the kinkaid school magazine - fall 2012

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1 Fall 2012 The New Wave Exploring technology in the classroom 21ST CENTURY LEARNING Alumni Survey Results Meet Dr. Andy Martire The next Head of School SPECIAL EDITION

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For more information, contact Director of Advancement Tom Moore at 713.243.5045 or email [email protected]

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Page 1: The Kinkaid School Magazine - Fall 2012

1

Fall 2012

The New Wave

Exploring technology in the classroom

21ST CENTURY LEARNING

Alumni Survey ResultsMeet Dr. Andy MartireThe next Head of School

SPECIAL EDITION

Page 2: The Kinkaid School Magazine - Fall 2012

2 3

TABLE OF CONTENTS

4 A Message from the Headmaster Kinkaid’s Headmaster addresses technology

in the world of education.

6 The New Wave Contributed by Charlie Scott, Upper School English Teacher

How technology is used in the classroom.

15 Technology in Action

10 Alumni Survey Results Kinkaid’s alumni have a powerful voice and a

valuable perspective about the School, its importance

to them, and its continuing role in their lives.

11 Key Findings

12 Infograph of Alumni Surveyed

13 Opportunities to Strengthen

13 Ideas into Action

14 Meet Dr. Andy Martire Photos from Dr. Martire’s visit to Kinkaid

Tom MooreDirector of Advancement

[email protected]

Emily Wynne Bolin ‘82

Annual Find Manager

[email protected]

Jennifer GouldParent Liaison & Volunteer

Coordinator

[email protected]

Andrea IbarraGift Records Manager

[email protected]

Leslie Roemer Labanowski ‘02

Alumni Activities Manager

[email protected]

Jennifer PardeeMajor Gifts Manager

[email protected]

Georgia PiazzaSpecial Event and Electronic

Communications Manager

[email protected]

Cindy Van KeppelAdvancement Assistant

[email protected]

Photography contributed by

David Shutts

The Kinkaid Magazine is a publication of the Advancement Office of The Kinkaid School.

Page 3: The Kinkaid School Magazine - Fall 2012

4 5

 

Headmastera message from the

In my comments to Upper School students at the beginning of this

school year I spoke about the three forces that are driving change in

teaching and learning: the increasing globally connected world we

live in, breakthrough discoveries in brain research, and exponential

growth in information technology. Educators and parents must

understand that none of these drivers should be autonomous in

its impact on teaching and learning. Some schools, for example,

moved quickly in recent years to embrace the latest in information

technology not because they were certain of its educational value to

their students, but because they believed it might serve to distinguish

them from their competitors. Great schools think first about

education and recognize that each of these drivers is a resource

that can help prepare students to be productive, resilient, and

responsible adults and citizens in the world they will enter as adults.

The lead article in this edition of the Kinkaid

magazine takes a look at the growing and

exciting use of information technology in our

classrooms. Written by Upper School English

Teacher and Kinkaid parent Dr. Charlie Scott,

this article reveals that our faculty are bringing

information technology into their classrooms

thoughtfully and impactfully.

Some background. In the 1996-1997 school

year, my first as headmaster at Kinkaid,

the School had a significant number of

computers, thanks largely to the special

generosity of Bill and Jeanie Kilroy, but

access to the Internet was limited to several

dialup lines. Faculty who were eager to

grow information technology (then Science

Department Chair Deborah Veselka was

among the leaders in this) rightly clamored

for more lines and better access. In the

spring of 1997 I convened a task force,

under the leadership of trustee Chip Cureton, to look closely

at the school’s current use of information and opportunities in

the future. The task force met regularly for a year, reviewed what

our peer schools were doing, and generated several strategic

recommendations, which were approved by the Board of Trustees.

Perhaps the most significant recommendations were the creation of

an intranet, the establishment of a school website, and a connection

to the Internet that would provide school wide access. The 1998

Auction generously supplied most of the funds for this project,

and during that spring and summer the School purchased the

necessary equipment. Kinkaid hired a project manager to oversee

the installation, who began well but resigned part way through the

work. There were two especially able Kinkaid students who were

working with the project manager on this (one on his way to Stanford

and one a rising senior at Kinkaid), and soon after the project

manager resigned, they asked for a meeting, told me told me they

could complete the project themselves, and presented a proposal. I

accepted the proposal, they did a fantastic job, and they completed

the work before school started.

When you read Dr. Scott’s article, you will get a sense of how much

has changed since that humble beginning. Not long ago I sat in on

a session a consultant was having with kindergarten teachers about

how to use iPads to help students gain greater comprehension of

class material. One comment: “Never underestimate the power of

having just one iPad in a class.” Our kindergarten teachers (and

the headmaster) were excited and fully engaged with the ideas and

practical suggestions she generated, and several of these ideas will

work their way into our kindergarten classes this year. By the way,

the consultant met with our other Lower

School grade level teachers during her visit

as well.

In thinking about information technology (as with everything else), Kinkaid will continue to place teaching and learning first, and our faculty will continue to think, not about what is the latest and greatest device, but about how the latest and great-est (or any other device) can enrich and strengthen teaching and learning.

The magazine also features stories on the recent visit of Andy Martire, Kinkaid’s next head of school, and the valuable results

from the recent survey of Kinkaid alumni that generated a high

level of participation and some extremely positive and constructive

responses to assist in developing future programs to meet the needs

of our alumni. It is an exciting time for education indeed, and I hope

you will enjoy reading this edition of the Kinkaid magazine.

Sincerely,

Don North

It is an exciting time in the world of education.

“Our faculty are bringing information technology into their classr

ooms tho

ughtf

ully a

nd im

pact

fully

.” -D

on N

orth

Page 4: The Kinkaid School Magazine - Fall 2012

6 7

Though there is, no doubt, a good old overhead projector or

box of chalk still to be found in some dusty back closet of one of

Kinkaid’s storage areas, the day to day work of the School has

largely been supplanted by instruments and activities with odd and

perhaps even intimidating names. Moodle, iPads, QuadBlogging,

Flipped Classrooms, Robotics, Skype, iMovie, the above-

mentioned Promethean Board, textbook Mash-ups, and the MOOC

(pronounced “mook”).

Peter Pickett, the “Mr. Pickett” of Lower School room 128, came to

Kinkaid 33 years ago, ostensibly to teach 1st grade. This was before

the “Computer Revolution.” In fact, before computers at all, at least at

The Kinkaid School. At some point, by the time Pickett had moved

to teaching

Kindergarten,

about 15 or

so computers

were brought

into the Lower

School. They

were tucked into

a small music

room behind

the library. “If I remember correctly they were Apple 2Es,“ he says.

“And we didn’t really have computers in classrooms, we just had this

one room, and I would take my class in to use it once a week with a

group of volunteer parents I called ‘the computer moms.’” Basically

the moms and Pickett would help each student run a small-scale,

floppy-disk program that had him or her guiding a little electronic

turtle through a maze. According to Pickett, the idea, at the time, was

simply to begin familiarizing students with the keyboard, the screen,

the mouse, and the idea of fusing the three together to achieve some

type of end product or goal.

What a difference a mere three decades can make. For example,

lower school teachers Christine Papadakes and CeCelia O’Connell have both discovered the power of on-line blogging,

especially with regard to teaching writing and literature to their third

graders. O’Connell utilizes a program called “QuadBlogging” that

allows her students to correspond with students from all over the

world on topics ranging from books they are studying to their personal

thoughts and feelings. This past year, her class blog-site had more

than 2900 visitors,

representing all the

major continents of

the world (excluding

Antarctica, where

we will assume

lower school

classrooms and

students are

rather scarce).

Meanwhile, Papadakes’ class was using its “Hideaway” blog-site

to share commentary about the latest book that they were reading,

Barbara O’Connor’s best-selling “How To Steal A Dog.” “We were

in the computer lab, and we were looking at Barbara O’Connor’s

author blog. It’s called ‘Greetings from Nowhere.’ And one of the

students realized that Ms. O’Connor was actually on her blog live

The New WaveExploring technology in the classroomContributed by Charlie Scott, Upper School English Teacher

Let’s say you are a Kinkaid parent and you’re walking around the

hallways of the Friedkin Family Lower School Building, perhaps for

the very first time. You see and hear lots of familiar, heart-warming

sounds and sights. Seedlings sprouting in paper cups in the

science room, a choir of young voices practicing for the upcoming

holiday concert, a glorious mélange of brightly colored art work

adorning the walls, replete with tiny handprints as signatures. But

then you stand at the threshold of Room One-Two-Eight. The sign

over the door says “Mr. Pickett.” And you walk in to a sight that

defies the familiar. Second graders bent over their flashing monitor-

screens preparing Power-Point presentations (Power-Point!?

Second graders?!). Pre-K’ers punching at keyboards in answer

to mathematical problems. A teacher leading a writing workshop

using something called a “Promethean” Board, which magically

responds to the merest touch of her hand like a piece of paper

typically responds to a pen. It’s at this moment that an unavoidable

truth slaps you sharply in the face. This is not your father’s Kinkaid.

Nor is it your mother’s. It’s not even yours. This is The Kinkaid

School of the 21st century.

Page 5: The Kinkaid School Magazine - Fall 2012

8 9

matter is accomplished via homework, and the review of that material

transpires directly with the teacher in class. For Kahn this shift is not

only ideal in terms of learning, but it is remarkably enriched through

technology. He says, “The pedagogy in this learning situation,

especially with the aid of technology, allows students the ability to

re-visit subject area content, rewind it, reflect on it, and understand it

at a much deeper, more long-lasting level.”

Moving over to the Upper School, both the science and history

departments are experimenting more and more with on-line research

tools and models. In another new area of educational technology,

History Department Head Ed Harris and Spanish teacher

Vanessa Zamudio are using on-line texts, called Mash-ups, that

allow them and their students to purchase particular chapters or

sections of a given textbook and eschew other sections that are

less helpful or germane to

their courses. Moreover,

the text highlighting and

note-taking that individual

students implement can be

“shared” on-line amongst

all the other students, as

well as the teacher, making

a given night’s reading

assignment a class-wide

interactive enterprise. The

English Department’s Christa Forster and Casey Fleming

both use blogs extensively,

and two years ago, Forster

was able to enhance her

teaching of Shakespeare’s

“Othello,” by Skyping with her

actress/friend Charlesanne

Rabensburg, who was playing

the role of Othello’s wife

Desdemona in a production at

Ohio State University.

Furthermore, the faculty at Kinkaid are not merely using all these

technological resources for classroom activities with their students.

Nowadays, the Internet and technology-based training are starting

to influence and enhance their continued zeal for professional

development. According to Kinkaid Dean of Faculty Jim Dunaway,

about 32% of the School’s professional development funds

go towards helping teachers and staff learn more about using

technology in an educational setting.

One of the most popular “professional development” offerings to date

is what’s called the MOOC (Massive Open On-Line Course) – which

offers teachers cutting-edge, graduate-level coursework in their

particular field. For example, Upper School Principal Patrick Loach,

who came to Kinkaid in 2011 from Richmond, Virginia’s Collegiate

School, has a strong background in technology and its impact on

education. He is currently enrolled in a MOOC World History course

taught by the University of Virginia’s Philip Zelikow, the Executive

Director of the 9/11 Commission.

Forster enrolled in two MOOCs this past summer as part of her

training in literature and writing. One was offered through Princeton

University and taught by Princeton professor Mitchell Duneier. Both

were totally free of charge. For her, this type of opportunity inspires

and fuels her passion for a lifetime of learning and helps her to instill

such a passion in her students each and every year.

But whether they are hard at work bettering themselves as

professionals or inspiring their students in the classroom, the Kinkaid

faculty is immersed in the rich and varied opportunities that the

School provides them via technology. Loach says that back in 2005,

Kinkaid, like most independent prep schools around the country,

was a lonely shoreline holding a scant one or two “lighthouse”

projects that used technology. Nowadays, that shoreline is getting

more and more crowded and the “Lux per Scientiam” (Light through

Knowledge) of Kinkaid’s motto is being provided by a finely-tuned

network of such techno-lighthouses.

Back in Lower School room 128, on the wall of Peter Pickett’s

classroom, is one last replica of the 1980s: a poster of his hero –

#33 of his beloved Boston Celtics, Larry Bird. In the poster, Bird is

lining up one of his patented three-pointers, and the caption says

in large white lettering, ”When I played, I played as hard as I could.”

Some things never change, never should, never will. “No one here

is trying to throw the baby out with the bath water,” echoes Kahn.

Loach, Dunaway, Lower School Prinicipal Krista Babine and Middle

School Principal Barry Spiers adamantly avow that the qualities

they look for in potential faculty are the same that Kinkaid has always

sought after. Educators with that rare combination of subject-area

mastery and knowledge, energy, curiosity, compassion, adaptability,

a razor-sharp thirst for intellectual challenge, and, of course, an

abiding love for young people and helping them to learn and grow.

What is new is placing that rare professional who combines all those

qualities into an environment richly endowed with technological

possibilities and wonder.

As a result, Kinkaid students are not only reading a given book,

but Skyping with the book’s author from her home in Sri Lanka. Or

they might be learning Chinese in partnership with a classroom of

students in Hong Kong who are learning English. Margaret Kinkaid

memorably extolled the importance of educating the “whole child.”

In 2012, the “whole child” now includes a connecting wire to the

Internet, complete with all its accompanying instrumentation. This

may not be your Kinkaid or your mother’s and father’s. But this is a

Kinkaid School that is resolved and working hard towards advancing

into the 21st century ahead of the curve. And just like the old Kinkaid,

it’s a school that can and will enrich the whole family, mom and pop

included, and make them proud.

Kinkaid 3rd graders connect to other students and educators around the world via Ms. O’Connell’s quad-blogging site, totalling over 2,900 visits.

Visits1,000 +100 - 99910 - 991 - 9

commenting right back to us as we typed.” What happened next is

a great example of the kind of learning experience and synchronicity

that can only come from a classroom fully linked into the realm of

technology and the World Wide Web. The students then asked the

author if she would be willing to “Skype” with them (i.e. do a “live”

on-camera interview over the Internet). The author replied “absolutely”

(provided the children had their teacher’s approval), and so

Padadakes and her students got down to work – writing questions,

re-reading the book, preparing notes. The next thing they all knew,

the entire class was speaking literally face-to-face with the author of

their book. Not only was this incredibly exciting to the students, but

they also received valuable affirmation from O’Connor with regard to

much of the focus of their own writing efforts in class: the importance

of revision and imaginative free play, as well as the difficult task of

character development in creating good stories.

“We are in the midst of

a unique, “Gutenburg”-

like revolution in terms

of communication,

education, and learning,”

says Larry Kahn,

who arrived in 2005 to

serve as Kinkaid’s Chief

Technology Officer. “We

are no longer looking at an

assembly-line approach

to the classroom, but

are veering more into

individualized learning that

emphasizes a vast array

of skills, like creativity,

connections, analysis

and direct applications.”

The old “take-meticulous-

notes-and-then-memorize-

them” model of learning

is quickly becoming

passé. Now students and teachers find themselves immersed in a

more direct and “hands-on” learning experience. For example, Alan

November, a national leader in educational technology and a recent

guest speaker at Kinkaid, likes to tell the story of students in a U.S.

classroom studying the American Revolution in tandem, via the

Internet, with a class in Great Britain. In order to broaden everyone’s

understanding, the U.S. students debated the pros and cons of

the struggle from the British Empire’s point-of-view and the British

students took that of the American Colonies. According to Kahn, this

is the kind of dynamic, engrossing, and mind-broadening intellectual

experience that The Kinkaid School is starting to offer again and

again to its students.

Moreover, these kinds of opportunities extend from the Blue, Green,

and Red Doors of the Lower School’s Pre-K all the way through to

the Upper School’s senior year. Middle school science instructors

Jeff Gessell, Shari Hiltbrand, Laura Sinclair and Jessica Zenker are experimenting with the technique of the “flipped”

classroom, which reverses the usual classwork vs. homework

relationship. In a “flipped” classroom, the introduction of the subject

Page 6: The Kinkaid School Magazine - Fall 2012

10 11

Hannah Jamail Herrick is a 2nd grader.

“I like to work with a program called Mavis which teaches you how to

type better. It trains my fingers how to move when I’m thinking and

trying to type my thoughts with both hands. Also, there’s another

game we use to educate our fingers. And then there is also the

KidPix program. I really had fun using it to create the slide show that I

made for science that showed the earth’s water cycle!”

Reed Sellers is a Senior and served as the Varsity Tennis Team’s Manager in the Spring of 2012.

“Last year, while serving as Team Manager, I used an iPhone

application that I just happened across called Tennis Trakker. It

allowed me to track everything from a player’s first serve percentage,

to points won, to unforced errors. I would monitor our top players

matches and email the stats afterwards to the players or share them

with our coach, Josh Rodriguez. For example, at one point during

the season, I pointed out to then junior Blake Wilde that he had won

the majority of the points where he got his first serve in and lost the

majority of his second serve points. Blake really started focusing in

his matches on getting his first serve in as consistently as possible.

The Boys’ Team went on last year to capture the SPC Championship

Trophy, and Blake (with his double’s partner, Greg Labanowski) won the deciding match.”

Sam Sands is a Senior and the President of the Honor Council.

“Technology around campus and in the classroom is a great tool.

Kinkaid has always been at the forefront, through class blogs,

Promethean Boards, and now we even have a paperless debate

team through iPads. Technology helps students in a variety of ways,

from being able to look at class notes at our own pace, to taking

advantage of the extra practice time provided by textbook websites,

to just simply making day-to-day lessons more entertaining. Last

year one of my teachers actually worked out homework problems

step-by-step online, so that we could spend class time covering new

material. It was a great tool because I could go back through the

problems as slowly and as many times as I needed.”

TX Harris is a 7th Grader.

“Last year was the first year of the Middle School Robotics Club.

Basically, when we get together we learn (with our science teachers)

about robots and different computer programs. This year there are

about three times as many kids in the club, and we are actually

building and programming robots. The flipped classroom in my

science class is awesome! I like watching the videos in the evening

and then having more time to work in the lab during class time. I

especially liked the video about mitosis. I was able to watch it at

home a couple of times. Then we did a lab in class with onion tips

under a microscope, and we looked at the cells that were dividing

and we identified what stages of division each cell was undergoing.

In every class my teachers use Promethean Boards. It really helps

because it is so easy to see clearly what the teacher is doing on

them, and all my teachers use them in so many different ways.”

in ActionTechnology

The term ‘21st-century skills’ is generally used to refer to certain core competencies such as collaboration, digital literacy, critical thinking, and problem-solving that advocates believe schools need to teach to help students thrive in today’s world. In a broader sense, however, the idea of what learning in the 21st-century should look like is open to interpretation – and controversy.” edweek.org

At Kinkaid, technology and 21st-century skills are part of the every day curriculum. Below is a sampling of technology

in action from the perspective of our students.

Page 7: The Kinkaid School Magazine - Fall 2012

12 13

The responses showed great consistency in regard to the School’s

core characteristics and unique attributes, as well as alumni’s valued

experiences. What made the responses more impressive was the

consistency of the response regardless of the year of graduation. The

very things on which Kinkaid prides itself -- educating the whole child,

providing a quality education, having superior faculty and creating a

strong community – were also cited by alumni as being central to the

School’s identity and how it operates. According to the survey results,

these areas are what make the School unique.

The School performed very well on questions rating the alumni

experience and alumni services. Eighty-eight percent of respondents

rated their overall experience as a member of the Kinkaid alumni

community as positive (see Graph 1). This represents extraordinarily

satisfactory attitudes toward performance and positively reflects the

meaningful connection that the School maintains with its alumni.

Respondents were also asked to rate the importance of various

areas and programs at the School, as well as how the School has

performed in relation to each. The majority of respondents rated

Kinkaid’s performance positively. The one area that received a lower

rating, both in importance and in performance, was the “opportunity

to interact with alumni” (Graphs 2 & 3).

Kinkaid’s alumni have a powerful voice and a useful perspective about the School, its

importance to them, and its continuing role in their lives. In the recent alumni survey,

launched in June 2012, The Kinkaid School hoped to learn about alumni attitudes relating

to a number of key areas that impact both the School and its alumni.

“The survey was designed to get an in-depth understanding of the attitudes and

perceptions of our alumni,” explained Tom Moore, Director of Advancement, the office

that oversees alumni activities. “Our alumni not only are our past, but represent so much

of our future. We have a duty and deep desire to listen and understand where they are

today and how we as a school community can not only serve, but support them.”

Although the responses to surveys from alumni of peer institutions are typically modest,

the School received an extraordinary volume of responses from its alumni. The overall

response rate of 22% was almost double what the School expected to receive and

is a great indication of alumni interest in their alma mater. Over 3,000 email-based

surveys were sent to alumni in the classes of 1963-2011, of which 715 surveys were fully

completed online. In addition, for alumni in the classes of 1929-1962, the School mailed

over 500 paper surveys, with 54 surveys completed and returned.

Alumni Survey Results

Key Findings

Graph 1: Experience As Alumni

Excellent

Very Good

Good

Fair

Poor

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%Percentage of Alumni Surveyed

Poor Fair Neutral Good Excellent

Not at all important Unimportant Neutral Important Extremely important

Graph 2: Areas of Importance to Alumni

Graph 3: Performance in Areas of Importance

Before creating the survey, the Office of Advancement, working

closely with the Kinkaid Alumni Board, studied best practices and

results from other peer institutions. This process helped to refine

the parameters of the survey and set the expectation for survey

participation rates as well as the potential for negativity that a number

of leading schools have experienced.

“As our research partner described the results, it became clear that not only are our results ‘much more positive than that of our peer institutions,’ but we also have an interested, informed, and highly engaged base of alums that we can serve and continue to support.”

The survey asked a variety of open-ended questions as well as

questions answerable on a numerical rating scale. From a historical

perspective, the survey helped to establish how alumni feel about

their own Kinkaid experience and the continuing value of the School

in their lives. Additionally, the survey helped to identify opportunities for

improving alumni support and communication. Both the participation

rate and the quality of input from the alumni far exceeded the School’s

planning expectations.

“We are extremely pleased with the level of participation, but more

so with the incredibly positive, highly constructive responses we

received,” shared Stephen Dyer ‘85, chair of the Alumni Association

Board. “As our research partner described the results, it became

clear that not only are our results ‘much more positive than that of our

peer institutions,’ but we also have an interested, informed, and highly

engaged base of alums that we can serve and continue to support.”

Academics

Relationship with the faculty

Participation in athletics

Participation in the arts

College preparations

Traditions or values

Opportunity to interact with alumni

Percentage of Alumni Surveyed0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Academics

Relationship with the faculty

Participation in athletics

Participation in the arts

College preparations

Traditions or values

Opportunity to interact with alumni

Percentage of Alumni Surveyed0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Page 8: The Kinkaid School Magazine - Fall 2012

14 15

The survey gave alumni the opportunity to voice their perspectives

on the School and the Alumni Association through several

open-ended questions. In more than 1,000 pages of written

responses (our alums know how to write!), alumni identified issues,

opportunities and programmatic ideas for the School to consider.

Each response has been reviewed and considered carefully by the

alumni office.

The majority of respondents rated Kinkaid’s performance positively.

Four key themes surfaced from the responses

1 Social and business networking assistance2 Creation of a formalized mentoring program3 More meetings and activities for all alumni, especially for those who live outside of Houston4 Improved events

The Alumni Board already has begun to act on the results of the

survey. The board will focus its efforts first on social and business

networking, and formalized mentoring programs for Kinkaid alums.

Additionally, the Alumni Activities staff has started to explore

additional meeting opportunities and gatherings in other alumni-

dense communities. In the coming months, the School will share

progress on these issues.

“The goal of the School and its Alumni Association has always

been to provide our alumni with the services, connections and

communications that they want and need,” said Dyer. “We could not

be more grateful for the feedback and direction that so many of our

alumni provided. We continue to learn about and improve upon our

alumni interaction. Doing it right requires changing with the times

and listening to the needs of our alums. We are excited for all that is

ahead of us.”

The alumni office and alumni board, along with the headmaster,

administrative team and board of trustees, have seen the

extraordinary input and results of the survey. Each group will use

the survey results to further Kinkaid’s commitment to improving

its performance so that the School not only continues to serve its

alumni, but remains a model for other leading educational institutions.

While there remains much to do to support the School’s storied alumni

community, the respect that Kinkaid has for its alumni is reciprocated

by the respect that its alumni show towards the School. When asked

how likely alumni are to recommend Kinkaid to a friend or colleague,

more than 75% of the respondents gave the School a response of

‘8’ or higher (on a 10 point scale). As the research firm validated, the

affinity and regard for the School are extraordinarily high.

Moore concluded, “There are few relationships more important

or more lasting for a school than its alumni. We are honored by

the support of our alumni and humbled by the responsibility that

comes with it.”

Where Kinkaid Alumni Live

Because Kinkaid’s alumni are spread across the United States

and the world, the School’s communications function becomes

increasingly more important to inform, engage and remain

connected with its alumni base. The survey provided opportunity for

meaningful feedback and direction on how the School can better

communicate and engage with alumni.

As expected, most alumni said they value the Kinkaid Magazine and

read it at least once a year, with the majority reading it multiple times

per year. And, with the continued evolution of e-mail, online tools

and social media, most alumni indicated that they read e-mails sent

from the alumni office multiple times per year. These two methods of

communication are among the most widely utilized and are where the

School continues to focus resources.

Additionally, the survey provided perspective on the perceived quantity

and quality of information that alumni receive from the School. Alumni

overall feel that they receive the right amount of information and the

information they receive is of high quality.

“While the information validates much of what we believed, it has

provided great perspective around a number of issues,” continued

Moore. “It also has challenged our thinking and how we need to better

communicate, better serve, and better connect alumni with each

other and with the School. The insight we have gained will only help to

strengthen the bond between our alumni and Kinkaid.”

The Alumni Board already has begun to act

on the results of the survey. The board will focus

its efforts first on social and business networking, and

formalized mentoring programs for Kinkaid alums.

3,301 (83% of TX alumni) live in the Houston area (60 mile radius)

286 (7% of TX alumni) live in the Austin area (40 mile radius)

217 (5% of TX alumni) live in the Dallas/Fort Worth area (100 mile radius)

96 (2% of TX alumni) live in the San Antonio area (60 mile radius)

3,985 (77% of all alumni) live in Texas

5,901 living alumni from the classes of 1928-2012 (including 336 non-graduates)

5,141 with confirmed mailing addresses**Statistics taken from all alumni with confirmed mailing addresses.

38 Around the World

All Kinkaid Alumni

64%

13%

22%

1%

Houston

Houston

Dallas/Fort Worth

Austin

San Antonio 38 (1% of all alumni) live outside of the USA in 13 different countries

1,118 (22% of all alumni) live outside of TX in 49 States

(South Dakota is the only state without a Kinkaid alumnus)

478 alumni are concentrated in 4 urban areas:162 alumni live in the New York City area (includes part of NJ & CT) 111 alumni live in the Los Angeles area106 alumni live in the Washington, DC area (includes part of VA & MD) 99 alumni live in the Northern California/San Francisco area

Other alumni cities:30 in Atlanta 13 in Nashville 45 in Boston 15 in Philadelphia 14 in Chicago 11 in San Diego 14 in Denver 12 in Seattle

Current countries include:

• Australia• Bahrain• Canada• Ecuador• France• Hong Kong• India

• Ireland• Italy• The Netherlands• Sweden• Switzerland• The United Kingdom

Atlanta

Nashville

Chicago

DenverSan Francisco

Los Angeles

San Diego

Seattle

Washington, D.C.Philadelphia

New York City

Boston

Ideas Into Action

Opportunities to Strengthen

Page 9: The Kinkaid School Magazine - Fall 2012

16 17

Dr. Andy MartireThe Next Head of School

Making his first visit to Kinkaid since being named its next head of school,

Dr. Andy Martire had the opportunity to visit with faculty and staff, the

administration, parents as well as the board of trustees. Upon arriving at the

School on October 3, Dr. Martire met first with faculty and staff, who attended

a welcome reception in his honor. The following morning, Dr. Martire was

introduced to a wide array of parents, who attended an early morning presentation

and reception, where he engaged the audience with stories of his family, his

current school and his excitement for the future. However, at Dr. Martire’s request,

most of his schedule while at the School was devoted to spending time in the

classrooms - observing the learning and teaching while having the opportunity to

interact with students in the lower, middle and upper schools.

Faculty, staff, students, and parents alike were energized by his visit and genuinely

excited for Dr. Martire to join the Kinkaid family next summer.

Page 10: The Kinkaid School Magazine - Fall 2012

18 19

Meeting Faculty, Staff and Parents

Page 11: The Kinkaid School Magazine - Fall 2012

20

GET READY TO BE

TRANSPORTED BACK TO THE

HEYDAY OF LAS VEGAS!

THE KINKAID SCHOOL

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2013

6:30 PM TO MIDNIGHT

Be part of Kinkaid’s first

for Alumni, Parents of Alumni, Grandparents and Friends!

Both trips will be hosted by Retired Faculty John and Caro Ann Germann

Join fellow adventurers on these fantastic travel opportunities

the clash of the blue and the gray a civil war history tour

April 6 - 13, 2013

from the walls of troy to the canals of venice landmarks of mediterranean civilizations

September 13 - 24, 2013

To download travel brochures, www.kinkaid.org/travel

JOIN US AS AN AUCTION UNDERWRITER

TO HELP RAISE VALUABLE FUNDING FOR KINKAID

SCHOLARSHIPS, FACULTY DEVELOPMENT,

COMMUNITY OUTREACH AND THE LATEST IN

EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY

For more information, contact Georgia Piazza at

713-243-5078 or [email protected].

201 K inka id School Dr ive Houston, T X 77024

Parents or Alumni: If this publication

is addressed to your child who no longer maintains

a permanent address at your home, please

notify the Alumni Office of the new permanent

mailing address.

t h e k i n k a i d s c h o o l

NON PROFIT ORG.U.S. POSTAGE

PAIDPERMIT NO. 3375HOUSTON, TEXAS