These broad categories may serve as a means of guiding the discussion, and hopefully, garnering volunteers with experience and expertise, to work towards impactful solutions. Issues previously discussed on the internet (on Facebook) are enumerated below each topic. Along with each topic, are the general questions: what is SBS doing; what are peer institutions doing; and how does SBS compare with its peer institutions?
The administrators will post on the Discussion tab: please share your thoughts there, or if you would like a specific topic for discussion posted, please send us a message via the Contact Us tab, and we will post it for you, word-for-word either with attribution or anonymously - your choice.
Academics and Curriculum
- AP program: a number of elite college preparatory schools have abandoned the AP program to greater and lesser extents, in favor of innovative and often inter-disciplinary offerings.
- What discipline(s) is SBS especially known for in the broader educational community?
- What does SBS do better than its peers? Where is there room for improvement?
Admissions and Public Relations
- Attracting highly qualified students: identifying and developing relationships with feeder schools.
- Review of the Middle School: varying numbers of enrollments in the 7th and 8th grades, and the relationship of those enrollments to middle school grade delineation practice elsewhere, particularly feeder schools.
- Assessment of college placements in relation to peer institution placements.
- Assessment of balance of international students.
- Assessment of reputation: locally, nationally and internationally.
- Investigate partnering with churches, especially alumni-led churches, to provide opportunities for disadvantaged youth, as well as to possibly serve as feeder institutions.
Alumni
- Actions by the BOT culminating in the elimination of the ALT President's ex officio seat on the BOT, and the BOT's subsequent selection of all participants in the discussion of the future of the alumni voice at SBS, demand a thoughtful discussion by the alumni of how they might best be represented at SBS and their voices be heard. What do peer institutions do?
- What does the recently announced formation of the Independent Alumni Association for The Stony Brook School indicate about alumni relations at SBS?
Athletics
- Historical review of sports offered, programs started and discontinued, and their impact upon college placements.
- What sports is SBS known for, now and historically? How can exisiting programs be improved? What programs should be offered? Are there successor directors being groomed for each core athletic program, to provide continuity?
- Should the sports offerings change over time dependent upon student interest, or should the School aim to attract highly qualified students who will participate in its sports offerings? Should the School's athletic strengths drive enrollment, or should it be the other way around?
- The issue of the padlocked pool has been discussed at great length. What should be done about the pool? Would renovating the pool provide additional revenue, for summer programs, life-saving training, particularly in view of the School's high-profile marine program?
Audit
- Historical analysis of the School's publicly-available Forms 990 by a CPA or tax attorney, would provide the SBS Community with a greater sense of the School's overall fiscal well-being.
- Does the School utilize an outside accounting firm to maintain its books?
- Who is the independent accountant?
- Is there an independent audit committee of the BOT? If so, who are its members? What do peer institutions do?
Budget and Finance
- What is the optimal number of students, and the balance between boarder and day students? How do various schemes impact the student/teacher ratio, the facilities (classrooms, dorms, dining hall) and above all, the financial bottom line?
- How has the number of graduates fluctuated over time?
Chapel Speakers
- There is likely a large untapped pool of highly qualified members of the SBS Community, whose remarks at Sunday Chapel would inspire everyone in attendance. Suggestions for potential speakers could be compiled.
College Placement
- Where do SBS graduates matriculate?
- How does SBS measure up to its peers in terms of college placement?
- What can the School do to bolster itself reputationally, and thereby its college placements?
- What resources does the college office need to be more effective?
Development: Annual Fund, Restricted and Major Gifts
- Annual Fund ("Fund for Character Education") giving ("participation") is crucial to the School meeting budget, as those funds are used for general operations purposes; failure to meet the projected Annual Fund goal adversely impacts budget, and can result in belt-tightening measures. It is also the prime indicator of alumni engagement. Satisfied alumni will give regularly, if they buy-in to the concept of "paying it forward". Assessment of Fund for Character Education participation rates should be made, and compared with peer institutions. [See Analysis of Giving, under Important Links on Timeline tab.]
- Restricted giving is one means by which loving SBS Community members can give back to the Brook, and some do so in lieu of contributing to the Fund for Character Education. Capturing the interest of Community members to fund items and projects which are needed benefits the School and should be further explored.
- Major Gifts. Have the overwhelming majority of historically large donors remained engaged with the School, and amenable to conversations about future major gifts? It is likely, that there are other Community members of means, who could be in a position to make a major gift, or know someone who could. Assessment of historically large donors; extending olive branches if necessary; and developing other potential major donors is critical to the School's success going forward.
Endowment/Investment
- Who on the BOT has responsibility for overseeing the investment of the Endowment? What are their qualifications?
- With whom is the Endowment invested? Does the School utilize investment advisors/managers? If so, do those advisors/managers have a substantial business in behalf of non-profits?
- In what types of investments is the Endowment invested? What is the relative risk of these investments?
- Is the current investment scheme for the School's Endowment, as well as for short-term reserves, as strong and as safe as it could be? How do other schools of the same relative endowment size handle their investments?
Facilities and Grounds
Pastoral
- Having a multi-member pastoral committee to ensure that SBS remains true to the POP and its Mission would help keep the School on course, and would avoid serious situations such as the attempt to amend the POP. Suggestions for membership could be compiled.
Personnel: Faculty Development and Retirees
- The faculty being on the front-line in delivering the Stony Brook Experience to the students, how can the School best support the faculty and staff in their professional development? What do peer institutions do?
- How do the academic credentials of SBS faculty compare with faculty of peer institutions?
- Resolution of the Retiree Benefit issue (discussed in the Timeline) is supported by a large number of alumni: it seems that enough money has been informally pledged to fund the cost for the remaining affected retired faculty. How best and most efficiently to accomplish this?
Student Life: Day & Boarder Issues
- How does the School address issues as they arise? Are all policies in place, as required by law?
Trustees
- There is likely a large pool of highly qualified potential trustees in the SBS Community; people whose experience and expertise would help guide the School, and whose savvy would require that the BOT operate within the parameters demanded by the age of Sarbanes-Oxley. Suggestions for trustee candidates could be compiled.
- Trustees should be vetted for experience, expertise and engagement. A trustee orientation book should be created.