leadership of Brandy Nelson, we have made great strides in a short time. The Board of Trustees has also gotten involved, listing this goal as a critical initiative for the future. Current Trustee and parent Elycia Morris (Reid in eighth grade and Stella in sixth grade) has volunteered to chair this initiative and committee. Elycia has been committed to helping Saint Edward’s partner with organizations even before her time as a Trustee.

On Thursday, December 14, the committee met to talk about the plans for the waterfront and potential timelines for the implementation of other action steps. We were briefed by Brandy on priorities, and the first priority was the need for a new pontoon boat. Our current pontoon boat has served us well, but it is time for a new vessel for Saint Edward’s School.

On December 15, Saint Edward’s longtime parent, Robert Jaffe (Alina in first grade and Jazz '18), stepped up to offer to match all Saint Edward's Trustees' gifts given toward the new pontoon boat. I am happy to report that we were able to secure the funding through the generous support of the Trustees and the Jaffe family. The boat has been ordered and should arrive in time for use later this semester.

This is the perfect example of a community coming together to support an unbudgeted need. As we tackle the goals and Navigate a Bold Future, there will be other opportunities to unite behind a common cause, advancing Saint Edward’s School.

I look forward to seeing you around campus!

Stuart