Post on 01-Feb-2022
transcript
n a world where technological advancements are changing how we live and learn, we believe
education can help young people lead happy, healthy lives and make the world a better place.
But for this belief to be realized, education needs to undergo the same kind of rapid
advancement as other social constructs in our society like transportation, healthcare,
commerce, and telecommunication. According to Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba Group, China’s e-commerce
giant, “If we do not change the way we teach, 30 years from now, we’re going to be in trouble.”
We agree, which is why we started Tahoe Expedition Academy in 2011. By focusing on real-world application,
life skills and character as much as academic knowledge, TEA is providing students with the tools and
expertise to thrive in the new economy.
Watch TEA students in action, starting at the age of three, and you will see young people engaged with
world’s most pressing challenges. Just ask one of our Kindergarten students about their stewardship
efforts to save an endangered species. Or, ask one of our second-grade students about their empathy and
collaboration to help a Native American tribe keep their language alive.
Driven by a process of iteration and a culture of growth, we are designing the kind of education young people
deserve. Powered by Constructive Adversity®, we are committed to helping generations become the change
makers and caretakers our world needs.
With this mission to inspire and empower young people as the single focus of our efforts, TEA will become
more than a world-class school on a world-class campus in a world-class location. TEA will adapt and evolve
with the world around us. And with our committed and talented TEAm, we will continue to strengthen and
expand the TEA magic to benefit our students and thousands more in the years to come.
Sincerely,
I
Taylor Simmers, Co-Founder
NOW IS THE TIME FOR A CHANGE IN EDUCATION
Dear CommuniTEA,
I I .
TEA’S VISION: EMPOWERING GENERATIONS OF PROBLEM SOLVERS
TEA: A WORLD CLASS SCHOOL IN TAHOE AND MORE TO COME
TEA’S MISSION: THRIVE IN AND CONTRIBUTE TO THE WORLD
TEA CHARACTER VALUES: BUILDING CHARACTER FOR A BETTER WORLD
TEA is a fully accredited school committed to changing
the face of education and empowering a new generation
of confident and creative problem solvers with a social
conscience.
Powered by Constructive Adversity®, TEA’s forward thinking
educational design combines academic excellence, character
building, and real world adventures to develop confident and
creative problem solvers who thrive in and contribute to
dynamic and challenging environments.
We live our character values every day. From our Board, to
our staff, to our current and future students and parents,
these attributes define us and ensure we are proactively and
purposefully building character for a better world.
• Creativity: Interdisciplinary, design thinking, innovation
• Craftsmanship: refining and polishing work over time, exhibiting a growth mindset
• Collaboration: teamwork, work ethic, compromise
• Perseverance: hardiness and resilience
• Responsibility: owning your role and actions
HABITS OF SCHOLARSHIP
• Stewardship: taking care of the environment
• Advocacy: support for others and speaking up for oneself
• Gratitude: showing appreciation for what we have, for others and for the world around us
• Empathy: demonstrating compassion and care for the well being of others
HABITS OF CONSCIENCE
I I I .
BIOCHEMISTRY CREATES LASTING LESSONS AND MEMORIES
HARDWIRING THE BRAIN FOR DIVERGENT THINKING
There are three primary categories of brain science
that support our modern experiential approach called Constructive Adversity®:
R E S E A R C H S U M M A R Y
Adrenaline secreted during challenging and thrilling experiences burns the experience,
memory and information into the long term memory bank. The limbic system includes
the hypothalamus, the hippocampus, the amygdala, and other important brain structures
that govern emotional responses, behavior, and long-term memory. The release of
adrenaline increases levels of activity in these areas of the brain and has been associated
with improved memory.
R E S O U R C E S :
brainconnection.brainhq.com/2008/08/26/a-mixed-blessing-for-memory-stress-and-the-brain/
R E S E A R C H S U M M A R Y
As a person gains new experiences, some synapses are kept and strengthened while
others are eliminated. Synapses that are activated more often are preserved. Neurons
that do not receive or transmit information gets damaged and die through apoptosis, a
process termed synaptic pruning. By developing new connections and getting rid of weak
ones, the brain adapts to the ever changing environment.
R E S O U R C E S :
https://www.star2.com/living/viewpoints/2015/08/02/your-brain-changes-with-every-new-
experience/#j0h2g7qIRJypjS30.99
R E S E A R C H S U M M A R Y
Instead, Kathy Hirsh-Pasek and Roberta Michnick Golinkoff, well-known early childhood
specialists, argue that today’s young people must complement content knowledge
with skills like collaboration, communication, critical thinking, creative innovation
and confidence. With the total corpus of information doubling every two-and-a-half
years, our children will only become successful adults if they can readily adapt to new
circumstances and make meaning from new information.
R E S O U R C E S :
https://www.brookings.edu/blog/education-plus-development/2014/05/20/kick-back-relax-and-help-
your-children-develop-neural-pathways/
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2
THE SCIENCE BEHIND THE TEA MAGIC: A NATURAL WAY TO LEARN
HAPPINESS, CONFIDENCE AND SUCCESSFUL LEARNING COME FROM RISK TAKING
R E S E A R C H S U M M A R Y
Positive psychologists, Robert Biswas-Diener and Todd Kashdan, claim that truly happy
people understand “happiness is not just about doing things that you like. It also requires
growth and adventuring beyond the boundaries of your comfort zone.”
R E S O U R C E S :
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/articles/201307/what-happy-people-do-differently
R E S E A R C H S U M M A R Y
“The willingness to take risks is an important characteristic of an effective learner.”
R E S O U R C E S :
https://www.nurseryworld.co.uk/digital_assets/291/LDAllaboutRisk.pdf
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I V .
• TEA is an active 501(c)(3) non-profit organization
• TEA is fully accredited by the Western Association of
Schools and Colleges (WASC) for Pre-K-12th grades
until 2024
• TEA is an active member of the EL Education Network,
started by Outward Bound and the Harvard Graduate
School of Education 25 years ago
• TEA uses national academic standards as foundational
pieces of the program: Common Core State Standards,
Next Generation Science Standards, Art and Music
Standards, National Social Science Standards and
National Foreign Language Standards
• All High school courses are University of California
A-G approved
S T A F F :
• 36 full time faculty and staff - hired nationally
• 6:1 student to teacher ratio in 2017-18
S T U D E N T B O D Y :
• 2011: 72 students in Pre-K-8th grades; 2017: 180 in
Pre-K-12th grades
• Projected enrollment is 225 students for 2018-19 and
275 students for 2019-2020.
• Financial assistance (FLEX Tuition) awards total over
$800,000 in 2017-18 and $1,000,000 in 2018-19, with
over 33% of families receiving financial assistance
and faculty/staff receiving free tuition for their
children.
• TEA enrolls students from Reno, NV and Truckee
and North Tahoe, CA. Many families have moved to
the area to attend the school from places like the
NYC, Philadelphia, San Francisco Bay Area, Southern
California and Europe.
TEA FUNDAMENTALS: BUILDING ON A SOLID FOUNDATION
V .
STRENGTHEN AND EXPAND THE TEA MAGIC
THRIVE FINANCIALLY
BUILD WORLD CLASS CAMPUS FOR THE SCHOOL, THE COMMUNITY AND THE REGION
RECRUIT, GROW, AND RETAIN A POWERHOUSE TEACHING STAFF
OBTAIN, DEVELOP, AND SUSTAIN VISIONARY LEADERSHIP
We are building a school that develops change makers, empowers future leaders, and cultivates lifelong passions. To
accomplish this goal, we have aligned every inch of our organization to the stated path forward and the five following goals:
We are committed to being creative problems solvers with a social conscience who are addressing one of the world’s
challenges by updating education for today’s world. To do so, we aspire to reach thousands of students, teachers and
leaders through innovative and scalable educational programs, products and services as well as partnerships with like
minded organizations and corporations.
We plan for today and create a foundation for the foreseeable future. All of our planning is fiscally responsible in order
to reach our stated goals and to develop a sustainable business with strong and diversified revenue sources.
Along with the Martis Valley Education Foundation, we are currently building a world class campus in world class
location that will serve as a home for TEA as well as an integral community resource that will add value and recognition
to the region.
Our teachers don’t just teach - they guide and challenge, support and engage students in much more than classroom
academic excellence. They cultivate character development and create real world adventures that open doors,
create opportunities, inspire passion, and most importantly, facilitate a lifetime love of learning in our students. We
are committed to finding, developing and retaining the most highly qualified and passionate individuals to teach our
students and develop a progressive experiential program that has reach beyond our first school.
Our culture, programming and existence are as good as the people involved. We strive to enrich the lives of all the
people that are a part of TEA. Equally, we desire our community to demand and deliver exceptional contributions to
the growth and success of our school. Our culture is one in which people want to work at TEA in order to be their best
selves and deliver great work. It is in our DNA to develop our people and help them to succeed.
GOAL 1
GOAL 2
GOAL 3
GOAL 4
GOAL 5
TEA’S STRATEGIC PLAN: A ROADMAP TO SCALE
V .
Recruiting the right and best students and families is a top priority. Since the school’s inception, we have nearly tripled
our student population with students and families who are interested in a more relevant, purposeful and engaging
learning environment.
We continue to recruit locally and from Reno as well as drive traffic and interest from the region and nation in order
to take advantage of the migration to the pristine Tahoe environment from large metropolises like the Bay Area and
Southern California. This year, nearly 50% of our interest and enrollment will come from outside the area, which is
exactly what we wanted to achieve with a campaign we launched 3 years ago.
The best recruiters are our existing families. Word of mouth is key to our success, which is why our Net Promoter Score
of 9.2/10 in 2017-18 school year by current families is such an integral part of our recruiting plan.
Simply, our happy students and families result in marketing success.
• 225 students in 2018/19 and 275 students in 2019/20
• $250,000 in non-tuition revenue in 2018, $330,000 in 2019
• 31% Truckee / Incline Village / North Lake Tahoe
• 24% Bay Area
• 17% Reno
• 11% Southern California
• 5% Other California
• 12% Other Nationally
• 30-45 parent, $200K HHI, active, has visited or lives in Tahoe
• 45-65 parent/grandparent, affluent, Tahoe-area property owner
• 12-18 interested in travel/science/outdoors/media
• 117% increase in website visitation
• 145% increase in social media impressions
• 103% increase in admissions inquiries
• 80% increase in enrollment
• 224% increase in non-tuition revenue
TOPLINE MARKETING GOALS
INQUIRIES BY GEOGRAPHIC REGION
DEMOGRAPHIC TARGETS
GROWTH TRENDS FROM 2016 TO 2018
RECRUITING PLAN: HAPPY STUDENTS AND FAMILIES = MARKETING SUCCESS
V .
TEA continues to grow and develop as a sustainable business with a strong plan and a solid business team in place.
The TEAm includes expertise in financial planning and accounting on the Board of Trustees, a strong group of advisors
and auditing consultants as well as dedicated finance, fundraising and operations staff.
Currently, the school is managing to budget, with years of history and data with which to compare and forecast
financial data.
• Audited Financials Each Year by Kohn and Company, LLP
• Managing to Budget Annually
• Completed 5 year Pro Forma for financial modeling and projections
• To date $25M+ of Funding by Major Donors for Start-Up
Funding, Facilities Development and Scholarships
• 2017-18 Targets
• Annual Fund $500k target
• Major Gifts campaign $14M target
• Short term goal is to continue to increase Alternative Revenue
sources by adding new programs and offerings to take advantage
of the world class Martis Basecamp location
• 400+ participants in summer camps in 2016-17, up from 300+ in
2015-16
• Access to our new world class campus will provide endless
opportunities for growth in this area. New offerings will include:
After School Clubs, Adult Adventure Camps, Tutoring, Executive
Retreats and Conference
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS:
FUNDRAISING HIGHLIGHTS AND TARGETS
ALTERNATIVE REVENUE SOURCES:
FINANCIAL PLAN: THE PATH FORWARD IS CLEAR
V .
Our number one goal is to build a world class campus in our world class location that serves as a campus for TEA, a
benefit to the community and a place to drive innovation in education on a national level.
To do this, TEA is actively developing a 42 acre campus in the Martis Valley in partnership with the Martis Valley
Education Foundation (MVEF), a public charity started to develop and protect this truly world class campus.
Land acquisition completed for $4M.
Infrastructure completed in fall for $6M
Semi-permanent modulars spaces of
4,000 sq ft. moved onto campus and 75 students
and teachers using this site.
The first signature building of 7,000 sq. ft.
projected completion, which will be used for a
variety of exciting community based activities.
Projected completion of athletic field.
We are actively fundraising for subsequent
world class buildings and amenities to bring
together our entire school communiTEA for
the fall of 2018.
2016
2017
FALL 2017
SPRING 2018
SUMMER 2018
FACILITIES PLAN: A WORLD CLASS CAMPUS AND COMMUNITY BENEFIT IN A WORLD CLASS LOCATION
V I .
TEA has built an internal and external team of experts to guide and lead the school now and into the future. We are
committed to hiring the best administrators and teachers. We are committed to create an exceptional learning and life
experience for our students. It is for these reasons that we also have an exemplary group of individuals who have come
forward to volunteer and participate in building this school and changing the future of education.
TEA is working closely with the Martis Valley
Education Foundation to develop a world class
campus for the school and the community.
• Melanie Cooke, Director
• Nate Martz, Instructional Guide
• Mara Jenkins, Dean of Students
• Anne Chippendale, Prekindergarten Director
• Caroline Kaplan, School Counselor
• Katy Watts, College Counselor
• Jack Benter, Adventure Coordinator, Risk Management
• Matt Morrison, Brenda Gants and Laura Quarin, Faculty
Representatives on Leadership Teams
• Ken Martin, Board Chair
• Taylor Simmers, Secretary, Voting Member
• Alice Hahn, Treasurer, Voting Member
• Tori Long, Voting Member
• Lisa Toutant, Voting Member
• Ken Martin, Board Chair
• Taylor Simmers, Co-Founder, Director of Admissions and
Community Relations
• Dawna Kissmann, Director of Operations and Finance
• Michael Kinnaman, Development Director
• Greg Wright, Director of Marketing
• Eric Martin, Director of Summer Program and Activities
• Brian Collier, Facilities Manager
• Bob Abbott, Business Development and Strategy,
Venture Capital
• Hayes Parzybok, Facilities Strategy and Development
• Robert Buckley, Sales and Marketing Specialist
• Bill Bryan, Educational Consultant and Strategic
Planning Specialist
• Alexis Robin, Executive Coach
• Sas Hadden, TEA’s Association of Parents, President
• Jake Knight, Fundraising Committee
• Jim Kaplan, Fundraising Committee
EDUCATION AND PROGRAM TEAM
TEA BOARD OF DIRECTORS
ADMINISTRATION AND OPERATIONS
ADVISORS AND ADDITIONAL SUPPORT
THE TEAM: EXPERTS IN EDUCATION AND BUSINESS
MVEF MISSION
Our mission at Martis Valley Education Foundation (MVEF) is to purchase, build and maintain a
campus for the Tahoe Expedition Academy (TEA). Back in 2014, MVEF was fortunate to acquire
42 acres of land in the magical Martis Valley region of Northern Tahoe, California with the intent to
build a world recognized educational facility. It is MVEF’s sole purpose to provide TEA with a world
class campus for the decades to come. MVEF acknowledges the location is truly special and how
fortunate we are to make this the home for TEA. We recognize our responsibility to build a respectful
appropriate campus, light on the land and environment; a monument to this special setting.
I V .
Our most important result is the work our students are doing to make the world a better place. These are just a few
examples of our students’ current efforts to have a positive impact:
To date, TEA students have traveled to complete 5 International Expeditions to engage with the world’s toughest
challenges. Learning destinations include: Panama, Europe, Iceland, Dominican Republic and Guatemala. It is with this
global approach that we are able to expose our students to real life applicability to their learning. We like to think that
our students begin internships for life in kindergarten, not beginning in high school or college.
• Saving Endangered Species (Kindergarten)
• Improving Food & Agriculture Systems (1st grade)
• Keeping a Native Language from Extinction (2nd grade)
• Improving Water Resources (4th & 6th grades)
• Tackling Renewable Energy (5th graders & High School)
• Advocating for Immigration Policies (Middle School)
• Supporting Social Activism for Underrepresented Populations (High School)
• Improving Voter Turnout in America’s Youth (11th & 12th graders)
• Addressing the Refugee Crisis in Syria (12th graders)
THE RESULTS: MAKING THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE
• Accreditation: Spring 2018 we received the highest qualification for National Accreditation and became the first fully
accredited Pre-K-12th grade in Truckee, Tahoe and Northern Nevada.
MORE EVIDENCE OF SUCCESS IS HERE:
C O L L E G E A N D U N I V E R S I T Y A C C E P T A N C E S :
• First graduating class in 2017
• Second graduating class in 2018:
• 4 of 6 graduates earned merit based scholarships totalling over $400,000.
• All six accepted to first choice college / university
• Currently enrolled in Scripps College, UCSD Scripps Institute for Marine Biology, Chapman University,
Emerson College and Northeastern University (Honors College)
• To date, accepted to Tulane University, University of Oregon, University of Colorado Boulder, University of
Utah, and University of Denver.
V .
TERRA NOVA is a well-respected, nationally norm-referenced test for 3rd-8th grades, measuring mastery in
reading, language, and math in relation to students across the country. Scores are in rank order. By definition,
the median percentile is 50.
The ACT is most aligned with TEA’s educational approach and as a result is the most
recommended by our college counselor.
3RD - 8TH GRADE TERRA NOVA TESTING
9TH - 12TH GRADE ACT SCORES
TEST SCORES: