What is the Board of Trustees?

For the 2019-20 school year, the Board consists of 14 voting members:

A Board member is elected to a first term of three years and may be asked to serve a second term of three years. After one year off, the Board member may be elected to serve an additional term.

The Board is primarily responsible for the strategic aspects of the School such as selecting and evaluating the Head of School, ensuring adequate financial resources including fundraising of various kinds, providing proper financial oversight, building a competent Board, ensuring ethical integrity, and enhancing the School’s public standing.

The Head of School, rather than the Board, is primarily responsible for the operational aspects of the School such as selecting and evaluating the faculty, managing the day-to-day operation of the School, leading in the development of the School’s curriculum, acting as the School’s key liaison with parents, grandparents, alumni, Board members, and community leaders, and preparing the school’s annual budget including staffing needs and instructional resources and presenting it to the Board for its approval.

If parents have concerns about operational matters (e.g. faculty or staff members, the curriculum, the facility), then these should be discussed with the appropriate administrator. If, however, the concern is with the Head of the School, then this should be brought to the attention of a member of the Board’s Executive Committee.

The Board governs itself according to its own TDS Board Bylaws.

The full Board meets on a monthly basis in August through December. In the new year, the Board meets every other month in February, April, and June. The Board may meet on or off campus, to receive and discuss reports from the Head of School and other administrators, Board Committees, outside consultants and students, when appropriate.

The Board has six standing committees: Finance, Trusteeship, Development, Facilities, Executive, and Diversity & Inclusion.

The Finance Committee is comprised of Trustees and non-trustees. It meets regularly with the Head of School and the Business Officer and is responsible for overseeing the annual budget and financial affairs of the School.

The Trusteeship Committee is responsible for identifying, cultivating, and recommending individuals for future Trustee nominations. New Board members are selected based upon their positive commitment to the School along with the immediate and long term needs of the School.

Comprised of Trustees and non-trustees, the Development Committee is responsible for Board-initiated institutional advancement and fundraising, including the annual fund, capital campaign, auction, endowment funds, and gifts.

The Facilities Committee is comprised of Trustees and non-trustees. This Committee along with the Head of School is responsible for reporting to the Board on the overall condition, adequacy, and management of the facilities.

The Executive Committee is made up of the Chair, Vice-Chair, Treasurer, and Secretary. Its primary role is to evaluate the Head of School on an annual basis. Members of the Executive Committee for 2019-20 are Tammy Fox, Purnima Valdez, Ryan McDevitt, and Sabrina Schneider.

The Diversity & Inclusion Committee was formed in 2016-17 in order to ascertain the climate of Diversity and Inclusion at the school and determine areas for improvement. The committee focuses on curriculum, recruitment/retention, community engagement, and assessment.

When the need arises the Board may create special committees such as the Strategic Planning Committee.

From time to time, the Board creates a Strategic Planning Committee in order to review its previous Strategic Plans and Mission Statement and update them to reflect a variety of factors such as changes in enrollment, the parent body, the financial health of the school, technological advances, the community, and the local economy. The current Strategic Plan was approved by the full Board in April, 2015.

To learn more about this process, or to recommend someone for the Board of Trustees, please contact a member of the Board’s Trusteeship Committee, or Purnima Valdez, Board Chair. Board members are nominated by the Trusteeship Committee and elected by the full Board. New Board members are selected based upon the immediate and long term needs of the School, and for their commitment to the School.