2024 State of the School

Every day as I walk campus, I am blown away by the amazing things happening at our school and the people who make up our community. As the Head of School at All Saints’, not only do I get to be part of our mission in action as we educate children and partner with parents, but I also get to see our vision for education come to life. The ideal education. The dream education for our students. These aren’t just words. At All Saints’ we get to create an exemplary educational environment focused on our mission-driven purpose with our children at the center.

One of my favorite times of year is when I have the opportunity to meet with our graduating eighth-grade students before writing letters of recommendation for high school. Recently, one of our eldest students shared a reflection of his time at All Saints’ and how it has impacted him:

All Saints’ has been my home for over eight years. It has helped me decide what I care about in life. The people are what have made the biggest impact, it is a community and you can feel that. I will miss my friends and my teachers so much but I feel ready, I am ready for the future. 

In the past few years the All Saints’ community has come together to accomplish extraordinary goals—creating both the Christopher Ray Milisci Academic Building and the Shaver Learning Commons—a process two decades in the making. As we look forward to the future, I know our eighth grade student is right, the heart of All Saints’ is our people. 

This year, I am excited to share a brief report on the state of our school in my very first blog post on our newly redesigned website. This space will become home to updates and reflections from me about our School and what it means to be at the center of the All Saints’ experience.

Please read on for a few highlights of the momentous work we have recently accomplished, and join me in expressing collective gratitude for our faculty, our staff, our leadership, ASPA, all of our parents, All Saints' Church, The Challenge Foundation, and most importantly, our amazing students. I am beyond proud of who we are as a school and all we continue to accomplish.

Academic Excellence

ISAS Accreditation

Last March, we completed our ten year re-accreditation by the Independent Schools Association of the Southwest (ISAS). As a part of the process, 30 committees contributed to an in-depth, comprehensive self-study report written over the course of several years, and the School hosted a four-day site visit for a 15-person Accreditation Team made up of administrators, faculty, and staff from our ISAS peer schools. We were thrilled to receive glowing remarks and affirmation of our hard work in the Accreditation Team’s report following their visit. Among the commendations we received, they called out the exemplary work of our faculty and staff:

Throughout the campus, the Visiting Committee encountered faculty and staff who loved working at All Saints’ and exuded love and dedication for their students. Teachers display not only competence and careful preparation for class but true passion for the craft of teaching. Administrators and staff know the students, parents, and teachers whom they serve and take pride in supporting them. Regardless of assigned duty or job description, the Visiting Committee noted that all adults on campus not only display a strong rapport with the students but take seriously their duty to model the All Saints’ Way and prepare their students to be positive forces for their community.

The re-accreditation process was a huge success. Other noted areas of strength included leadership, forward momentum, community, and our partnership with The Challenge Foundation. We are excited to incorporate the Accreditation Team’s recommendations and feedback as we refine our strategy for the future and begin work on our next Strategic Plan.

Professional Development

We continue to be heavily invested in the growth of our faculty and our teaching and learning practices—we want to be the best in our field and are committed to that endeavor. This year, we partnered with Columbia University's Center for the Professional Education of Teachers and held multiple workshops for our faculty on teaching and learning best practices. In addition, we had a speaker from ASU on innovation and leadership, and sent faculty to numerous trainings across the country.

Recognized Educational Leadership

Our School leaders have been asked to share their depth and breadth of knowledge in the field of education by serving in roles that impact the field on a broader scale. This year, Mr. Evan Hammontree has led the New Teachers Institute for ISAS, Mrs. Jennifer Miller will serve as the middle school resource on an accreditation committee for a school in New Orleans. I serve on the boards for both SAES and ISAS, and am the Chair of the ISAS Standards Committee.

Middle School Curriculum Enhancements

With the start of the school year, we launched an updated middle school schedule and enhanced program offerings. The focus of these changes is to empower independence in our students while continuing our robust and challenging core academic program. Changes included the addition of a creative arts rotation for fifth grade and Creative Concentrations in Art, Band, Theatre, and Craft and Design for students in sixth through eighth grades. 

Flexible Outdoor Learning Spaces

The Shaver Learning Commons has added to the success of our students by allowing intentionally designed flexible spaces for small groups, partner work, and classes to be outside. Our students feel a sense of confidence and independence as they move throughout the school day.

Character Cultivation

Creative Arts and Athletics

The mission of All Saints’ is to “educate children in the light of God—mind, body and soul” and character development is a large part of our teaching and learning process. This year we have launched new programs in creative arts and in athletics, including a Middle School musical, adding theatre and choir to our offerings, and adding cross country to our athletics program. We now have over 25 athletics teams for middle school students. This year, our cheer program was extended to students in fourth through eighth grade. We have been so happy to have this addition to cheer our teams on!

Widening the Gate

We are beyond proud of our decade-long partnership with The Challenge Foundation and are immensely grateful that our campus improvements have allowed us to house them on campus. To learn more about Challenge and our Corporate Scholars program and the incredible work they do to provide access to our exceptional education to students across the socio-economic spectrum, please email Dan Waage, Director of Enrollment Management. Your support and tax credit donations make these partnerships possible and affirm our commitment to creating a school community that is truly inclusive, diverse, and accessible to a wide range of families.

Episcopal Ethos

Recently, the Board of Trustees approved an Epsicopal Ethos statement we will use to guide our work. The statement is centered around community, the All Saints’ Way, peace, service, kindness and compassion. We have added the statement to our newly redesigned website, and I encourage you to read it here.

Community

Volunteer Leadership

Our volunteer leadership is crucial to the success of All Saints’. We are deeply thankful to our Board of Trustees and ASPA. Our Board has 23 members serving on 10 committees and task forces. We are proud to boast a robust and vibrant parent association. ASPA hosts 30 events and programs through volunteer committees to build fellowship and enhance the All Saints' community. 

Service

In October, we celebrated our Day of Service, where our students supported over six different non-profit organizations in the Valley, including Habitat for Humanity, Honor Flight, and Nourish Phoenix. At the end of the day, we came together and the children shared their experiences and reflected on the impact of their work. As I listened to the students' speeches and saw the pride they took in helping those in need, I am always grateful for our students’ leadership in helping our community. 

In November, Builders Club held a food drive supporting St. Mary’s Food Bank. This year, we partnered with All Saints’ Church to collect donations over two weeks. Thanks to the generosity of the entire All Saints' community, we filled over 40 boxes with food and raised over $4,500 for St. Mary’s Food Bank. With the money alone, St. Mary’s can provide about 24,000 meals to people in the greater Phoenix area.

On the Horizon

At All Saints’ we continue to lead with purpose and vision. Our Board of Trustees will embark on the process of developing our next Strategic Plan in the fall, and we will be asking for your input as a community to help us lay out our next set of strategic goals to drive our vision and initiatives to continue building the ideal educational environment for our students. We are ready for the future of education.

The future of All Saints’ is beyond exciting and full of good work and great people. This is what I love about my work, our work, and All Saints’.