To all members of the CSMSG community:

We were shocked and saddened to learn that the Vestry has decided to close St. Michael’s Episcopal Day School, effective weeks from today. While there are many important questions about the process that led to this decision, the immediate concern is urgent and practical: children have lost their school on very short notice at a time when most private school application and financial aid deadlines have already passed. Teachers and staff have also lost their employment with little time to plan for what comes next.

We are concerned that the school may be closing without full transparency, without sufficient stakeholder input, and without due consideration of whether this decision reflects the mission of the church, the needs of the children and families served by the school, or the fulfillment of the five-year growth plan that the Vestry had previously supported.

We therefore ask the Vestry to take the four following actions:

 1) Make available to parishioners the relevant facts regarding the school’s financial performance, enrollment, five-year plan, and forecasts, and allow parishioners to participate in evaluating whether a viable alternative exists to closing the school at the end of this school year.

 2) Participate in a town hall for transparent sharing of information and consideration of stakeholder input. Because of the urgency of the situation, this town hall has been planned for Wednesday, May 6, at 7:00 p.m. in the Great Hall.

 3) Provide a clear plan for how the church will shepherd children and families through the process of finding suitable educational alternatives if St. Michael’s will not fulfill its promise to educate them next year.

 4) Recant the statement that there may be “other educational settings that may be a better fit for their children’s needs,” because of the damage that statement causes to the school, the church, the faculty, and the children who have been known, loved, and taught by this community.

We believe these requests are appropriate because:

- The facts shared publicly do not fully align with what many of us understand to be true, and we are concerned that this decision may have been made without complete and accurate information regarding finances, enrollment, and progress under the five-year plan.
- There has been too little transparency and too little opportunity for parishioners, parents, faculty, and other stakeholders to understand or participate in the process.
- It is very late for children to find suitable school alternatives, especially if their local public school district cannot adequately meet their needs. We are deeply concerned for the children who are losing their school.
- The financial, relational, moral, and reputational costs of closing the school appear to be significant and may pose a serious risk to the health and witness of our beloved church.
- Requests for more information and meaningful engagement have not yet been adequately answered.
- The school has a tremendous faculty. These teachers have poured themselves into the children, and we are concerned that the Vestry’s public statements may have harmed both the school’s reputation and the reputation of the faculty who have cared faithfully for these students.
- We believe the mission of our church, “to transform lives through Christ,” and its call to serve and care for our community and support spiritual formation for all ages, includes the children of this school. We know that many of these children are openly praying for their school to remain open. We feel a duty to them to ensure that every viable option has been considered before their school is closed.

We hope you will join us in signing this letter and echoing the requests above. We also hope you will join us on Wednesday, May 6, at 7:00 p.m. in the Great Hall to continue the conversation and evaluate whether another viable option exists before the school is closed.

Sincerely,
Concerned Parishioners