Employment at Friends School of Minnesota

Friends School is seeking individuals to fill the following positions:

Substitute Teachers

Please contact Jeannette Lutter-Gardella by email or by phone 651-917-0636 for more information.

Friends School of Minnesota seeks diversity in every aspect of the school community. Friends School does not discriminate on the basis of gender, sexual orientation, race, color, religion, and national or ethnic origin in its admissions policies, hiring practices or in the administration of its personnel policies.

Strategic Planning Consultant: Request for Qualifications/Proposals

Proposal Deadline: November 13, 2009

(see all attachments below)

About Friends School of Minnesota

In 1988, local Quakers and peace activists founded Friends School of Minnesota (FSM). In the tradition of more than 80 Quaker Friends Schools across the United States, Friends School of Minnesota meets children’s intellectual, emotional and spiritual needs in an environment that nurtures their social consciousness.

Friends School of Minnesota currently has 162 students and 20 faculty. We offer a rich K-8 program where in-depth academic studies are supported by peaceful forms of conflict resolution.

We are a diverse community with students from a broad range of religious and non-religious backgrounds, including eight percent from Quaker families. We welcome ethnic and economic diversity; 31 percent are children of color and 31 percent of FSM families receive need-based financial aid.

The School is accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Central States (ISACS). The ISACS team described us as “a little jewel of a school.”

Project Description

FSM will hold a strategic planning retreat on Saturday and Sunday March 20 and 21, 2010. The school has had a strategic planning committee in place for a year.  That committee has already finalized a strategic planning process and format that has been approved by the FSM School Committee (board of trustees).  FSM seeks only a seasoned consultant to help FSM plan the retreat agenda and facilitate the retreat.

A description of the school's strategic planning process and an outline of the substantive areas to be covered in the strategic plan are attached for reference.  The primary goal of the retreat will be to discuss and synthesize the work of self-study subcommittees (as further described in the attached materials) with respect to each substantive area covered by the strategic plan outline, as well as the results of focus groups to collect input from key constituency groups.  The consultant will be responsible for assisting in planning and, if possible, facilitating the focus groups which will occur on Thursday, January 7 and Saturday, January 23, 2010.

On the first day of the retreat, the 20-member school committee will meet with the school's faculty and staff (approximately 25 people).  The school committee is comprised of some parents of students, local Quakers, one faculty member, and several other at-large members from outside the immediate school community.  The second day of the retreat (Sunday) will involve only school committee members.  The school's strategic planning committee envisions a firmly structured retreat agenda - with structured planning sessions as well as social opportunities designed to strengthen working relationships among the participants.

Qualifications

 The ideal candidate will be an experienced strategic planning professional with excellent meeting facilitation skills. Comfort and familiarity with Quaker process and independent schools are highly desired.  Experience working with large groups is also preferred as well as a demonstrated sensitivity to the dynamic of facilitating meetings involving a school board, faculty, and administration, or a comparable dynamic.

 To Apply            

1.  Provide a brief proposal/outline including:

(a) Each task you envision being necessary to assist FSM in planning the retreat.

(b) Strategies you would employ to make the retreat as productive as possible.

(c) A cost proposal estimating the fee required to assist with the planning of the retreat and to facilitate the retreat.  Applicants may provide a flat fee cost proposal, or a proposal based on time and materials.  If a time and materials proposal is submitted, please itemize hourly fees and proposed expenses that would be charged to the school.  If more than one person will be staffed for this project on a time and materials basis, provide the hourly rate for each staff member.

(d) The cost proposal should include a not to exceed figure for the entire project.

(e)  A summary of your interest in and qualifications for this project, along with a résumé for each person to be staffed for the project and three client references.

 Please submit proposals to:

Strategic Plan Consultant RFP/RFQ proposal deadline: November 13, 2009