Los Encinos
School
Annual Report 2020-2021
"Many Voices, Many Stories"
Letter from the Board
Elementary school is a remarkable window of time in a young person’s life, crucial to the development of a child’s curiosity, imagination, resilience, and empathy. Los Encinos School was founded to nurture those qualities. The school’s mission is laser-focused on the goal of helping every child reach their potential and be their best selves. Our task becomes even more imperative as the world around us continues to change at breakneck speeds. Recent examples of these tectonic shifts include not only the pandemic, but also our national politics and a piqued awareness of social justice. These issues, understandably, leave many of us feeling uneasy and exhausted, yet prove how important it is for us to give the students the skills and tools necessary to adapt and grow from uncomfortable change. I’m pleased to report that we are doing it with great success.
The theme of the 2020-2021 school year – “Many Voices, Many Stories” – was a perfect metaphor for the multiplicity of diversity that we strive to deliver in our effort to foster effective collaboration, unique perspectives, fresh ideas, and out-of-the-box solutions. In addition to finding the right balance of instruction to give our children both insight and inspiration, we are stocking the library and classroom shelves with books that allow everyone to be seen and heard, something that was not always so prevalent in our collective history. We are also continuing to increase the diversity of our student population and faculty in terms of race, gender, and economic means, knowing that the rope is made stronger with many interwoven strands.
(Left to right) Mrs. Vaisman (1st), Coach Costin (P.E.), and Ms. Byer (6th) pose with the “small” token of our appreciation that greeted everyone on Teacher Appreciation Day.
Los Encinos School is developing upstanders today with their eyes on tomorrow, true global leaders of change. As president of the school’s Board of Trustees, I see firsthand how the school continues to develop lifelong learners by using its resources for professional development of our faculty and enhancements to our program of instruction. We strive to always be on the cusp of educational breakthroughs while maintaining the great luxury of selectivity. Being a small school, we can quickly differentiate between change for the better and change for change’s sake.
We are also implementing exciting long-term plans to solidify the financial strength and longevity of Los Encinos School itself, such as the formation of a sustainability fund and other charitable programs. As a “forty-ish” institution, we now have the benefit of well-deserved hindsight as we look forward with a mature clarity.
Yet we must never lose sight of the “why” of Los Encinos School. The why is our children, the students, the future. Thank you to every single one of you in the community who helps make the how, the what, the when, and the where of it all possible… in order to support and celebrate the why.
Sincerely,
Angie Platt
President of the Board