2014-2015 Annual Report

Contact Information 2014-15 Sunstone Montessori School

6318 SW Corbett Avenue

Portland, OR 97239

503 - 768 - 3847

www.sunstonemontessori.org

Dear Families and Friends of Sunstone,

What a year it has been! We accomplished so much over the course of a

school year: we had a well attended Oxbow family camping trip; a

successful, sunny Fall Festival; a crafty and lyrical Winter Sing/Solstice; a

Gatsby Gala (with some fabulous outfits and props); and an African

themed, energetic Shakespeare performance of A Midsummer Night’s

Dream. I’d say that’s a good year!

One of my favorite memories from this year was Earth Day. Our Earth

Day celebration is special in our community because one of our principles

is Responsibility, and we strive to embody that principle by stewarding the

Earth. On Earth Day this year, we started a very special project to make

storm water improvements around our campus. This project was funded

by a grant and partnership made possible by the Community Watershed

Stewardship Program, Environmental Services City of Portland, and

Portland State University. We have made the following improvements: we

planted the vegetated strip; mounded the earth on the hill above the strip;

and enlarged the Huckleberry outdoor space. Other highlights of the year

include the planting and phenomenal growth of our garden near the

Sunflower Cottage.

This year, at Sunstone Montessori School, has been one of growth in

many areas. As we continue to reach out to our broader community, we

expanded our AYM program and saw our enrollment grow slightly as well.

We added enrichment programs such as yoga and soccer, and we continue

to look for other opportunities to share with our afterschool community.

I thank all of our donors and volunteers who support Sunstone

Montessori School. Your financial support and your dedicated time and

expertise enable us to achieve our goals year after year. Thank you for a

great 2014-2015!

Cathy Newman

Head of School

2014-2015 Board of Trustees Sunstone Montessori School is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) educational organization, governed by a Board of Trustees. President David Smith Current SMS Parent Centerstance

Treasurer Karen Bettencourt Alumni SMS Parent Karen J. Probst LLC.

Secretary Jerry Elliott Current SMS Parent Elliott, Ostrander & Preston, P.C.

Head of School & Cathy Newman Alumni SMS Parent AMI Representative Member David Allen Current SMS Parent

Sparta

Member Kraig Anderson Current SMS parent Moda Health

Member Kathy Brooks Current SMS Parent Talent Direct

Member Kristen Connor Current SMS Parent Pacific Continental Bank

Member Sean Murphy Friend of the School Retired

Member Susan Ong Friend of the School Member Lynn Rossing AMI Representative Multnomah County Dept. of Community Justice

Member Jeff Wiles Alumni SMS Parent Retired

Mission Sunstone Montessori School is a community that nurtures the next generation of: Explorers of their World; Stewards of the Earth; Lovers of Learning; and Skilled Contributors to Society.

Vision

Our vision is to develop a community of curious, independent, and compassionate people.

Financial Aid and Tuition Discounts Financial aid is an important offering at Sunstone Montessori School. We believe a Montessori education should not be out of reach financially for families. We carefully consider all requests and seek to accommodate as many requests as possible. Last year, we allocated six percent of operating expenses to financial aid and tuition discounts. Our financial aid program helped 25 students last year. Every year Sunstone offers a tuition discount to families who have multi-ple children who attend our school. Last year, our tuition discount pro-gram assisted 63 students at our school.

Fundraising Sunstone Montessori School has consistently maintained a tuition rate that meets 90% or greater of our operation costs. We rely on fundraising to fill the operational gap, make improvements to the campus, provide con-sistent financial aid/tuition discounts and progressively build a long-term operating reserve. Our parent body is instrumental in our fundraising efforts, volunteering hundreds of hours to the success of several fundraising events each year. Our tradition includes For Small Hands Catalog sales, live auction and pledge drive. We are in the youthful yet fully committed stages of building a fundraising effort towards the local charitable foundation and corporate community.

Financial Results

Income

Tuition, Childcare & Fees $2,342,000 95% Fundraising 111,000 5% Total $2,453,000 100%

Expenses

Payroll, Taxes and Benefits $ 1,550,000 66% Financial Aid & Tuition Discounts 135,000 6% Classroom Expenses 514,000 22% Operating Expenses 143,000 6% Total $2,342,000 100%

Facilities Update

Over the past year we made several improvements to our campus. Most notably, we worked with volunteers to create a beautiful garden and outdoor space between the Sunflower and Huckleberry cottages. This special place has a cedar arbor, plants, logs to climb on, bird feeders and trails to be enjoyed year-round. We also improved our storm water drainage with a grant funded by the Community Watershed Stewardship Program, Environmental Services City of Portland and Portland State University. Finally, we worked closely with our parents, students and staff to develop a masterplan for our outdoor space with Learning Landscapes, LLC. This aspirational project allowed us to dream big and create a vision for the future.

Program Update

Sunstone offers high-quality accredited Montessori education to 180 chil-dren from 16 months through 6th grade. These are the three levels of training and pedagogy (Toddler, Children's House, and Elementary) recognized by the Association Montessori Internationale (AMI). Having the full age range present at the school allows for rich and constructive interactions across age groups, with older children walking younger ones to class, sharing community activities, and taking part in peer teaching and learning. Sunstone continues to attract and retain highly trained, experienced faculty with additional background in areas such as public Montessori, outdoor education, and Non-Violent Communication, to name just a few. Sunstone teachers recently participated in a weekend continuing education intensive presented by Portland's AMI teacher training center, Montessori Northwest, and will travel to Los Angeles in February to attend the annual AMI Refresher Course.

2014-2015 List of Donors $10,000 and above Celeste Trapp and Brian Wannamaker $5,000-$9,999 Karen Bettencourt Kathy and David Brooks Kathleen and Jerry Elliott Moda Donna Duong and Bruce Tran UPM Marketing $2,500-$4,999 Kelly and David Allen Kaiser Permanente Target $1,000-$2,499 Shannon Connelly and Michael Phillips *Lesley and Steve Day *Kate and Elliott de Bruin Kunrath & Willard Insurance Services LLC Mind Matters Monica and Jason Motsko Sean Murphy Pacific Continental Bank Christen and Ryan Palmer *Cici Polson and Kraig Anderson Libby Schwartz and David Smith Lian Wang and Jie Lian Jeff Wiles *Beena and Andy Wood $500-$999 Lisa and Mike Bevins Laura and Charlie Brooks Kristen Connor Monika Davare and Siva Narendra Edward Jones Jennifer and Chuck Friese Catherine and Geoffrey Harvey Julie and Nishan Karassik Littler Mendelson Foundation, Inc. Melvin Mark Mark and Cathy Newman

Susan Ong and David Norris Bonney Pelley and Patrick O'Brien Lynn and Garry Rossing Xubo Song and Homer Chin Matt Swafford $100-$499 Hanisi and Alex Accetta Liesl Andrico Sheree and Kory Arntson Connie and Philip Barbar Gaffney and Dirk Barnett Ellen Bergstrom and Dan Wasil Carrie Caffee-Martin and Erik Martin Lisa and Magnus Carlsson Jennifer Cunliffe and Matthew Whorton Karen Cunliffe Elizabeth and Matt Dacey *Mahsa Darabi and Ali Panahpour Emily and Alex Guimaraes Debbie and Travis Hall Here We Go Again Elise Hunke-Stone and David Ayer Cibyl Kavan Brenda Koenig J.B. Leahy Tricia Leahy Jody Lindwall and Adam Garmon Leslie Logan Donette Miranda and Jeffrey Blank Marissa and Ross Moser Senia and Stewart Newman Leah Nobilette and Shawn Kolitch James Phelps Emma Pribnow Julene Quinn Laura Sciortino and John Berg Kathryn Smetana Laura and Darren Stensland Virginia Stone Karen Strobeck and Leif Lindseth Switch Clothing Michael Thrailkill Monica Wright

$1-$99 Veronica Araneda and Clay Sparkman Anna Ardizzone Martha and Glenn Bailey Tom Becic Jessica Bettelheim and Matthew Flamming Ian Bowen and Vicky Buelow La Toya Carruthers Megan Derrick Jessica Douglass Carrie and Christopher Folkestad Jacquelin Grant Clare Gravenall and Mike Ware Rachel Heath Amy Hutchinson Laurel Jamtgaard and Don Rasmusson Annabeth Jensen and Scott Grice Diana and Michael Johnson Michael G. Johnson *Lisa Karplus and Gilbert Neiger Ava Lichter Emilie Machon and Clay Card Sarah Miller Sharon and Warren Moliken Annie and Paul Niedergang Jennifer and Ryan Niemeyer Vickie Novinger Ashley Preece-Sackett and Jeremy Sackett Neelam and Mihir Ravel Sharo Reyes Natalie Rotheray Jennifer and Robert Ryznar Sylvia and Robert Salazar Stephanie Satori Patti Seitz and Peter Field Talia Sheldon-Desjardins Kelly Stark Julie Stumpf and Eric Miller Ky Thai Deedra and Beau Weill Shawna and Colin Williams Carolann and Jack Zinda Belinda Zylberman

Matching Gifts Intel Key Bank Microsoft Moda Personal Choice PGE UBS

Donors with an * next to their names utilized their employer’s matching gift program.

Sunstone Montessori School is grateful for all charitable donations. We make every attempt to recognize and thank each and every donor. We apologize for any that may potentially be missing or listed incorrectly on this list.

Commitment to Diversity

Sunstone Montessori School welcomes students and staff of any race, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, color, nationality and ethnicity, religion, and family constellation to all programs and activities at the school. The school does not discriminate in its educational, hiring, admission, or school-administered

policies. It is our goal that Sunstone Montessori School reflects the rich diversity of our community, including varied cultures, economic status, and individual or

special educational needs.