From the headmaster
Throughout Burroughs history, the school’s leadership has systematically reviewed the evolving needs of students and faculty. This ongoing introspection has led to many changes since the campus opened in 1923 with one building on 17.5 acres.
My goal since coming to Burroughs in 1986 has always been to provide the best possible educational program for our students. That has meant attracting and retaining the best teachers available to teach in the Burroughs way, an educational environment that reflects our mission, a generously-funded financial aid program, and campus surroundings that are both functional and thoughtfully designed. These are the underlying supports of a Burroughs education, and they apply to all core areas of our program — academics, arts, athletics and activities.
Our most recent self-study and evaluation led the Board of Trustees to consider the next steps in the evolution of our school and its campus. This evaluation led to the adoption of new strategic goals:
- Financially, we must increase our endowment in order to maintain a balanced budget, increase faculty salaries, contain tuition growth, create new scholarships, and be able to offer stronger financial aid packages for our families. Each year the need for additional funding grows.
- Land acquisition is an area where we have seen unprecedented opportunities, and we have taken advantage of them. Three neighboring properties have been purchased in the past three years. With new property comes access to Clayton Road, and the flexibility to plan for what our campus may look like, both near- and long-term. These properties were expensive, and we need to cover these costs.
- In direct support of our educational mission, existing campus facilities should be brought up to the architectural and functional standards that were realized when we renovated and expanded our signature main classroom building.
Over the next several years, the Board hopes to respond to each of these goals by upgrading, replacing and building new facilities, strengthening the endowment, and raising the funds to pay for property acquisition.
Specifically our master plan includes:
- Increasing the school’s endowment
- Raising funds for land acquisition
- Building a new theatre with theatre/dance studios and labs
- Replacing Haertter Hall with a new assembly/concert hall and music rooms
- Adding a new performance gymnasium to the athletic program
- Renovating the fine arts building
- Increasing the capacity of the dining room
- Adding and/or upgrading fields for soccer, field hockey, football and track
- Adding parking areas, access roads and green spaces
The mission and vision of the school remains the same — but in order to sustain them we must improve our physical facilities, increase the size of the campus, and strengthen our financial position.
The plan sets forth the next chapter in the history of John Burroughs School.
Dr. Keith Shahan, Headmaster