Michael Soulé

Phases of School Development

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Ch. 2 from Partnerships of Hope, Building Waldorf School Communities by Christopher Schaefer

Underlying this description of the life cycle of Waldorf schools are a number of principles.  The first is that all institutions are human creations; they are created by people with an idea in response to a perceived need.  In the case of Waldorf schools, this need is a sense that the children in a given community or region want Waldorf education. The second principle is that schools, and indeed all organizations, are living entities, with phases of adaptation, growth, crisis and development .  This means that organic metaphors such as seed, stalk, bud and flower; or birth childhood, adulthood and old age are more relevant to the biography of schools than mechanical images such as that of an input-output system, a clockwork mechanism or a well- running engine. (View as PDF...)

Michael Soulé

School as a living Entity : Emerging Hypothesis

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by Rea Gill

As modern human beings we have an opportunity—maybe even a responsibility—to find sustainable ways to exist in and be in relationship with our environment . This is just as true in the social realm as it is in relationship to our physical environment, and we need to invent, discover and utilize socially responsible forms . In fact, creating new effective forms of  leadership and management that honor the relationships of the human beings and that also respect the living nature of an organization could possibly provide a model for social health in all organizations and in society in general. (Full Text)

Michael Soulé

Organizational Integrity

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Organizational Integrity: How to apply the wisdom of the body to develop healthy organizations by Torin Finser

All around us, we see living systems in plants, animals, and human beings. Our environment is alive, vibrant, and full of innate wisdom. Even the stars and planets speak in the language of ancient folklore to those who have ears to hear. Our very lives depend on this interdependence and on the myriad connections that surround us. Nonetheless, many people experience organizations as inert, bureaucratic, inflexible obstacles to innovation and human initiative. People have struggled for years under the weight of apathy in organizations such as large school systems, corporations, and government agencies such as FEMA.

Organizational Integrity attempts to reclaim and reconcile organizational dynamics with living systems. The wisdom found in human organs, minerals, planets, and even sacred geometry is used to reinvent organizations. Organizations are supposed to serve, and their forms and structures should mirror the living systems of those who have come together with common purpose. We need to change our ideas of organizations and establish a new paradigm so that future organizations will be worthy of the people in them.

This book makes the case that we need a new ecology of organizations, and that now is time for a new revolution that creates dynamic, living organizations by the people and for the people. Moreover, it shows us how to achieve this seemingly impossible task by “organ-izing” organizations. Just as democracy has transformed much of the world, through the genius of the human body we can transform organizations into living systems that serve and protect human interests.

Here is a truly unique approach to the age-old process of bringing people together in healthy, effective organizations to better the world we live in.    (from the book)

Contents: 

  • Part I: Foundation Studies in Anthroposophy
  • The Complete Human Being
  • Beyond Memories
  • Vocation
  • The Long Journey
  • Part II: Organs and Organ-izations (with a few indications of qualities related to each)
  • Heart Knowledge

Balance, Harmonizing, Selflessness, Transformation, Warmth, Personality, Consciousness of the center, Striving towards equilibrium

  • The Kidney

Emotional Dynamics, excitability and apathy, Fear and Anxiety, Assimilation, Differentiation, Inner and outer seeing

  • The Liver

Heat, Life, Regulation of ebb and flow, Analysis, Irritabiltiy/anger/conflict, Will power, Planning, Rest and regeneration

  • The Spleen

Separation and redirection, Intermediation, Equalizer, Separation and harmony, Surrender, Inflation and depletion, Memory

  • The Lungs

Earth, Old renews, Thinking and Speech, Breathing and Rhythm, Fixedness, Accuracy and Honesty, Differentiated thinking

  • Dual Organs
  • Corpus Callosum and Other Matters
  • Part III: Other Aspects of Human Physiology
  • Is there a Skeleton in your Closet?
  • Salt, Mercury, Sulfur
  • Sense Perception: Eye and Ear
  • Part IV: Leadership
  • Testing Our Metal as Leaders
  • Planetary Influences
  • The Geometry of Groups
  • Systems Thinking
  • Part V: Healthy Organ-izations
  • What is a Healthy Organ-ization?
  • The Consultation Process
  • The Lily and the Rose
  • Appendices

 

Michael Soulé

Other Resources on Living Organizations

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Here are a few more interesting resources related to Living Organizations:

Organizations as Living Organisms by Magda Lissau which looks at a school in light of life processes and the elements.

School as a Living Entity by Rea Gill, an ebook exploring the story of Rea's work in Vancouver and the dynamics of creating a school as a living entity.

Theory U and Presencing by Otto Scharmer from MIT, a creative new approach to living systems.

Learning and Organizations by Mark Smith is a scholarly exploration of the definition and principles of a learning organization and the wide range of perspectives on what is meant by a learning organization.

Sociocracy, a new approach to organizational life and health being used worldwide to develop communities which is very congruent with the life of Waldorf schools.

Michael Soulé

Seven Keys to Sustainability, full version

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In order for an independent non-profit educational organization to become financially sustainable in a culture and environment that is highly consumer driven, leaders in schools will need to become increasingly creative in how they view and work with finances and the resource landscape (economic) in which they are embedded. Here are seven keys that every leader could consciously consider for their schools as they chart their financial future.

1. Associative Economics

 The idea behind associative economics arose from the work and insights of Rudolf Steiner in 1922 through his work with the first Waldorf School, and in a series of lectures on economics. Steiner’s visionary capacity brought to light a new imagination about economic life and money; that consciousness applied to the nature of transactions in the conduct of financial life would allow us to transform our relationships with each other and with money and provide a new basis for transforming the entire economic system. Understanding this is essential in the development of a school. In the attached articles by Warren Ashe, Siegfried Finser and Werner Glas, authors share important insights on the effect on school finances of seeing tuition in a new light.  Going further, John Bloom in an interview segment from the film The Challenge of Rudolf Steiner, and in his book The Genius of Money, offers insights into the realm of social finance and Steiner’s ideas. Christopher Houghton Budd has numerous publications and research on Associative Economics on his website that goes even deeper into the realm of Associative Economics. And lastly, Gary Lamb offers in his book on Associative Economics, an excellent treatment of the background, history, details and practical applications of Associative Economic thinking for schools. To be familiar with this book and these ideas will help every school leader work with financial matters in a new way.

2. The Intersection of School Finances and School Choice

 Initiatives in the US around School Choice offer a wealth of insights into ways we can support the transformation of educational funding. The School Choice movement imagines a possible future where the social impulse of Waldorf education and its accessibility to more families of all economic levels might be realized. In many countries, independent schools suffer from the fact that the funding for education managed by the government for the public good is often only available for government-run schools. This, of course, is not healthy for the public good or necessary.  It does not support diversity or excellence in education approaches.  What’s more, it leaves those families who would otherwise not choose a government-designed and regulated schooling experience for their children to pay for alternatives on their own. This effectively takes choice away from parents, especially parents who are economically poor.

There are numerous organizations within the US with initiatives to change this by transforming the way government funding supports parental choice through vouchers and tax credits. (In other countries it is different). Every independent school should be aware of these efforts and actively support this movement toward greater choice and a more widely accepted distribution of educational funding to all schools.

AWSNA supported the development of two reports on the realities of school choice, researched and written by Gary Lamb (read). The most recent one is available in our resource collection and is a valuable read for anyone who is considering the long-term financial future of a school. In addition to these good reports, there are a number of groups with valuable information about how to stay informed and involved in these movements. One good resource is the annual report of the Federation for School Choice. (read)

3. Rethinking Tuition

 How we think about tuition, whether it is viewed as a payment, a mandatory contribution or a gift, has a significant effect on the financial relationships in the school and especially on development work and fundraising. The whole avenue of concerted, intentional, and value-driven development work is longing for further evolution. In many schools currently using a tuition-based model for financing their operation, we can find creative ways to think about and manage tuition. The article on Siegfried Finser's talk about tuition as gift money is a good start.  Other excellent work on how to transform the tuition process has come out of the work of Bob Munson and Gary Lamb under the name ATA: Accessible Tuition for All.

While not everyone will be able to implement this process model, understanding the ideas behind it is important for everyone. Bob Munson and Mary Roscoe offer a clear and compelling background about ATA in their Primer. There are a few others experiments with creative tuition models including a three-tier tuition level model in use at the Brooklyn Waldorf School and a shared tuition experiment in UK, shared by Chris Schaefer. All of these are creative attempts to bring social ideals to tuition.

Lastly, if there is a natural antipathy to money and wealth in the school culture, overcoming or transforming that antipathy will be a major step toward sustainability. While this raises all sorts of issues it is the choice that independence brings.

4.  Government Support and Charter Schools’ Work to Reach a Wider Population.

In some countries, the separation between public funding and independent schools is less of an issue that in the US. In Australia and Canada, for instance,  independent schools operate with significant support from the government. The newsletter article by Tracey Puckeridge explores the dynamics of government funding in Australia. One response to the limitations of tuition based funding and being able to reach a more diverse range of socio-economic levels in the US has grown from the movement for public charter schools based on Waldorf education. This movement was founded with a social gesture to overcome financial hurdles for parents. There are now 38 charter schools inspired by Waldorf in 12 states. Their experience in trying to operate a Waldorf inspired school in the government bureaucratic and regulatory environment and lessons they have learned are important.

5. Waldorf Movement Successes to Strengthen Enrollment and Fundraising

 It is generally true that schools with more students have a stronger financial picture and that schools that are more effective at development work and fundraising also feel a reduction in the pressure that high tuitions place on parents. While these two areas, enrollment and fundraising, are important, they alone will not solve the primary financial challenges of schools. Nonetheless, we must do all that we can to increase our success in both areas. There are numerous resources available to help schools strengthen their approaches to fundraising and enrollment. One handbook created by AWSNA is a good starting place on Fundraising. (read) A recently published book on achieving full enrollment by Siegfried Finseris also helpful. Both these topics will be covered more in depth in future newsletters.

6.  The history and challenges of school financing in the Waldorf Movement

It is essential to have an understanding of the history and context for the challenges of funding for Waldorf Education since the beginning. Gary Lamb has collected, in the early chapters of his book, The Social Mission of Waldorf Education, a clear and concise history of the first Waldorf School and its financial life. Werner Glas outlines some of the unique challenges for Waldorf schools in his article from Administrative Explorations, sharing some insights about Steiner’s insights about the Economic life and its relationship to schools.

Social Mission- Ch 2 Founding of first Waldorf School

Social Mission- CH 3 Finances in Early Years

Social MIssion- CH 4 World School Assn

Social Mission- Ch 16 Broad Based Funding for WS

Underlying Themes in the Economics of Waldorf Schools by Werner Glas

7. The Reality of Interdependence

All the resources you need for your school to thrive are already present in your community. The work is to recognize and support the needed capacities, not just in the classroom and across the faculty, but also in the parent body and in others in the local/regional economic community. The economic life, as re-imagined through Steiner’s and other’s insights, can help us to appreciate more and more the value of our relationships and interdependence with each other. Gradually, successful schools are finding new ways to create and nurture partnerships within the school and in the greater community that are based on a commitment to a healthy community and are mutually beneficial.

Seven Keys to Sustainability –Michael Soule, comments and input by John Bloom

 

Michael Soulé

Sustainability

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Waldorf schools have three primary challenges as they move into the future:

To keep the education vibrant;

To maintain healthy relationships throughout the organization;

To create financial stability through creative relationships to the greater culture

The sustainability of our organizations depends upon how we face these challenges. In the same way that we need to maintain a healthy balance between our body, soul and spirit or our thinking, feeling and willing as individuals, in our organizations we need to find a healthy balance between the education, the community and the culture.

Because financial resilience and sustainability are essential to the future of our schools, we are devoting the April newsletter to this important topic.

In this newsletter you will find several articles on various aspects of financial security and sustainability.  We encourage you to read them, share them with your school leaders and add your own comments and ideas in our Forum Section.

Since the beginning of Waldorf education 100 years ago, each school, depending on its size, age and location, has followed its own path to achieve its funding goals.  Today, there are three basic methods used by most Waldorf school --– the cultivation of relationships with the business world, the sharing of costs with parents and the alignment with government educational systems.

Each of these paths has its benefits and challenges. For example, in the past decade, it has been harder and harder to get grants, more difficult to attract contributions, and more challenging for parents to pay tuition in the face of an uncertain economic picture.

In light of these challenges, what can Waldorf schools do to develop sustainable funding streams?

First, let’s look at the meaning of sustainability.

The key to sustainability of any organization rests with its capacity to:

  • Prepare for and adapt to changes,
  • Develop a diverse range of funding sources,
  • Create healthy systems and
  • Foster a strong enough sense of community.

Through these actions, creativity and mutual support can emerge to meet the financial challenges in rougher times.

The idea of what constitutes organizational sustainability is relatively new and is going through its own evolution. Basically the common definition is the ability to act in the present in ways that do not jeopardize the organization’s capacity to continue in the future. Much discussion about sustainability grew out of the environmental movement of the 1970’s as an attempt to encourage longer term planning and consideration of the environmental impacts of business and government decisions further into the future.

Consideration of the future is at the heart of Rudolf Steiner’s work and especially in the impulse and practice of Waldorf Education. Steiner pointed to the will as the seat of the future and that education should always be focused on the training of the will in the growing human being. Waldorf education was an education created to nurture the capacity for sustainable thinking, feeling and willing in the students. He saw the need for a new generation of people that could grasp sustainability in a new way and bring this into their work in the world for the transformation of humanity and the earth.

In Steiner’s lifetime, sustainable financing of schools did not come to fruition. The closest thing we have today in the US is the practice of tax credits, a system of funding education that puts power in the hands of parents and allows them to send their child to the school of their choice. One of the articles below explores the promise of tax credits and vouchers for education.

Other emerging initiatives similarly allow for funding from the government to flow into independent schools. And while the fight to create these alternatives is stronger than ever and is drawing the attention of anyone serious about transforming education, changes are slow in coming.

In the meantime, as we support these efforts, independent schools are left with less than ideal models for creating funding streams. Another article below explores the work of Gary Lamb and Bob Munson in pioneering ways to make schools “Accessible To All.” Their work is being applied with positive results in many schools in the movement.

There is also a wealth of resources to help school leaders understand creative ways to work with tuition, to educate parents about new social financial ideas and to strengthen development and fundraising work to support the school.

The articles below are intended to give school leaders a better understanding of three fundamental aspects of sustainability:

  • Steiner’s insights about funding for schools,
  • Ways to get involved in promoting tax credits and vouchers, and
  • Ideas for creative approaches for managing current financial situations.

In everything we do in the financial realm we are strengthened by the realization that our success depends on our relationships. This is what truly makes our lives and our organizations sustainable – that we continue to take an interest in one other, be committed to one another’s growth and development and be grateful that we are dependent not only on ourselves, but also on everyone else for our own well being. If that understanding and feeling can pervade all of our work around the financial sustainability of our schools and organizations, then we will have support from unseen places and will be able to grow the kind of communities that will, in spite of the swings of outer culture, be able to sustain themselves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Michael Soulé

Seven Keys to Sustainability

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In order for an independent non-profit educational organization to become financially sustainable in a culture and environment that is highly consumer driven, leaders in schools will need to become increasingly creative in how they view and work with finances and the resource landscape (economic) in which they are embedded. Here are seven keys that every leader could consciously consider for their schools as they chart their financial future. (For a full version of this article without breaks, click here.)

1. Associative Economics

 The idea behind associative economics arose from the work and insights of Rudolf Steiner in 1922 through his work with the first Waldorf School, and in a series of lectures on economics. Steiner’s visionary capacity brought to light a new imagination about economic life and money; that consciousness applied to the nature of transactions in the conduct of financial life would allow us to transform our relationships with each other and with money and provide a new basis for transforming the entire economic system. Understanding this is essential in the development of a school. (read more…)

2. The Intersection of School Finances and School Choice

 Initiatives in the US around School Choice offer a wealth of insights into ways we can support the transformation of educational funding. The School Choice movement imagines a possible future where the social impulse of Waldorf education and its accessibility to more families of all economic levels might be realized. (read more…)

3. Rethinking Tuition

 How we think about tuition, whether it is viewed as a payment, a mandatory contribution or a gift, has a significant effect on the financial relationships in the school and especially on development work and fundraising. The whole avenue of concerted, intentional, and value-driven development work is longing for further evolution. In many schools currently using a tuition-based model for financing their operation, we can find creative ways to think about and manage tuition. (read more…)

4.  Government Support and Charter Schools’ Work to Reach a Wider Population.

In some countries, the separation between public funding and independent schools is less of an issue that in the US. In Australia and Canada, for instance,  independent schools operate with significant support from the government. An article due later this month will explore the dynamics of government funding in Australia. (read more…)

 5.Waldorf Movement Successes to Strengthen Enrollment and Fundraising

 It is generally true that schools with more students have a stronger financial picture and that schools that are more effective at development work and fundraising also feel a reduction in the pressure that high tuitions place on parents. While these two areas, enrollment and fundraising, are important, they alone will not solve the primary financial challenges of schools. Nonetheless, we must do all that we can to increase our success in both areas. (read more…)

6.  The history and challenges of school financing in the Waldorf Movement

It is essential to have an understanding of the history and context for the challenges of funding for Waldorf Education since the beginning. (read more…)

7. The Reality of Interdependence

All the resources you need for your school to thrive are already present in your community. The work is to recognize and support the needed capacities, not just in the classroom and across the faculty, but also in the parent body and in others in the local/regional economic community. The economic life, as re-imagined through Steiner’s and other’s insights, can help us to appreciate more and more the value of our relationships and interdependence with each other. Gradually, successful schools are finding new ways to create and nurture partnerships within the school and in the greater community that are based on a commitment to a healthy community and are mutually beneficial.

Seven Keys to Sustainability –Michael Soule, comments and input by John Bloom

 

Michael Soulé

Sustainability Resources

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Resources for Sustainability

Dear Colleagues,

This month’s newsletter focuses on the theme of Sustainability and explores the question, “How can our schools become more sustainable in an economic environment that is growing more competitive and uncertain?” The lead article is a survey of the question and the second article, Seven Keys to Sustainability, outlines areas that require everyone’s attention as we move forward in planning for and responding to the future.

There are a lot of resources available on this important topic. We have included a few in the newsletter that we feel are informative and creative aspects of the whole. Below, we are sharing a list of the other related resources we have added to our resource library. We hope you find them useful and inspiring.

Michael Soule

LeadTogether

 

Books

The Genius of Money, John Bloom

Associative Economics, Gary Lamb

Freeing the Circling Stars, Christopher Houghton Budd

Economic Explorations, David Mitchell et al

Freeing the Human Spirit, Michael Spence

Reports

National School Choice Report for 2013

School Choice and Educational Freedom 2009, Gary Lamb

Waldorf Fundraising 101, AWSNA

Articles

The Three Kinds of Money, Warren Ashe

The Benefits and Challenges of Government Funding for Australian Schools, Tracey Puckeridge

Waldorf School Funding, from the Social Mission of Waldorf Education, Gary Lamb

Accessible Tuition for All, a review by Barbara Henderson

Accessible Tuition for All Primer, Bob Munson and Mary Roscoe

Underlying Themes in the Economics of Waldorf Schools, Werner Glas

Intimations of a New Economy, John Bloom

Waldorf Tuition: Gift or investment or Something In-between, by George Eastman

Three Tier Tuition Model of Brooklyn Waldorf School

 

Websites

RSF Social Finance

Associative Economics

Center for Social Renewal

Alliance for School Choice

Interviews

Economics and Social Initiatives, interview with John Bloom and Martin Large from the film “The Challenge of Rudolf Steiner”

 

Michael Soulé

Intimations of a New Economic Story, John Bloom

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John Bloom
Given the very real tragedy of our current economy, we need a new economic story that dispels faulty assumptions about growth, the environment and our natural resources, and transforms the anti-social power of self-interested behavior along with the extractive practice of over-accumulation.

The new economic story is rooted in the incontrovertible reality of interdependence—social, ecological, and spiritual. At the same time, the new story honors cultural freedom and equality in matters political. The story embraces the value of dynamic tensions inherent in this construction. The new economic story restores to money its original purpose, to be put at the service of people who can use it to serve others, and eliminates the use of money solely to make more money. An essential part of the story is money as differentiated transactional functions—purchase, loan, and gift. Each of these functions has its own qualities that support not only the continual circulation of money, but also its renewal. The story assumes that economic activity will generate surplus capital, some appropriate portion of which will be reinvested in entrepreneurial innovation and some significant portion will be returned as gift to regenerate culture.

The story is based upon an understanding that all economic activity is actually initiated by gift, just as each of our breathing lives is supported at the outset by the gift of nourishment. That fluid gift is transformed through human development into capacities for new ideas and recognition of the needs of others. This is a snapshot of how a healthy culture contributes to economic renewal. Lending helps implement those economic ideas and the money is quickened by the use of loan (or gift) proceeds for purchase.

So the story portrays economic self-renewal through the continual flow and transformation of money through transactions. Economic life is actually managed collaboratively or associatively by representatives of all the parties affected by it. Thus, in the new story everyone’s basic needs are present, and through the circulation of money our interdependence becomes transparent and life-affirming. It is fully integrated. It is not only possible but also necessary for our survival. This is the new economic story characterized—nothing more than an intimation. It will take tremendous will, steadfastness of purpose, and an endless supply of social tact and grace to bring about this transformation. But first it is important to understand the intentions of the story itself, so it can support coherent action and be told compellingly to others.

Digging deeper into the current economic story surfaces lots of apparently disconnected pieces. The story is laden with an abundance of impenetrable shadow elements and sorely lacking in the brilliant light of the possible. The story the media tells includes, but is not limited to: free markets as the primary approach to the world’s problems; the benefit of competition regardless of its consequences; and, the inevitability of inequity and the value of accumulated wealth. The more I hear the story the more fictional, even cynical, it appears as the evidence of its rampant and unethical self-interest accumulates. I also suspect I am not alone in suffering dissonance as I live within a storied system that appears to be crumbling, while working to support the emergence of a new one, or, at least, one that operates on a drastically revised set of principles.

To see this emergence as a transformation rather than replacement of the old presents a problem. Transformation assumes an interconnected inter-influential world in which the potential new forms must lie somewhere within the existing one. To see this potential requires acceptance of it all, even the shadows. However, the economic story I tell myself is neither one of good versus bad, nor of suspended judgment. It is instead one that transforms: assumptions about to direct experience of; power over to responsibility with; and, self-interest into service to.

Most of the stories I am told about economics are based upon the dynamic of polarities, the haves and have-nots, management and labor, supply and demand, red and blue. This model of dualistic thinking has a long history in Western culture, but it no longer serves if the non-material world of thoughts, feelings, and intentions is to be taken seriously. To this day we are still teaching that our world is constructed around managing polarities. Faucets run hot and cold, batteries have positive and negative poles, gender is defined as male or female—a small sample. At a material level these dualities serve as nothing more than identifiers or locators. They really have very little to do with how we make meaning out of experience; instead, meaning emerges through the interaction of multiple polarities. When we sense temperature, or electric current, or the human psyche, we are looking at indicator-concepts that acknowledge a field created through the co-presence and movement of polarities. For example, though I am male, I am aware of both masculine and feminine qualities that operate within my character and inform my interactions with the world.

If we are to have a new economic story, it will require a shift in thinking that sees money in the same light—as an indicator-concept, an energetic field, which is not a thing or commodity but rather a circulating measure and store of value which itself arises from the relationship between unused resources and unmet needs in economic life. The essential point is: If we are to transform the current economic story to a new one, whether you agree with my telling of it or not, we are going to have to change our thinking to include the notion that every material matter has a non-material counterpart; and, further, that each of us stands as measure of the dynamic energy field that arises from their constant interactions. How we choose to act as economic beings, individually or collaboratively, can transform the economic story, and at the same time, bring positive change to culture and the processes of governance as a by-product. Such is the power of story.

John Bloom
© 2010

 

Michael Soulé

Creative Approaches to Tuition: The Free Education Group at Michael Hall in England, 1977-80

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   The Free Education Group at Michael Hall School in England: 1977-80

By Christopher Schaefer

It was the late 1970’s and a number of us with children at Michael Hall, a well-established Waldorf school in Forest Row, Sussex, had an intense interest in Steiner’s social and economic ideas. We wanted to get away from the fee for service model of set tuitions and began talking to the faculty and council of the school about alternatives, tuition as a percentage of income or different levels of tuition. However, the Bursar, the English equivalent of the Business Manager, was set against any form of financial experimentation. He was even opposed to sending one tuition bill to the seven families who were interested in alternatives. So we began meeting once a month and decided to simply total up our tuition amounts and then to see what each of us could pay. This led us to talk, and to share our financial and life circumstances. One summer the farmer’s wheat crop failed due to hail, another spring a new roof was needed by another family, and a third needed to help an ailing parent. And yet for the first three terms we managed to have a surplus. This happened because when you listened to others you looked at your own priorities and expenditures with new eyes and decided to give more. Was the second car really needed or could we share with another family, what else could we cut or how could we increase income? As each family went through such questions we contributed more than enough money, indeed our surpluses funded a teacher vacation fund for the faculty for two years running.

As we learned to pool our resources we also began a simple import business and began exploring other income creating ventures. Eventually we built the group to 30 families, in part through the school sending us their scholarship families. While we attempted to make sure the families were motivated by the same ideals in this we were often not successful and the group eventually stopped its work when we accepted too many families who both needed financial support and did not share our underlying values. Some of lessons learned :

1)     Every way of working with tuitions in unconventional ways takes more time and a deeper connection between people.

2)     Success is dependent on members of a group sharing the same motives and values and not working primarily out of self- interest.

3)     A deeper connection between people, sharing biographies and life circumstances, including finances, enhances generosity and initiative.

4)     Generosity can be contagious. Four faculty members in the school who shared our interests started a shared income community, using one checking account and pooling their resources.

5)     Tuition support groups of the type described can be worked with within a school having a traditional tuition model as long as the school can count on a set amount of income per child. Indeed there is no reason a school cannot work with a variety of tuition approaches at the same time.

6)     Involve the parents in the issue of how to develop alternatives to a set tuition model; indeed it is their task to assure the financial sustainability of the school.