Affirming Our Identity

AFFIRMING OUR IDENTITY

AFFIRMING OUR IDENTITY

“There is nothing like the risk of losing something to make you realize how precious it is in the first place.”

– Keith Fontaine ‘78

NFA’s 2016-17 school year witnessed many successes.

Since February, NFA has maintained a consistent opposition to

Two students received Martin Luther King Scholarships, one

the proposed legislation, and, NFA supporters – alumni, family,

student went on to Harvard, two teachers became national

friends, community members, and students – rallied around

Fund for Teachers fellows and traveled internationally, and NFA

preserving the critical attribute which sets the Academy apart

student-athletes, performers, and musicians achieved excellence

and fuels the Foundation’s support – independence.

in play. The NFA Foundation, Inc. contributed $1.2 million in tuition subsidy, and 325 students won 360 awards totaling over $390,000 in scholarships. Additionally, the Foundation provided $397,305 in direct support from the endowment to the academic programs.

And… in its 160 plus year history, Norwich Free Academy faced perhaps the most serious threat to its status as an independently governed, privately endowed, regional, day academy. Senate Bill 786 (§11 and 12) introduced in the Connecticut General Assembly would have mandated public representation on NFA’s private Board of Trustees.

Sarette Williams, Chair of the Board of Trustees, and Keith Fontaine, President of the NFA Foundation, Inc., members of the Class of 1978, reflected upon Norwich Free Academy, their role as leaders, advocates and stewards, and lessons in the wake of 786.

A SPECIAL PLACE Sarette: We commonly refer to NFA as a private school with a public mission.

Keith: Everybody who understands our governance model or not knows this is a unique place. They might not be able to put their finger on it, but they know at its root that this is a place apart. This place offers incredible choice. Whether you are a student, a parent of a student, or member of the community, who perhaps has no other relationship with this organization, you know NFA is something special.

Sarette: Campus captivates you. In my family, three generations have graduated from NFA. I don’t know this as a fact, but I would bet that among the students at NFA today, the largest percentage is first generation. Even those families understand how precious NFA is.

Keith: And I think, for our first generation students, if they stay in our community, and I hope that they will, they will pass on this aura of specialness to their kids.

GOVERNANCE Sarette: NFA’s structure is misunderstood. Certainly, what we saw with 786, what we had to defend, is our model as an independently governed, endowed academy.

Keith: If you had asked last year what’s a word that you think will unite all of NFA, its students, family, alumni… I’ve got to tell you, I would not have hit upon ‘independence.’ I just wouldn’t have gone there, but it turns out that independence was the unifying factor. In the end, independence, the thing that makes us special, brought us back together.

I know for the Foundation Board and as a Trustee, for me personally, and under your leadership, Sarette, having us coalesce around independence was key.

Sarette: For me, a strong realization was ‘don’t take our independence for granted.’ It may be challenged, but don’t take it for granted. It is important that all our constituents understand independence. We have to take every opportunity to educate our Corporators, faculty, staff, students and their families, and our partners about the value of this independent model.

Keith: There is nothing like the risk of losing something to make you realize how precious it is in the first place.

That’s what happened here. In some ways, I would never want to revisit the 786 experience, but in hindsight, it was a blessing because it caused us to think about what it is we do, who it is we serve and why we do this.

I have to say, that this was a profound awakening.

Sarette: We want to serve our students well. We want our parents to feel good about sending their students here.

The current governance model is made up of people who support NFA and understand the mission. The concern with 786 wasn’t about transparency. At this institution, we have the freedom to be educators and to support the expertise of our educators and to be reflective of the mission.

Keith: The single mission is caring for students and making sure they receive the best education possible. As Trustees we never walk into a Board meeting thinking ‘I’m from this town, or I have this viewpoint.’ Our meetings are open discourse, and our decisions are based on what we can do on behalf of the students.

Other governance models are set up in different ways for different reasons, and for very good reasons, but we have one focus. It is about making sure that we are really good stewards of the money entrusted to us and providing the best education we can, given those boundaries for the students who are here. That’s pretty amazing.

AFFIRMING OUR IDENTITY Sarette: Our students speak over 33 different languages. We are such a diverse place culturally, racially, religiously, economically, and…it works. We make it work. It is deliberate. We’re not saying it is easy, but it is part of overseeing our mission, of educating, of building a culture. Leadership does this. We are better together.

Keith: I remember in the Capitol [Building] on the day we gave testimony opposing 786, that legislator after legislator said, ‘We understand you offer a great education, we understand that you are a lower cost.’

Sarette: I agree. Even though I’m just finishing my first year as Board Chair, one of the things I think about as a leader is succession planning. Planning for the future is so key.

We have to educate our Corporators and the officers who are behind us. We have to make sure new people coming onto the Board understand and don’t have reservations about this model, and that they can defend this model. It’s critical, and I think Senate Bill 786 illuminated this fact.

Keith: The history of this organization is just amazing.

Its beginning was grassroots. It started with people coming together, realizing that needs were not met, and then saying that together we can create something really precious here, something really special. And, we’re going to devote our time and our money to make it happen.

It took people’s time, talent and treasure to make it happen.

They committed then, and people still to this day commit in ways large and small so that this place can thrive.

LEADERSHIP, ADVOCACY, STEWARDSHIP Keith: As leaders of this institution, we’re consensus builders – we’re volunteers and ambassadors in the community. Wherever we go, as NFA leaders, it is our job to build consensus around who we are and what we do, and why and how it’s different.

So, I thought, ‘OK, why are we talking, then? Value is quality over cost. We provide value. There’s nothing else to talk about. If we are providing value today, why would anyone want to mess with that?’ In part, that value is a function of good leadership and stewardship.

Sarette: I think that stewardship and advocacy have different responsibilities -- if you are an officer, a Trustee, a Foundation Board member, or a Corporator. As a leader, I have to be a very strong advocate, but I also have to be a steward, but not just as a donor, but beyond that. Stewardship is the voice of wisdom.

I think we are just delving into how Corporators can help the Trustees and the Foundation Board in leading the institution. The obvious is understanding our mission and being supportive of it. But I think we need to ask another question. How can we help them?

Keith: I agree. We have to help our Corporators understand how they can dig in and engage better. Our Corporators are the eyes and ears of the community. We can’t be everywhere, but our Corporators, in fact, given where they work and who their associates are, can be. There was a very good set of our Corporators who, during 786, stood up and helped spread the message. We found, in our hour of need, there were people who understood and stood up for us. It was so profound and such a proud moment. We have to build on that.

Sarette: At the Honors Summit recently, several Corporators attended and contributed to the program.

I loved the model. Corporators and students sat together, sharing, and it was impactful because there were older Corporators, younger Corporators. The students were hungry for that interaction. They were respectful of that.

a spotlight on that is key. NFA has a real place as a catalyst for innovation. NFA is something that works; it works really, really well, so in my mind, the opportunity is here, and in some way, we have to open the curtain on that and say here’s what we do, and here’s how we do it. Taking what we do that’s special and pushing it out there, digitally and in other ways. We can do that.

Sarette: We want to continue to operate in a nonpartisan fashion in the interests of all our students. And, we need to start educating our students about NFA from the first few days they are here as students: Do you understand the importance of this model? Do you understand what an endowed academy is?

Keith: I do think, Sarette, as you said earlier, this organization is misunderstood or poorly understood by many people. It’s seen as precious or set apart, but there’s a real difference between being independent and set apart. It doesn’t mean we stand off; it means that we are interdependent and that we work with members of our community who give their support, who are here for every student.

Keith: Corporators as role models, right? These folks sometime in the past attended school, and now they’ve gone on and are successful, and our students want to see successful folks. This role of Corporators has gone largely untapped.

Sarette: We need to think of ways to increase our value proposition to our partner districts. If Norwich fails, we all fail. We need to remain attractive to businesses, and we need our Corporators help in being able to do that. We have to continue to sell ourselves to our partners. We have a great program here. There’s no need for other alternatives.

THE PATH FORWARD Keith: NFA is a real bed of innovation, and there is the opportunity here to capitalize on that. I’m not sure everyone knows all that’s here in terms of opportunities for kids. Putting

Most people don’t know the level of Foundation support.

They don’t get really how much we contribute in scholarships and how much we offset tuition for every person who pays taxes in a partner district. We need to more actively engage people in that conversation. The truth is, the Foundation raises money for the future and invests it in people.

Sarette: NFA has the magnetism and the ability to link with our former students and keep them attached to their school, whether they live in Norwich, somewhere else in the country, or the world, the idea really is to say, ‘We are a part of this community called NFA, and wherever we are, wherever our lives take us, I can stay connected.’ That form of connectivity is what matters.

ADVOCACY MAKES A DIFFERENCE

“We are here as leaders for a short period of time. I think we should leave NFA in a better place than we found it so that we can hand it to the next generation, stronger, better. That is our role.” – Lesley Mitchell Jones ‘66

When she learned that NFA’s independence was threatened, Lesley Mitchell Jones ’66 immediately inquired how she could help.

Jones believes Corporators need to be effective and engaged advocates.

“Advocacy is the glue that holds stewardship and leadership together. It’s the chain that strengthens leadership and stewardship.”

Jones stepped forward to address the Education Sub-Committee of the Connecticut State Legislature, advocating maintaining NFA’s successful independent governance model. Such courage and honesty is the consummate example of support of Norwich Free Academy.

Meet NFA Advocate, Lesley Mitchell Jones ’66, whose officially filed testimony at the Connecticut State Legislature follows:

Norwich, CT, is my hometown. For 30 years I lived and worked in New York. Norwich Free Academy was and continues to be my high school. I am a current Norwich Free Academy Corporator, a former Norwich Free Academy Foundation, Inc., Board Member (15 years), a donor, a future endowment donor, and a loyal member of the Class of 1966.

I am staunchly opposed to Governor’s Senate Bill 786 and the sections which directly affect independently governed, privately endowed academies in Connecticut.

I would like to put on record my most adamant opposition. The words I would use to describe any attempt to compromise Norwich Free Academy’s independence are ‘abhorrent and unprecedented.’ In my retirement in Florida, I am a community activist passionately involved in secondary education. Personal and professional experience informs my position.

Independence has allowed Norwich Free Academy to remain focused upon its mission, free from the often distracting and energy-diverting concerns of politics, local and personal interests, and ethical conflict. In fact, in 1854 such political wrangling gave birth to NFA’s independence. The institution has been operating independently for 160 years; it has performed exceptionally well serving a public population that otherwise would not have the opportunities that Norwich Free Academy offers. I am a direct benefactor of the NFA academic brand.

In part, those opportunities are funded by private alumni dollars like mine. I donate to the Norwich Free Foundation, Inc., through the annual NFA Fund and I am considering a substantial future endowment donation because as a finance professional I know my money will be prudently managed to provide opportunities to students far into the future by the independently governed Norwich Free Academy.

From a legislator’s point of view, please do not miss the value of out-of-state dollars supporting the education of students in Norwich and the surrounding communities.

Any compromise of Norwich Free Academy’s independence would have a chilling effect upon donor dollars, indeed. The longterm effect would be less support for the institution; less support, ultimately, means a reduced program or higher tuition.

Will the state of Connecticut provide complete reparation for the loss of donor dollars that the overreach of Senate Bill 786 will cause?

By all means, please do not try to fix what is not broken.

MISSION: Since 1856, Norwich Free Academy has adhered to the philosophy of its founder to “return to our hamlets and our homes its priceless freight of youthful minds, enriched by learning, developed by a liberal culture, refined by study of all that is beautiful in nature and art, and prepared for the highest usefulness and the purest happiness.”

~Founder, John P. Gulliver, NFA Dedication Ceremony (1856)

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