Board of Trustees Update

This term, the Board has been hard at work maintaining its fiduciary responsibilities and ensuring a smooth transition from one administration to the next. Here are just a few of the things we’ve been working on since September at our monthly meetings...

• Providing the necessary orientation for our new principal, Janice Gladstone, who has taken over the leadership of The Linden School with enthusiasm and energetic diligence
• Completing another successful audit of the school’s financial statements
• Investigating new arrangements with our financial institutions and streamlining this area of Linden’s fiscal management
• Developing our annual budget in cooperation with the school’s administration, and overseeing the progress of that budget with monthly updates
• Reviewing our Board committee structure and renewing the mandate of our Advancement Committee (and welcoming 3 current parents on that committee)
• Approving an exciting new plan from the administration to add kindergarten classes to the school
• Hearing regular updates from Janice on professional development, student enrolment and retention, advertising and marketing strategies, school events, and student achievements
• Providing feedback and support to committees as each one establishes its goals and plans for the year

Our committees have also been busy this semester. Here’s a sample of what they’re working on:

• Advancement is supporting the Annual Giving Appeal, assessing ways to enhance Linden’s contact database, and working with the Parent Committee to support a school event.
• Archives is exploring opportunities for off-site storage of non-legal records, including paper and digitized records; bringing archive policies in line with the school's digital privacy policies as a first step toward digitization of archived records; and conducting a pilot project for a “living archive” of student- and faculty-generated digital storytelling material.
• Community Engagement has begun work on an alumnae mentorship program, which will connect senior students with alumnae who can help them prepare for life after Linden, including career advice and post-secondary preparation.
• Finance has met monthly, reviewing the school’s financial status, investments, cash flow, and balance sheet. It met with the auditor after Linden’s annual audit, and advised and discussed the most recent requirements in charity accounting.
• Governance is working to ensure that all of our bylaws are consistent with the proposed new provincial legislation for not-for-profit corporations.
• Human Resources is reviewing and expanding its procedures to ensure that we have consistency in HR policies across the school, as well as maintaining its regular role supporting the school’s principal.

Interested in learning more about the Board? Check out profiles of our Board members, and scroll down to see our FAQ about how we work and what we do. The FAQ now includes descriptions of each of our committees!