Support Our School Community
The successful functioning of our school community depends on the cooperative efforts of three vital elements creating the living entity we know as Three Rivers School: the Faculty, the Parents and the Board of Directors
Faculty
The Faculty of Three Rivers School is responsible for bringing to our children the living experience of Waldorf education through the specific curriculum of each class. The faculty meets regularly to form school and class policies and procedures and to further the professional development of the individual teachers as well as the mentorship of new teachers. All of Three Rivers School Teachers are required to possess Waldorf teacher certification, have prior extensive Waldorf teaching experience, or be in training to become a certified Waldorf teacher. The financial cost of this training is somewhat defrayed by Three River School subsidization, however, it is done with significant investment of time, energy and financial resources of the individual teacher.
Parents
Parents are the foundation of Three Rivers School and the support structure for the school Faculty. Parents’ willingness to participate in the daily life of the school is fundamental to our identity and our sustainability. Responsibilities as a member of the parent community involve participating in and assisting with school-wide social and fundraising activities held through out the year. Each class has specific responsibilities for the parents of children in that year’s class, as well as, class parents who often rely on phone trees or e-mails to keep fellow parents informed of certain needs and events. Feel free to step forward and identify any time, talents, and or energy you can donate to help Three Rivers School do what needs to be done. Your child, and the rest of the TRS community, needs you.
Board of Directors
The Board has responsibility for the budget, tuition, compliance with regulations and concerns relating to the school site and buildings. Board meetings are typically held at Three Rivers School in the Faculty Meeting space on the Third Thursday of each month. All board meetings are open session meetings where parents and other interested observers are welcomed, with the occasional exception of a portion of the meeting designated as a closed ‘executive session’ due to confidentiality reasons. The board is composed of faculty, administrative, community and parent representatives who are willing to carry the spiritual and practical responsibilities of long term fiscal, spiritual, and academic health of Three Rivers School.
Parent Involvement
The students, their families, faculty, staff, and volunteers together create our living school community by participating in the daily life of Three Rivers School. It is one of the palpable differences visitors comment about when touring our school the first time. It may have been the decisive factor for you.
You and your extended family circle are important to the health and vitality of Three Rivers School. In support of this synergistic energy, you are invited to:
- Attend assemblies and school plays.
- Work on a committee.
- Read the newsletter.
- Create a cake for our annual Cake Walk.
- Share your special talents or skills with others, i.e., teach a class to other adults, lead a book club, help with technological aspects of running the school, such as boiler maintenance or network connections.
- Drive and Chaperone your child’s field trips.
- Visit with your child’s teacher on the playground.
- Introduce yourself to a parent you do not know.
- Run a craft booth at our annual Holiday Fair or Spring Fair.
- Be a class parent.
- Volunteer in the kitchen to support our Healthy Hot Lunch program.
- Come to the annual Business Meeting(s).
- Bake a dessert for the annual Valentine Dance & Silent Auction.
- Cover for an office person when they are absent due to illness, meeting attendance, or conference participation.
- Donate a unique item for our annual Valentine Dance & Silent Auction in February.
- Encourage others to participate in Three Rivers School annual festivals and fund raising events.
- Bring your extended family when you come to school for pick up, for assemblies etc.
- Invite others who are interested in children, education or community building on a tour of Three Rivers School.
- Lend a hand to the High School Development project.
- Participate in class meetings and parent/teacher conferences.
- Check your family mail file regularly.
- Make it a habit to read postings on the community and committee bulletin board.
- Tell others you are a Three Rivers parent.
- Join other families in the fun and effort on scheduled Work Days.
- Ask questions of your child’s teacher, fellow parents, and administrative staff.
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Volunteer Opportunities
- Healthy Hot lunch Program
- Assist in the Administrative office with answering phones, making copies, addressing parent concerns etc.
- Committee Work (link to committee listing as well as a description of the role of committees in Waldorf
- Serve on the school's Board of Directors
- Annual festivals and fund raising events
- Assist the classroom teacher with special events or classroom needs
- Sign up to work on a scheduled maintenance and cleaning day.
Volunteering parents, who give of themselves to provide these resources are wonderful role models for our children. Plus it is fun!
Have questions? Want to volunteer?
Please contact the school's Volunteer Coordinator, Amy Morse.
Amy is a TRS parent of three children and member of the school's Board of Directors.
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Development: Friend & Fund Raising
The role of Three Rivers School Development Office is to build relationships with parents, alumni, grandparents, friends, corporations, foundations, and the general Coulee Region community, creating a friendship network. Through festivals, performances, lectures, community service, our web site and publications, we are making a deliberate effort to connect with our broader community. We seek to inspire, motivating people to action in support of a thriving Three Rivers School.
Friends of Three Rivers School represent all facets of our surrounding community. Many Friends have some affiliation to TRS through a particular student, either currently enrolled or an alumnus. Others recognize the benefit of having a non-religious independent school augmenting the already rich educational offerings in the Coulee Region with positive impact on our area quality of life, economic development, and recruitment potential of employees and organizations. Each of us carry an educational legacy; many of Three Rivers School supporters intensely wish a school community such as ours had been available to them. Please come and see what we are about here. To set up a tour of Three Rivers School for non-enrollment purposes: (link to Reese’s e-mail), for enrollment purposes: (link to Angela’s e-mail). Three Rivers School hosts regularly scheduled Community Leader coffees on Wednesday mornings, welcoming small groups in for conversation and feedback on Three Rivers School’s role in the community.
Three Rivers School is a non-profit 501©3 organization which is dependent upon tuition revenue and gifts for its operation funds. The gap between tuition and the true cost of running the school is covered through fund raising and contributions. As we strive to make the opportunity to attend Three Rivers School available to families of all economic and social circumstances, we also strive to provide the essentials of a Waldorf curriculum while attracting and retaining an experienced and dedicated staff and faculty. Our school community has made a commitment to accomplish these goals; you are invited to become a Friend of Three Rivers School by sharing your resources with this good work today.
Your gift to Three Rivers School makes a real difference in the lives of children.
Programs available to our donors include:
- Annual Giving Fund
- Tribute Gifts
- Restricted Gifts
- Planned Gifts
- In-Kind Gifts
- On-line Giving (coming soon)
- Fund Raising Events
To keep current about Three Rivers School on-going activities and projects, please sign up for our periodic e-mail communications. Three Rivers School respects the privacy of your interest and does not supply or sell your e-mail address to anyone. Send us an e-mail asking us to add you to our e-mail list.
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Annual Giving Fund
Approximately 15% of Three Rivers School operating budget is raised each year through unrestricted contributions to the Annual Fund from Waldorf families, staff, alumni, corporations, foundations, and friends. The 06-07 school year fundraising goal is $100,000. The annual Giving Fund runs on the school calendar year, from 1 July through 30 June. As of 1 February we have gathered over $78,000 towards making this year’s operating budget balanced, leaving $22,000 outstanding to be raised before the end of June.
People expenses – salaries and benefits for faculty and staff – comprises over 80% of Three Rivers School operating budget. The remainder supports faculty and staff professional development, school programs, classroom supplies, utilities, mortgage, insurance, and site maintenance.
All students benefit from your generosity by enabling Three Rivers School to:
• deliberately build a diverse student and parent body,
• have the needed resources to support a healthy academic curriculum rich in literature, science and artistic exploration taught by excellent, passionate teachers, and
• fulfill our mission of consciously providing education of independent and creative people who meet life with courage and intention and are able to respond to the needs of the world and their fellow human beings with initiative and compassion.
Your tax-deductible pledges and gifts are welcome via check, stock transfer or automatic bank payment. Print out Annual Gift Fund Form (link to pledge card) and mail or fax it to:
Three Rivers Waldorf School
Development Office
901 Caledonia Street
La Crosse WI 54603
Phone: 608.782.8774
Fax: 608.787.6914
To transfer stock or arrange automatic bank payment, please contact Mark Dubey in the Business Office for instructions via phone at 608.782.8774 or via e-mail.
You may be able to double or triple your contribution if you, or a family member, work for or are retired from a company that has a matching gift program. These companies will match your gift dollar for dollar, or even two dollars for every dollar you give. Simply obtain a form from your company’s Matching Gift office and send it in with your donation. The Three Rivers School Development Office will take care of the paperwork.
Whatever the amount of the gift, we are deeply grateful for each expression of support.
The Three Rivers School Annual report lists names of individual and business donors who have been supportive of our endeavors over the past year, unless you specify your wish to remain anonymous. Upon receipt of your gift, we will send you an acknowledgment letter and receipt usable for tax purposes.
Thank you, your gift is so greatly appreciated.
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Tribute Gifts
This is a method of truly leveraging the value of a gift to Three Rivers School. Your financial gift in commemorating an event or person you care for underscores your esteem and high regard of the honoree while also supporting the good work of Three Rivers School.
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Restricted Gifts
The Three Rivers School operational budget covers on-going objectives and obligations of our growing school. Some Friends of our school community prefer to dedicate their gifts toward specific goals that have longer term impact on the journey towards excellence in education. We welcome this type of gift as well.
Examples of specific gift needs:
- Endowment of Three Rivers School Student Tuition Assistance Fund
- Endowment of a Three Rivers School Faculty Professional Development Fund
- Coulee Region Waldorf High School Initiative
- Playground Renewal Project
Please contact Mark Dubey in the Business Office to discuss your interest in gifting for a specific purpose. He can be reached via phone at 608.782.8774 or via e-mail.
Upon receipt of your gift, we will send you an acknowledgment letter and receipt usable for tax purposes.
Thank you for considering Three Rivers School in your giving plans.
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Planned Giving or Bequests
A will is a familiar and important estate planning tool, offering you peace of mind in meeting obligations, fulfilling dreams and enabling you to convert your resources into actions that meet your values. Bequests are specific distributions of assets to persons and charities you identify. By including bequests in your will, you can provide for your loved ones and the causes you care about.
Making your intentions clear during your lifetime enables you to pass along your ideals to your family as well as provide an enduring legacy to your community. You also may reduce your taxable estate and provide your heirs with potential tax benefits. A bequest may provide a vehicle for making a more significant gift using your accumulated assets than current liquid cash resources may allow.
A qualified estate attorney can draft and update your will to ensure your wishes are properly expressed. We suggest the following language for donors interested in making a general, unrestricted bequest:
“I give, and bequeath to Three Rivers School of La Crosse Wisconsin, a tax exempt organization under Section 501 C (3) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code, the sum of $ _____ for its general uses and purposes.”
The easiest and most tax effective way to leave money to Three Rivers School is by designating Three Rivers School as a beneficiary of your IRA, 401 (k) or other qualified retirement account. Gifts may be stated as a residual percentage of the estate after other obligations are met, and they can be directed to specific programs and purposes, for example Endowment of Three Rivers School Student Tuition Assistance Fund, Endowment of a Three Rivers School Faculty Professional Development Fund, or Coulee Region Waldorf High School Initiative. Because there are many vehicles for donating a planned gift and the choices can be complex, these decisions should be made in consultation with your attorney and/or financial advisor.
To learn more, please contact Mark Dubey, Three Rivers School Business Office, at 608.782.8774 or via e-mail.
Thank you for investigating how you can help ensure the ongoing good work of Three Rivers School.
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In Kind Gifts
There are many opportunities to make in-kind gifts as well to benefit Three Rivers School.
Our current list of needs includes:
- Boulders delivered to Three Rivers School Playground, adding natural elements to the play area and facilitating child imaginative play.
- Shade trees for planting along sidewalk boulevards and to the playground enhance aesthetics and improve energy efficiency of Three Rivers School.
- Snow Blower for cleaning sidewalks, surrounding the city block of land holding our building a play area.
- Commercial stove for Healthy Hot Lunch program.
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On-line Giving
A donation to Three Rivers School may be made via PayPal. A donation receipt will be mailed to you.
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Goodsearch Internet Search
Utilize Goodsearch for internet searches. The school earns approximately 1 cent for each search. Click the link below to get started.---------------------------------------------------------------
Fund Raising Events
Several fund raising events are held each year. They are the result of cooperative efforts of Three Rivers School parents, faculty, staff and Board of Directors. These events are open to the public, extending a welcoming embrace to the greater La Crosse community.
Holiday Fair
Held the second Saturday in December. Features creative gift making activities for children, Holiday Fairy and Wizard, musical entertainment, the infamous Cake Walk, a truly magical Elf cottage adventure, delicious parent-made lunch, puppet plays, and vendor sales of hand-crafted items. This event brings everyone in the school community together to celebrate the season of joy.
Valentine Dance and Silent Auction
This annual adult-only evening is enjoyed by parents, faculty, alumni, families and friends. Join us for delicious food, decadent desserts, lively music, energetic dancing, conversation and an opportunity to bid on more than 100 incredible items donated by generous parents and community members.
Spring Fair
Cyclical renewal is celebrated with the softer breezes and emergence of the Root Children heralding the return of the Big Heron. Leading our spring parade of marshland creatures, is a 15 foot flying Heron puppet requiring the team work of four adult puppeteers. The annual Spring Fair offers Maypole dancing, live music, wonderful food, creative crafts, free family activities, spring animals, and more.
These events require participation from every family in order to create the kind of special, generous atmosphere that attracts so many friends in the community to celebrate with us. Please plan to make time to contribute and join in the fun. Check the calendar for dates.