Responding to the Summer 2017 Survey
Dear Veritas Community,
Last summer, the Veritas School Community was asked to complete an online survey covering some very specific topics at Veritas. As a testament to our strong community, we received an extremely high response rate.
I have spent a great deal of time thinking through your responses. Know this above everything else: we heard from the community and we take with the utmost seriousness everything that was written.
While it would take many pages to share every result, I’m committed to sharing a broad overview with a specific action plan throughout the spring. Veritas exists to provide every student with Intelligent Faith: Equipping minds and engaging hearts for God’s Kingdom purposes. This mission is so critical to the Senior Leadership Team, Faculty, Staff, and the Board that we must always keep it in sharp focus.
Key Findings - We were heartened that many had edifying words about all that God has done and is doing at Veritas. There are so many areas you love about our school and are encouraging us to preserve and enhance. Here are the top four:
- Strength of our community
- Our mission and purpose
- Our wonderful faculty
- Our rich Classical Christian curriculum
Please know we also heard the words of frustration and discouragement from some. The leadership will outline key areas of concentration and potential action. We are immediately studying issues such as:
- Strict adherence to our mission
- Assuring that our handbooks reflect grace and mercy coupled with consistency to policies and procedures
- Academic course instruction and homework fitting to a Classical Christian school
- Strategic vision of the school
In Closing - As we finish two decades of teaching and learning, your school leadership assures you that we continue to seek to glorify God in every way. We recognize each family is making an investment in their child’s education and are an integral part of the Veritas Community. We are prayerfully considering ways to make immediate and specific changes in those areas where we clearly need to make them. We ask that you pray for us as we seek the wisdom and strength of God to make some important changes.. Be encouraged that you will see some differences right away and other changes will take some time.
But let us make one thing very clear: we are committed to making changes only where they fit with our founding principles and mission. Though there is room for improvement within any school or organization, Veritas will not alter its foundation, but will always be a school with a hunger for Christ, a relentless pursuit of the truth and an eye toward academic excellence.
Finally, we ask that you reaffirm your commitment with us as we strive to seek the true, the good and the beautiful at Veritas. Keep your eyes open for more specific news about all we are doing to stay the course on what we do well, and concrete steps we are taking on areas we need to address.
Grace and Peace,
Robert M. Woods, Ph.D.
Headmaster
Headmaster