Board of Trustees Update | January 21, 2026

The engagement of alumnae is a reminder of these lasting connections and a measure of the power of Burke’s mission. Over the past few months, I have seen some wonderful examples that show how much of an impact Burke’s has had on its students – and how important the Burke’s community is to our girls after they have moved on to the next stages of life. I loved to see so many of last year’s graduating class come back to Burke’s Festival this past October! More recently, two members of the Class of 2018 visited campus to present at both Upper School and Lower School Assemblies and share an initiative they are launching to support a women-led dance festival in Sweden. There are many more examples that demonstrate the love and attachment Burke’s girls feel towards the school and the importance of the mission in our girls’ lives now and over time.

 

The Board of Trustees is entrusted with overseeing the long-term health and success of the school, and it is encouraging and heartwarming to see the impact of Burke’s on its most important constituent – our girls.  At a more formal level, the fundamental role of the Board of Trustees is to support the administration in its effort to make Burke’s mission come alive through its oversight of the long-term financial health of the school and its partnership with the Head of School. The Burke’s community is very fortunate to have Michele Williams as our Head of School, now in her fourteenth year of leadership. Her continuity of leadership has been transformative for the school as Michele and her team focus on seeing each Burke’s girl individually and ensuring that she and her classmates are collectively prepared to be leaders in the world of tomorrow. Additionally, we stand on solid financial footing and are fortunate to have a strong endowment that helps to support the school’s strategic priorities. In our present macro environment with rising costs, Burke’s endowment is a critical factor in our annual budget, and the Board is focused on continuing to grow this important contributor to the school mission.

 

There are many exciting initiatives and projects in process at Burke’s, and I am pleased to share a snapshot of just a few with our community. One of the behind-the-scenes workstreams that highlights Burke’s progress towards executing its Strategic Plan is the accreditation process that all independent schools work through on a seven-year cycle. Burke’s is in the midst of this accreditation process as we speak, with the administration having assembled and submitted a 175-page document that answers questions regarding six key areas, including: Institutional Purpose and Core Values, Teaching and Learning, Financial Sustainability, Operations, Institutional Stewardship and Leadership, and Institutional Improvement and Sustainability. This self-reflection process culminates with a multi-day visit to Burke’s in February by a team of peer educators who will have read Burke’s document and will interact with Burke’s leadership, faculty, and staff while seeing Burke’s in action. The process has allowed Burke’s to showcase some of the strengths that make it a leader among independent schools while also allowing the school to understand where we can continue to improve. Watching Michele and her team prepare for this important process underscored for me how deeply our faculty and staff care about and feel connected to Burke’s mission - their love of Burke’s and what it stands for is palpable.

 

With respect to initiatives that might be more visible on a day-to-day basis, Burke’s has been investing in its faculty and staff as well as in the curriculum and programming for Upper and Lower Schools in a manner that is aligned with its strategic priorities. After considerable research and planning, the administration restructured the daily schedule to increase class learning time, enhance Upper School Advisory time, and introduce expanded opportunities for girls to develop leadership roles across a variety of clubs, ranging from Math to Engineering to Environmental Sustainability. Additionally, building upon professional development work from last summer, the administration created a task force of faculty and staff, guided by outside experts, to assess opportunities and challenges presented by AI in the grade-school educational setting. The task force is making ongoing recommendations for AI use and policies for both faculty and students to further enhance Burke’s educational experience.

 

These highlights touch on just a few of the initiatives on campus in support of educating, encouraging, and empowering our girls. I hope everyone is excited for 2026 and the remainder of this academic year, and the Board of Trustees looks forward to seeing you on campus. It is an honor to be able to serve Burke’s and to be a part of this community, and on behalf of my fellow Trustees, we are excited to partner with the administration and with all of you to support the incredible work behind delivering Burke’s mission.