The role of the Board of Trustees is to determine and oversee policies that support the mission of the school and to ensure the school’s fiscal stability. This includes hiring and evaluation of the Head of School, appointing standing and ad hoc committees, overseeing facility use, fundraising and strategic planning. Equally important, Board members serve as ambassadors for the school community, help parents feel comfortable, and refer their concerns or questions to the proper channels.
First Board Meeting of the Year – September 18, 2020
The Hilltop Board of Trustees met for its first Board meeting of the school year this week, via Zoom. Even though we are still meeting remotely, there was an air of community and a genuine celebration knowing children and teachers are back in school. While 2020 has been full of challenges, thanks to the hard work of the Hilltop administration and staff, we are open for business and building community in person…
Welcome from the Board – September 11, 2020
At this time each year, Hilltop typically joins together for its Back to School Picnic, providing an opportunity for the Hilltop Board of Trustees to run the grill and introduce new officers and new board members. This year, of course, we are not holding our spatulas, but we will not be waylaid. We take this moment to recognize the hard work and persistence our administration and teachers, parents and families have put into making it possible to return to our campus, safely and with a palpable spirit of celebration…
New Trustees – May22, 2020
The HMS Board of Trustees convened via ZOOM for our final meeting of the school year. It is hard to believe how fast the year went, especially considering the past 3 months! We spent a good portion of this meeting expressing gratitude: for the fact that, despite the tumultuous past few months, the school is in a strong financial position; for the service of our departing Board members Marti Anderson & Sandy Campbell, who will continue to remain active at Hilltop via committee work; for the fact that Tamara is staying on as Head of School; and for the warm community which we experience through our Board Service…
Join the Board! – May 1, 2020
We want to thank everybody who showed up for the Open Board meeting last night. The lucky pie winners were: Nestor Beckwith, Marta Bernbaum, and Shelley Lockyear! Beyond pies, though, we enjoyed the opportunity to share the work the Board does with the rest of the community, and we hope some of you were inspired towards Board service….
Remote Learning and Financial Implications During the Pandemic – March 27, 2020
While so much has been upended in the last two weeks, Hilltop is very much not closed. Our faculty and families have spent many hours working together to provide meaningful education for the students. This impressive effort has brought success in providing curriculum to support Hilltop students’ development, and also success in keeping Hilltop’s sense of community alive. In the weeks to come, the Board believes that Hilltop staff and families will deepen our ability to teach our students, especially the younger ones, and cultivate more ways of being together that meaningfully help get through what could otherwise be an isolating experience…
Anti-Bias and Proposed Budget – January 24, 2020
The HMS Board of Trustees convened for our first meeting of the new year! We started the meeting with a presentation from the Upper Elementary teaching team, who graciously took some time from preparing student evaluations to discuss how they are incorporating anti-bias work into their curriculum. In particular, they mentioned bringing in local Abenaki leaders to guide learning in a number of different areas. They have also been exploring the construction of stereotypes, -isms, and -phobias, and the impact both that it can have on students’ lives AND the actions students can take to make a positive difference to help combat harmful assumptions. We encourage you to discuss this work with the teachers themselves, and come to the Anti-Bias and Equity Work Group to participate in discussions both larger and grittier about how we can work on this as a community!…
October Meeting Highlights – October 18, 2019
On Wednesday evening the HMS Board of Trustees gathered for our monthly Board meeting. Some highlights: We practiced our fiduciary responsibilities by listening to a presentation from our independent financial auditor regarding the full financial audit done this summer. We are happy to report that the school is in good financial standing, with no major outstanding financial issues and strong consistency in our finances from year to year. We also reviewed and approved the required IRS Form 990, to be filed on time (!!) by the November 15 deadline. We are grateful to have such strong, competent financial leadership in the HMS Administrative Team!…
First Board Meeting of the 2019-2020 School Year – September 27, 2019
The HMS Board of Trustees gathered on Wednesday evening for our first meeting of the school year. We were first notified that Stephen Lowe, who has been the only Board member on the Buildings & Grounds Committee for the past year, has decided to step off the Board. Thanks, Stephen, for your service to Hilltop! We are now looking for new candidates, especially folks who have expertise in Buildings & Grounds issues, to join our newest Board member Andrea Lemon on the B&G Committee, either as a committee member or to join the board. Please reach out to Tamara, Alix, Asher or Vanessa if you are interested in learning more about what it means to be on a Board committee or to serve on the Board!…
Board Member Changes – July 19, 2019
The Board gathered for our annual retreat on Saturday, June 29th. The annual retreat is an event of transitions, planning, and, of course, really good food! We welcomed and voted in our newest Board member, Andrea Lemon…