Dear TGS Families:

 First, we miss seeing you all on campus, and look forward to the brief interactions we may have with the occasional lunch pickup or office visit. Our original cohort of students returned to campus this week and we all agreed that it felt good to have “student energy” among us!

 Second, we appreciate your continued support and flexibility as we navigate the pandemic together. Nearly 75% of our faculty and staff have secured an appointment for their first vaccination, and we’re working diligently to get the final 25% signed up so that we can move forward in planning to get more students back on campus.

 Speaking of getting students back on campus, faculty have begun to plan for small, socially-distanced gatherings for students either via advisory groupings or class outings. These completely voluntary activities are developing organically and will be communicated to the relevant students and parents when organized. Whether hiking in the Catalina Mountains on a Saturday morning, or making pizza on campus under one of our tents, these gatherings will be outdoors and will abide by social distancing and masking protocols. We look forward to connecting with our students in these fun and healthy ways.

 As you know, faculty have been working incredibly hard to deliver meaningful learning experiences in new and different formats, and we are so grateful for their tireless work. We pride ourselves on “a tradition of excellence” and we reduced class sizes this year even more than is typical to achieve that personal sense of attention and to maximize any opportunities for safe in-person learning. Those small classes, in addition to enhanced technology, tents and PPE equipment, are expensive and so we had to forego any compensation increase for our teachers this past year.

Given that faculty and staff have not received any increase in their compensation since 2018, the Board of Trustees unanimously voted to increase tuition rates for the 21-22 school year, in order that such a pay increase will be possible next year. The increase is based on a consistent percentage increase across all grades and it does not exceed $1000 for any one grade level, and in some instances, is as little as $500. The updated tuition amounts can be found on our website. We are excited to be able to plan for a well-deserved increase for our faculty and ensure the retention of these talented educators for the 21-22 school year. We thought it was important for you to know this information before receiving your re-enrollment contracts next week. If you have questions regarding accessing available tuition assistance, please don’t hesitate to reach out to Lisa Kondrat (lkondrat@gregoryschool.org).

Speaking of next year, we are in the midst of planning remote and socially-distanced versions of our admission information sessions and guided tours. Thus far, the number of applications and inquiries from new families exceeds those received at this same time last year. We’re very excited about our continued growth and healthy enrollment! Thank you for the role you’ve played in that regard with the positive word of mouth that is so effective in Tucson. For those of you in 5^th and 8^th grades, we will be reaching out to you directly about special sessions tailored to our current families, so that you can learn more about our extraordinary Middle and Upper School faculty and opportunities.

Information about winter parent-teacher conferences will be forthcoming. Like the fall, all conferences will be done remotely. Please refer to our school calendar regarding those days and the modified schedule for students.

Finally, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us with any questions you may have. I will be working with our Family Association to schedule a meeting soon so that we can better connect as a school community and provide you with updates and information about the school’s progress moving forward. I welcome any questions in the meantime.

Enjoy the weekend ahead.

Julie A. Sherrill, Ph.D.
Head of School