2015 Annual Report - The Post Oak School · and Wikipedia, whose work has reshaped our ... Kelly...

I N V E S T

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Invest in the future.

Mitt Romney said, “Education is the investment ourgeneration makes in the future.” Isn’t that why youenrolled your child in Post Oak? It’s easy to invest inour own child’s future. At the same time, few of us are so visionary that we see our own child’s educationin the big picture—as an investment in the future of the culture and the advancement of civilization—but Post Oak teachers see this. We see our work asserving the individual child and in doing so, we serveour culture, and the future.

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EDespite the heat and grueling work, we all laughed andsweated together. In the end, every shovelful of dirtwas deposited with purpose.”

Brayden Chavis, Class of 2017

speaking about his experience working on a new water systemfor a sesame seed processing plant in Nueva Vida, Nicaragua

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High School Managua Field School

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G A G E

Lower Elementary outing to Houston Center for Contemporary Craft

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Maria Montessori observed that the way in which we learn shapes who we become.Montessori students look for new ways to do things. Freedom to choose their own work and to direct their own interestscultivates a lifetime love of learning.

Post Oak is a Montessori school; one of the best inthe world. As society struggles to match educationto the needs of the future, an emerging culturalmeme was voiced in the Wall Street Journal fouryears ago: “Is there something going on here? Isthere something about the Montessori approachthat nurtures creativity and inventiveness that wecan all learn from?” That rhetorical question aimsto make sense of the disproportionately large representation of Montessori alums leading the list of entrepreneurs in the tech world, and othercreative professions—people who are not onlysuccessful, but true shapers of the culture—including the founders of Google and Amazon and Wikipedia, whose work has reshaped our lives immeasurably.

This is more than name-dropping. The “Mon tessorimafia” displays a combination of creativity, entre-preneurial drive, and business savvy that the worldvalues, characteristics attributed to their Montessorieducation. There are new exemplars from the pastfew months. In a short span, this spring Steph Currywas named MVP of the NBA and Anthony Doerr wonthe Pulitzer Prize for fiction; both are Montessorialums. What does success in basketball have todo with Montessori education? Here’s what Curry’smother said her son took away from his experience:“If you hit a roadblock, don’t be discouraged. It provides a sense of who you are. That life throwsyou challenges and you need to figure it out.”

Montessori Model United Nations China Conference

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Nearly 90 students, parentsand chaperones from PostOak attended the firstMontessori Model UnitedNations (MMUN) Conferencein Zhengzhou, China. InMMUN, students step intothe shoes of UN ambassa-dors to debate currentglobal and social issues,while also honing their research, writing, publicspeaking, problem solving,consensus building, andconflict resolution skills.

Young Children’s Community independent learning

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You must first master your -self before you can masterthe world. In the Young Chil-dren’s Community, childrenlearn to make choices, towork independently, and tomanage themselves. This isone reason why Montessoristudents are different.

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And when Forbes’ list of the 17 “Youngest PowerWomen of 2015” appeared, it included three formerMontessori students: Beyoncé; Samantha Power,United States ambassa dor to the United Nations;and Taylor Swift—deemed powerful even beforeshe sweetly and sternly rebuked corporate giantApple, causing it to reverse course on the roll-out of its new streaming music platform. Taylor Swift:“One of the most savvy and inspiring millennialentrepreneurs I’ve ever come across,” accordingto Forbes.


It was a year when we asked you to invest in thefuture of Post Oak. Parents, alumni parents, grand -parents, faculty and staff, trustees, friends andfoundations answered the call to invest capital, enabling Post Oak to build a new and larger highschool building (in the year when our first classgraduates), to relocate middle school to the MuseumDistrict campus, and to enhance and renovate theBissonnet facilities. These improvements will serveyour children well, and your grandchildren, too.

Elementary after-school enrichment

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Ordinary wonders; it’s whatPost Oak is all about. Beingaware of differences helpsus appreciate variety. It’sthe same reason leasonsare devoted to bringing descriptive vocabulary tochildren: rough, rougher,roughest tablets; blue,bluer, bluest colors; ovate,lanceolate, pinnate leaves.The knowledge that thereare differences helps usobserve them.

Upper Elementary “The Great Lessons” research9/2 4

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Can you teach curiosity? We at Post Oak believe that you can teach curiosity,but you do so indirectly—by developing a culture that encourages questions.Post Oak students scored in the top 6 percent of schools participating in theMission Skills Assessment—a study being conducted by a national consortiumof private schools to measure and promote the development of curiosity, creativity, teamwork, ethics, resilience, and time management.


In June 2015 the Houston Montessori Institute (HMI)graduated its first class of Montessori teachers, andthe following Monday began its next three-yearcourse with 20 new trainees. HMI operates as a division of The Post Oak School and resides in thePost Oak High School building during the summermonths. Post Oak faculty contribute expertise to thetraining center in a number of different ways andat the same time, the training center raises our levelof professional practice. In a narrow sense, PostOak benefits through the training and recruitmentof its next generation of teachers. More broadly,Post Oak contributes to the wider community,training Montessori teachers for Houston, for Texasand beyond. By doing so, we invest in the future.

Your investment in The Post Oak School helps makereal our vision for a vibrant future. Post Oak nowserves children from birth to the cusp of adulthood;we train teachers to enter the profession as a partof our commitment to career-long professionalgrowth; and remembering the comment, “I don’twant to be an accidental parent,” we will continueto expand our work with families, helping parentsdeepen their understanding of human growth anddevelopment, and best practices in parenthood.Few schools anywhere can match this scope ofaspiration and offer such an integrated range ofservices. We thank you for helping to make PostOak a model of possibility.

John Long, Head of School

Primary classroom individual artistic expression

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Stocking the library of the senses.Classrooms contain carefully designedmaterials to support children’s explo -ration and put names to a variety ofsensations: size, color, shape, texture,scent, sound, and more.

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At the end of a particularly active school year, the whole community seems to breathe a sigh of

relief. So it was in the 2014–2015 Post Oak school year, which called for heroic volunteer efforts

from parents who rolled up their sleeves to offer help on campaigns, galas, community events,

and more.

The Big Work 2.0 capital campaign required the robust energy of dedicated parents to bring

the public phase to a successful conclusion. Paula Mey and Alan Ying, among many others,

worked tirelessly throughout the year to make sure every single family at Post Oak knew the

importance of this transformative project. The community generously responded. By the end

of the school year, we had reached 73 percent family participation and raised over $6 million

of our $8 million goal. And if parents weren’t working to raise funds for Big Work, they were

participating in the countless related meetings to discuss planning, finance, architecture, and

scheduling of this major renovation and construction project.

At the same time, another grand effort was in the works. Post Oak parents spent most of the

year in full event-mode preparing for Starstruck: A Night at the Oscars. Under the stellar direction

of parent chairs, Laura Citardi and Whitney Walsh, this star-studded, record-breaking, biennial

gala seemed to receive the volunteer efforts of almost every single parent at the school. A major

piece of gala work was masterfully managed by auction committee chairs, Jenny Mohr and Stelli

Parsapour, who worked countless hours to present one of the most creative and successful

auction line-ups the school has ever seen.

Amidst these major efforts, the yearly cycle of events, the annual fund, and classroom

activities continued, which required additional volunteer talent and support from all parents of

Post Oak. It was a beehive of activity all year long. Please take some time to review the names

of event chairs and other volunteers listed in the back of this report.

For all of this, we offer our deep gratitude to all donors and volunteers. We acknowledge that

the school would not be what it is without the time and support so generously given by the families

and friends of Post Oak.

Christina Kopanidis-Cantu, Development Director

A year of thanks

The 2014-2015 Post Oak FundChaired by Carol and

John Howenstine

Donors who generously contributedgifts of , and above to ThePost Oak Fund are members ofThe Post Oak Leadership Circle.

L E A D E R S H I P C I R C L EShonali and Rakesh Agrawal

Terri and Chris Armstrong

Louise and Henry Bergeron

Bailey Dalton-Binion and Greg Binion

Mary Birk

Kimberly and Michael Callahan

Lisa Heyden and Stephen Douglas

Abbe and Adam Forman

Amy and Blair Garrou

Janice and Barrett Green

Jessica and Vean Gregg

Windi and David Grimes

Cherish and Chris Harvell

Rennae Henry

Kelly and Blake Hill

Carol and John Howenstine

Kelly and Erich Janzen

Catherine and Andrew Kaldis

Carol and Stephen King

Amy and Lloyd Kirchner

Kathy and John Long

Huma and Nabeel Manal

Fiona McKone and Francis Giles

Regina and Bert Mellinger

Paula and Mark Mey

Midtown Dentistry–

Jonathan Penchas

Catherine and Robert Orr

Tahia Khan and Shoyab

Panchbhaya

Melissa Coleman and

Robert Pascoe

Mayuri and Dharmesh Patel

Ashley and Sidney Perkins

Kristen and David Ridgway

Alicia Kowalchuk and

Benjamin Saldaña

Daniela and Manolo Sanchez

Farrell and Stuart Saunders

Sherri and Charles Schugart

Brittney and Max Tribble

Stacy and Richard Urso

Whitney and Marc Walsh

Melanie Gray and Mark Wawro

Kim and Chuck Yates

Anita and Alan Ying

Rocio Diaz and Francisco Zorrilla

Jennifer and Fernando Zumbado

I N D I V I D U A L C O N T R I B U T O R SLouise Alexander

Amita and Abid Ali

Nancy and John Almon

Marcela Beltran-Alvarez and

Gus Alvarez

Anonymous (2)

Frank Apollo

Fasiha and Yassir Ashraf

Elenir and Rony Avritscher

Teri and Thomas Bair

Diana Ayala and Juan Balderas

Heather Barkley and

Christopher Hensley

Odette and Clark Bartee

Ashley and David Besselman

Jessica and Ben Braun

Jennifer and Christian Brenckmann

Elena and Alexander Brokhin

Courtney and Bill Bucy

William Bucy

Erin and Brett Busby

Sara and Brent Bushell

Carla Campbell

Elizabeth and Walter Cassidy

Sara and Juan Pablo Cata

Payal and Manny Chana

Belisa Diaz and Maninder Cheema

Deepa Poduval and

Rajesh Chelapurath

Courtney and David Chlebus

Shirley and Yit Nee Chong

Laura and Martin Citardi

Audra French and Arnold Colunga

Natalie and Austin Crossley

Vareen and Dave Cunningham

Jodie and Laith Daik

Natasha Bashir and Wasim Dar

Kelly and Garth Davis

Kelly and James Davis

Jeffrey Davis

Robyn Davis

Candace and Frederick Day

Lissa Debes

Mary and Rony Dev

Maneesha and Manoj Devashish

Carmen and Kiki Dikmen

Betul Oran and Serdar Dinc

Cynthia Duboise

Tina Petersen and John Duboise

Monica and Derek Dunaway

Michael Elam

Erica and Glenn Engle

Kathleen Padden and

Richard Evans

Asmaa and Yaser Faquih

Gina and Charles Fertitta

Hebe Gutierrez and Gabriel Flores

Dominique and Nicholas Florescu

Lori Ann and Michael Foertsch

Rachel and Wayne Franklin

Christa Filak and Martin Fraske

Suzanna Fulcher

Seunghee and Christopher Fuller

Karri and Alfredo Garza

Hannah and Leonard Golub

Erin and Justin Goodman

Cynthia Alonso and Ashok Gowda

David Graeve

Sowmini and Ravi Gudimetla

Silvia and Marcos Guerra

Leashanne and James Guo

Allison and David Hamilton

Holly and Gregory Han

Victoria Hand

Peggy and Virgil Haney

Susan Hardwick-Smith

Lauren Harte and Kevin Hargrove

Sumita Chunchu and Krishnadev

Hariharan

Jennifer Harrison

Vicki and Robert Harvey

Enid and Lance Henderson

Stephanie and Ben Hertzog

Rochelle Tafolla and Richard Hess

Anh Doan and Doanh Hoang

Cynthia and Darren Hubbard

Muriel Brisson-Jackson and

Eric Jackson

Dawn Thomas and Bryan Janda

Komal Shah and Vijay Kale

Jane Greenberg and

Gregory Kaplan

Janet and Mario Kapusta

Shilpa Chunchu and

Douglas Karabasz

Nesrin and Dogan Kartaltepe

Post Oak Donors

Kristen and Matthew Katz

Samantha and Ronald Kegge

Cynthia DeLaney and

Stephan Kinsella

Alyson Koval

Andrew Koval

Vasanthi Jayaraman and

Ramanan Krishnamoorti

Neha Gupta and Ankush Kumar

Teresa Lin and Stephen Lai

Marcel and Matthew Lake

Ranjeeta Bhatia and Vikram Lalwani

Ana Sanchez and Javier Lamuno

Renee and Eric Lancelin

Beth and Matt Lavine

Andrea Lazar

Shelly Leeds-Richter

Kasia Leon-Lubowicz and

Alfonso Leon

Grace and James Lewis

Yan and Haiyang Li

Zoe Littlepage

Nicole and Christopher Lombardo

Lucinda and Javier Loya

Michelle and Thomas Lu

Chikako and Denny Luk

Monica Lopez and

Richard Lyn-Cook

Ana and Joao Maciel

Lumarie Santiago and

Armeen Mahvash

Sara and John Mallon

Jenny and André Marshall

Stacey and Mark Martin

John Martinez

Jessica and Robert Matos

Victoria Matthews

Emily Browning and Adam May

Evelyn Su-McCain and

William McCain

Alison Wong and Blaine McElroy

Bonnye and Robert McGill

Sarah Ellenzweig and Scott McGill

Kelly McNamara

Ami and Mit Mehta

Muriel and Marcel Meicler

Michele Meicler

Melanie and Nathaniel Mendoza

Sara Jurney and Todd Mensing

Jessica and Philipp Meyer

Lorena and Pietro Milazzo

Jamie and Michael Miranda

The Post Oak Dads Club

Pat and Bill Mitchell

Nandita Gupta and Vikas Mittal

Rufina Sunesara and

Shehzad Momin

Shanell and Walker Moody

Quianta and Demango Moore

Mary and John Moore

Jenny and Stanford Moore

Alana Kennedy-Nasser and

Dean Nasser

Kavitha and Sattva Neelapu

Mobeen and Khuram Nizami

Amy and Keith Norman

Kevin O’Gorman

Wendy and Meir O’Hanna

Amy O’Neill

Heather and Brenden O’Neill

Avit and David Pactor

Assel and Antonio Palmeirim

Sharon Engelstein and

Aaron Parazette

Pragnya Patel and Kaushik Parekh

Meredith and Mark Parenti

Jenny Mohr and Matthew Parker

Renee Parker

Jaana Porra and Michael Parks

Stelli and Todd Parsapour

Nicole and Anders Pedersen

Carole Dickinson and

Val Perkins

Judy and William Peterson

Anh Nguyen and Victor Phan

Lisa and Patrick Phelps

Jacqueline and Robert Phillpott

Teresa and Carlos Pinto Coelho

Nancy and Michael

Polychronopoulos

Amy and Thomas Pugh

Elizabeth and Adam Pulaski

Susie Dunn and Larry Rachleff

Laura and Thomas Rahlfs

Paula and Charlie Randall

Amber Luong and Terry Ray

Karen and Ken Redding

Elizabeth Reese

Heidi and Bryan Rosenstrauch

Andrea and Anthony Russo

Cristina Gracias and Gabriel Salinas

Suzan and Jeremy Samuels

Gena Scurry

Sheel and Max Seewann

Zeenath and Arjun Selvakumar

Erica and Vadim Sherman

Jennifer and Robert Shults

Jenny and Michael Siegel

Ariana and Steve Smetana

Vrushali Deshpande and

Aditya Soman

Rona and Michael Sonabend

Valerie and Michael Sonsino

Asha and Gaurav Sood

Evy Pappas and Nickolas Spiliotis

Mary and Garland Stephens

Celine and Richard Stetzer

Felicia and Rafael Stone

Ellen and Dale Straub

Julie and Jeffrey Streich

Tish Stringer

Erin and Thomas Stus

Julie and Jason Styles

Sarah and Jami Sweeney

Christina and Isaac Tapia

Donna and Paul Tassinario

Nikayla and Aaron Thomas

Stephanie and Robert Tobor

Jennifer and Sam Touchet

Natalia and Angel Urreta

Karen and Raul Valdez

Michael Vaughn

Aparajitha and Amit Verma

Claudia Macias and Alex Villegas

Khanhuyen and Huy Vinh

Valerie and Jay Volpi

Catherine Than and Hoang Quan Vu

Shalini Mukhi and Nicolaus

Wagner-Bartak

Sabina and Mani Walia

Ngoc Le and Jason Walls

Mary and Robert Warwick

Stephanie and Stanley Watowich

Misty and Tyson Weihs

Jennifer Wheler

Lisa Gubbels and Robert Wingo

Susan and Michael Wong

Terry Fisher and Karl Wygant

Samantha and Charles Wykoff

Carlie and Richard Yoo

Allison and Gustavo Zapata

Michelle Luo and Hui Zhang

Post Oak Donors

E M P L O Y E E SAshley and Herbert Addison

Irma Alarcon

Nazario Anastacio

Mirna Andrade-Salgado and

José Salgado

Alma Armendariz

Tamara and Zach Basham

Steve Beeman

Lauren Bergeron

Sarah Berggren

Vivian and Henry Blum

Ninfa Bridges

Deidre and Patrick Brooks

Dinah Chetrit

Rachel Chetrit

Anthony Cisneros

Danielle Dalsey

Sandra DeLeon

Elizabeth DiCesare

Elizabeth Dickson

Rebecca Duran

Crosby Easterling

Saida Fagala

Asenet Garcia

Lilia Garza

Amy and Jeremy Grisbee

Kim Harrison

Jessica Jackson

Orly and Yoel Kluk

Christina Kopanidis-Cantu and

Jorge Cantu

Jamie and Andrew Lee

Lupe Lopez

Robin and Jeff Lunsford

Sunila Madiman

Manuel Mejia

Lindsay Mistretta

Monica Moreno

Sarah and James Moudry

Alicia Mouton

Katherine Nava

Debbie Nickerson

Andrea Novak

Alexis Offner

Emily Hansen and Kyle O’Heron

Beth Olitzki

Diana and Albert Onofre

Patricia Onofre

Janet Ott

Julie Parraguirre

Jenna Pel

Christine Peterson

Amanda Phelps-Smith

Maya and Errol Pinto

Benjamin Preston

Shelley and James Quillin

Celia Rodriguez

Jessica and Hugo Samano

Elisa Schmidt

Shonali Jacob and Jeff Schneider

Lori Scovill

Lauren Simkins

Emily Sloan

Monica Lundeen and Michael Smith

Mirani Smith

Simran and Manish Sood

Nina Strane

Anita Taj Mahmood

Diego Tax

Amanda Tee

Jamie Thompson

Jeni and Matt Thompson

Phylis Tomlinson

Tamara and Robert Townsend

Kat Treviño

Mark Tucker

Courtney Vance

James Winslow

Miriam Winton

Phoebe Yeager

Shawn Zhou

F O U N D A T I O N SD. Kent & Linda C. Anderson

Foundation

Ray C. Fish Foundation

Houston Endowment Inc.

The Rochlis Family Foundation

Silicon Valley Community

Foundation

C O R P O R A T I O N SBank of America

Chevron Matching Gift Program

ConocoPhillips Company

HP YourCause, LLC

Kinder Morgan

Lands’ End

Safeway Inc.

Shell Oil Company Foundation

Susser Petroleum Operating

Company

Target

Starstruck–The 2015 PostOak Biennial GalaChaired by Laura Citardi and

Whitney Walsh

U N D E R W R I T E R SBest PictureLaura and Martin Citardi





Sunday Riley Eames and

Bruce Eames




Kim and Chuck Yates

ProducersBrittney and Max Tribble


Carmen and Kiki Dikmen



Jordan and Dylan Seff

Jenee and Nick Stefanakis

DirectorsBBVA Compass

Vicki and Gislar Donnenberg

Alicia and Garrett Gordy

Windi and David Grimes

National Oilwell Varco / Mary Birk

Melissa Coleman and Rob Pascoe

The Salners Family Foundation


Anita and Alan Ying



Bailey Dalton-Binion and

Greg Binion

Courtney and Bill Bucy


Stephanie and Ben Hertzog,

Shanell and Walker Moody

Sara and Juan P. Catá


Christina Gracia and Gabriel Salinas

Marisol and Fernando Santacruz

Rocio Diaz Sesma and

Francisco Zorrilla

Jennifer and Clifton Chavis

Kim and Michael Callahan

Dr. Shelly Leeds-Richter


Erin and Tom Stus



Erica Sherman and

Dr. Vadim Sherman


Michelle and Ken Zagorski

Robyn Davis

Rennae Henry

Cynthia Delaney-Kinsella and

Stephan Kinsella

Paula and Mark Mey




Jamie and Andy Lee


Daniela and Manuel Sanchez



Carole Dickinson and Val Perkins

Suzanne and Bruce Winfrey

Jessica and Philipp Meyer

Kim Proler

Mrs. Susana Stern and

Dr. Juan Stern


Amber Luong and Terry Ray



ActorsShonali and Rakesh Agrawal

Frost Bank


Midtown Dentistry / Dr. Jonathan

Penchas and Mrs. Jennifer

Penchas

1 541


Drs. Muriel and Marcel Meicler

Dorothy Lam Wong

Jennifer and Christian Brenckmann

Cari and Tyler Gill









Cynthia Alonso Gowda and

Ashok Gowda



Jennifer and Bob Shults


Jane Greenberg and Gregory Kaplan

Michelle and Tom Lu


Katie and Bob Orr



Ami and Mit Mehta



ScreenwritersBank of America

Anne Singleton and Jack Douglas

Gensler



The Kapusta Family

Drs. Alicia Kowalchuk and

Benjamin Saldaña

Kasia and Alfonso Leon-Lubowicz


Monica Lopez and Richard Lyn-Cook


Jacqueline Pourciau and

Robert Phillpott


Thompson & Horton LLP

Musical ScoreLouise and Henry Bergeron

Justice Brett and Erin Busby

Ceera Investments, LLC

Forney Construction Company



Yan Zhang and Haiyang Li

Kathy and John Long


Ngoc Le and Jason Walls

Lifetime Achievement Award DonationsVicki and Gislar Donnenberg–

Dr. James Quillin

Kristen and David Ridgway–

Simran Sood and Amanda Tee

Sterling Associates–

All Faculty & Staff

Live Auction–Classroom Project WinnersSabina and Mani Walia

Shonali and Rakesh Agrawal







Melissa Coleman and Rob Pascoe



Shelly Leeds-Richter

Sunday Riley and Bruce Eames

Tori DeCora




Kim and Chuck Yates


In addition we offer thanks to allthose who contributed to and participated in our silent auctionand classroom donation collection.

BIGWork Capital CampaignChaired by Melanie Gray and

Mark WawroHonorary Chairs: Laurie and

Leland FondrenFamily Chairs: Anita and

Alan Ying

I N D I V I D U A L C O N T R I B U T O R SAshley and Herbert Addison

Sushila and Durga Agrawal

Shonali and Rakesh Agrawal

Charlotte and Carlos Aguilar

Irma Alarcon

Sadia and Zuqair Ali

Kay Allen

Nancy and John Almon

Marcela Beltran-Alvarez and

Gus Alvarez

Mirna Andrade-Salgado and

José Salgado

Anonymous (3)

Alma Armendariz

Terri and Chris Armstrong

Fasiha Kanwal and Yassir Ashraf

Tori Aumann

Elenir and Rony Avritscher

Rosa and Carlos Ayala

Diana and Juan Balderas

Jessica and Darrell Barger

Heather Barkley and

Christopher Hensley

Odette and Clark Bartee

Tamara and Zach Basham

Esha Rav and Visveshwar

Baskaran

Mario Beltran

Louisa and Henry Bergeron

Lauren Bergeron

Jeannine and David Bergt

Bailey Dalton-Binion and Greg Binion

Mary Birk

Vivian Blum

Beverly Bontrager

Greg Borski and Phillip Bowden

Pam and Bill Boyar

Margaret and James Bragg

Jessica and Ben Braun

Ninfa Bridges

Elena and Alexander Brokhin

Deidre and Patrick Brooks

Sandy Burckle

Post Oak Donors

Erin and Brett Busby

Betty and R. J. Caballero

Reyes Lizarraga and

Miguel Calatayud

Wendy Calise

Kimberly and Michael Callahan

Carla Campbell

Christina Kopanidis-Cantu and

Jorge Cantu

Elizabeth and Walter Cassidy

Sara and Juan Pablo Cata

Harpal and Harminder Chana

Payal and Manny Chana

Jennifer and Clifton Chavis

Belisa Diaz and Maninder Cheema

Deepa Poduval and

Rajesh Chelapurath

Dinah Chetrit

Rachel Chetrit

Courtney and David Chlebus

Jane Davis and John Ciliege

Laura and Martin Citardi

Jennifer and Scott Clearman

Casie and Andrew Cobos

Audra French and Arnold Colunga

Karyn and Charles Crisp

Leslie and Myles Culhane

Vareen and Dave Cunningham

Arlene Davis


Kelly and James Davis

Jeffrey Davis

Robyn Davis

Ivy and Samuel Davis

Candace and Frederick Day

Robert Debes

Sandra DeLeon

Mary and Rony Dev

Maneesha and Manoj Devashish

Betul Oran and Serdar Dinc

Victoria and Gislar Donnenberg

Anne Singleton and Jack Douglas

Lisa Heyden and Stephen Douglas


Sunday Riley and Bruce Eames

Michael Elam

Emily and Robert Emmett


Kathleen Padden and Richard Evans

Saida Fagala

Asmaa and Yaser Faquih

Hebe Gutierrez and Gabriel Flores


Lori Ann and Michael Foertsch

Laurie and Leland Fondren


Rachel and Wayne Franklin




Karri and Alfredo Garza

Lilia Garza

Cari and Tyler Gill


Elizabeth and Joel Gooch





Sowmini and Ravi Gudimetla



Holly and Greg Han

Susan Hardwick-Smith

Lauren and Kevin Hargrove

Sumita Chunchu and

Krishnadev Hariharan

Jennifer Harrison


Vicki and Robert Harvey

Debbie and Todd Henderson

Enid and Lance Henderson

Joseph Henry

Rennae Henry

Stephanie and Ben Hertzog

Rochelle Tafolla and Richard Hess


Anh Doan and Doanh Hoang


Cynthia and Darren Hubbard

Lady and David Huffstutler

Muriel Brisson-Jackson and

Eric Jackson

Jessica Jackson

Victoria and Randall Jamail



Catherine and Andrew Kaldis

Komal Shah and Vijay Kale

Jane Greenberg and Gregory Kaplan

Janet and Mario Kapusta

Shilpa Chunchu and

Douglas Karabasz

Nesrin and Dogan Kartaltepe

Kristen and Matthew Katz

Samantha and Ronald Kegge

Patricia and Keith Kilgore

Linda King


Cynthia DeLaney and

Stephan Kinsella

Lili and Hans Kirchner


Orly and Yoel Kluk

Andrew Koval

Vasanthi Jayaraman and

Ramanan Krishnamoorti

Neha Gupta and Ankush Kumar

Teresa Lin and Stephen Lai

Marcel and Matthew Lake


Renee and Eric Lancelin

Tim Langenkamp

Beth and Matt Lavine

Andrea Lazar

Susan and Timothy Leverenz

Grace and James Lewis

Yan Zhang and Haiyang Li

Zoe Littlepage

Renee and Michael Locklar


Kathy and John Long

Lupe Lopez


Michelle and Thomas Lu

Helene and Darrell Lubel

Chikako and Denny Luk

Sheung Wong and Gary Luk

Robin and Jeff Lunsford

Monica Lopez and Richard Lyn-Cook

Winnie and Michel John Maloof

Harold Malveaux




Jessica and Robert Matos

Victoria Matthews

Emily Browning and Adam May


Sarah Ellenzweig and Scott McGill

Alicia and Christopher McIntosh

Rhian and Lane McKinney

Ami and Mit Mehta

Muriel and Marcel Meicler

Michele Meicler

Manuel Mejia


Melanie and Nathaniel Mendoza

Paula and Mark Mey

Lorena and Pietro Milazzo

Pamela Griffin-Minnich and

Gene Minnich



Quianta and Demango Moore


Monica Moreno

Renee and Milton Morris

Quenby and Paul Mott

Sharon and George Moudry

Alicia Mouton

Tara and Alex Neblett

Kavitha and Sattva Neelapu

Debbie Nickerson

Mobeen Choudri and

Khuram Nizami

Andrea Novak

Kevin O’Gorman


Emily Hansen and Kyle O’Heron

Beth Olitzki

Amy O’Neill

Heather and Brenden O’Neill

Diana and Albert Onofre

Catherine and Robert Orr

Avit and David Pactor

Tahia Khan and Shoyab Panchbhaya

Sharon Engelstein and

Aaron Parazette


Meredith and Mark Parenti


Jaana Porra and Michael Parks

Julie Parraguirre


Melissa Coleman and Robert Pascoe


Nicole and Anders Pedersen

Jenna Pel

Jennifer and Jonathan Penchas

Paige Penchas

Carole Dickinson and Val Perkins

Stephanie and Bill Perkins

Ashley and Sidney Perkins

Christine Peterson

Judy and William Peterson

Lisa and Patrick Phelps

Amanda Phelps-Smith

1 541

Jacqueline and Robert Phillpott

Teresa and Carlos Pinto Coelho

Maya and Errol Pinto

Kristy and Hock Guan Png

Kelly and Anthony Policastro

Nancy and Michael

Polychronopoulos

Monica Pope

Amy and Thomas Pugh

Joy and Richard Pulaski

Shelley and James Quillin

Fyza and Athar Qureshi

Susie and Larry Rachleff

Laura and Thomas Rahlfs

Paula and Charlie Randall

Karen and Ken Redding

Elizabeth Reese

Bill Richter


Celia Rodriguez


Jennifer Norten and Mark Routbort

Andrea and Anthony Russo

Alicia Kowalchuk and

Benjamin Saldaña

Jessica and Hugo Samano



Marisol and Jose Fernando

Santacruz


Kate and Greg Scheinman

Shonali Jacob and Jeff Schneider


Gena Scurry


Christianne Melanson and

Durwin Sharp


Jenny and Michael Siegel

Elizabeth Silveira

Emily Sloan


Monica Lundeen and Michael Smith

Mirani Smith

Vrushali Deshpande and

Aditya Soman

Rona and Michael Sonabend


Asha and Gaurav Sood

Simran and Manish Sood

Evy Pappas and Nickolas Spiliotis


Celine and Richard Stetzer


Nina Strane

Ellen and Dale Straub

Julie and Jeffrey Streich

Tish Stringer

Erin and Thomas Stus


Sarah and Jami Sweeney

Anita Taj Mahmood



Jeni and Matt Thompson

Kelly and David Tobin

Phylis Tomlinson

Jennifer and Sam Touchet

Tamara and Robert Townsend

Kat Treviño


Ginya and Clayton Trier

Mark Tucker

Natalia and Angel Urreta

Stacy and Richard Urso

Michael Vaughn

Aparajitha and Amit Verma

Claudia and Alex Villegas

Khanhuyen and Huy Vinh



Sabina and Mani Walia

Ngoc and Jason Walls


Monique Walsh

Geraldine and Louis Waters

Stephanie and Stanley Watowich



Emily and Adam Weinstein

Vallette and Russell Windham

Lisa Gubbels and Robert Wingo

James Winslow

Miriam Winton

Susan Shi and Michael Wong

Constance and Jeffrey Woodman

Terry Fisher and Karl Wygant


Kim and Chuck Yates

Anita and Alan Ying


Michelle and Kenneth Zagorski

Michelle Luo and Hui Zhang

Rocio Diaz and Francisco Zorrilla

Jennifer and Fernando Zumbado

F O U N D A T I O N SD. Kent & Linda C. Anderson

Foundation

The Brown Foundation, Inc.

The Cullen Foundation

The F.R. Apollo Foundation

Ray C. Fish Foundation

The George and Mary Josephine

Hamman Foundation

Houston Endowment Inc.


C O R P O R A T I O N SBank of America

Blue Teddy LLC

Chevron

ConocoPhillips Company

Halliburton

HP YourCause, LLC

National Oilwell Varco

Shell Oil Company Foundation

Other Contributions

Barnes & Noble

BHP Billiton


Ben Preston


Gifts In Kind

Asset Management Advisors–

Lynn Mathre

Pamela Griffin-Minnich and

Gene Minnich

Paige Penchas

PostNet–Jorge Cantu



Phylis Tomlinson

The financial stability of the Post Oak School grew during the 2014–2015 school year as we en-

rolled our third class of ninth graders in The Post Oak High School. Our audited financial statements

for the 2013–2014 school year resulted in an increase in net assets of $1,307,157. The unaudited

results for the 2014–2015 school year show an increase in net assets for all funds of $1,285,231.

The School experienced a significant enrollment increase on the main campus to 434 in 2014–

2015 from 414 students the previous year and an enrollment of 35 students in the High School.

The overall financial success for the 2014–2015 School year was driven by positive budget

variances in the operating budget, with a record setting Gala as well as donations of over $1.5

million to our capital campaign. The School continued to rebuild cash reserves during 2014–2015.

The School maintains a strong working capital position throughout the year due to the prompt

collection of tuition and fees in advance of the need for funds to operate the School. In keeping

with our commitment to the Post Oak School Endowment the school was able to transfer in $34,750

at the close of the 2014–2015 school year.

The investment policy of the Post Oak School Endowment directs a long-term investment

approach. The current asset allocation target is 20 percent cash and fixed income, and 80 percent

equities to maximize long-term returns. More than 80 percent of the portfolio is invested in low

cost institutional asset class mutual funds managed by Dimensional Fund Advisors. The combined

portfolio experienced a 2.2 percent investment gain for the one year ended June 30, 2015 and

99.8 percent since inception. The market value of the endowment accounts were $1,872,387

at June 30, 2015.

During the summer of 2014, the school completed a master plan for both campuses with

assistance of Gensler Architects and Forney Partnership. A building committee was formed

consisting of board members, key administrators and several parents to facilitate the project. The

architectural firm of Gensler was selected to continue work on the design phase and to com plete

the construction drawings for both the new high school building on the Museum District campus

and the renovation of the Bissonnet campus. As work progressed, a panel of construction firms

was interviewed and Mission Construction was contracted to build both projects. In August 2015,

the school secured the Museum District campus building permit from the City of Houston and

broke ground for the new high school building. Construction on Bissonnet campus will begin

in June 2016 and we have initiated the permitting process with the City of Bellaire.

Tax exempt bond financing in the amount of $8.5 million has been secured through BBVA

Compass Bank at a very favorable interest rate. This will allow us to refinance our current mortgage

on the Museum District property at a lower rate and to supplement the capital campaign for

construc tion costs on both campuses. A portion of this loan will be termed out at the end of

the project.

The School’s continued fiscal discipline as well as donor generosity has allowed us to expand

our world renowned Montessori program to support students from birth through the completion

of High School as well as the training of Montessori teachers.

2014–2015 Financial Report

Assets

Total Cash and Investments $ 4,617,216 $ — $ 1,872,388 $ 6,489,604

Net Student Receivables 89,406 — — 89,406

Other Pledges and Receivables Net 4,500 1,222,103 — 1,226,603

Prepaid Expenses and Other Deposits 167,332 — — 167,332

Interfund Payables/Receivables 4,686 859,083 — 863,769

Total Current Assets 4,883,140 2,081,186 1,872,388 8,836,714

Total Fixed Assets 10,870,420 — — 10,870,420

Total Assets $ 15,753,560 $ 2,081,186 $ 1,872,388 $ 19,707,134

Liabilities

Accounts Payable $ 328,952 $ — $ — $ 328,952

Accrued Salaries and Benefits 232,232 — — 232,232

Deferred Income 1,679,069 — — 1,679,069

Interfund Payables/Receivables 859,083 — 4,686 863,769

Other Accrued Expenses 86,231 — — 86,231

Notes Payable 2,234,780 — — 2,234,780

Total Liabilities $ 5,420,347 $ — $ 4,686 $ 5,425,033

Fund Balance

Net Assets $ 10,333,213 $ 2,081,186 $ 1,867,702 $ 14,282,101

Total Liabilities and Fund Balance $ 15,753,560 $ 2,081,186 $ 1,872,388 $ 19,707,134

Revenue

Tuition Based Revenues $ 8,653,311 $ — $ — $ 8,653,311 74.7%

Other Hard Income 701,074 — — 701,074 6.1%

Other Income (Loss) 244 — 20,502 20,746 0.2%

Annual Giving 278,159 — — 278,159 2.4%

Special Events (Net) 381,781 21,350 — 403,131 3.5%

All Other Giving (Net) 8,000 1,516,684 — 1,524,684 13.1%

Total Revenue 10,022,569 1,538,034 20,502 11,581,105 100%

Net Assets Released from Restriction 1,660,157 (1,660,157) — —

Total Revenue $ 11,682,726 $ (122,123) $ 20,502 $ 11,581,105

Expenses

Salaries and Benefits $ 6,046,312 $ — $ — $ 6,046,312 58.7%

Financial Aid 969,285 — — 969,285 9.4%

Other Program Expenses 972,337 — — 972,337 9.4%

Plant Expenses 1,529,168 — — 1,529,168 14.9%

General Administration 767,222 8,662 6,190 782,074 7.6%

Total Expenses 10,284,324 8,662 6,190 10,299,176 100%

Transfers In/Out (34,750) — 34,750 —

Increase in Net Assets $ 1,363,652 $ (130,785) $ 49,062 $ 1,281,929

Income Statement

Consolidated Balance Sheet

Operating Fund Temporary Restricted Endowment 2014–2015 Total Percent

General Fund Temporary Restricted Endowment 2014–2015 Total

2014-2015 Trustees

Rakesh Agrawal

Melissa Coleman

Adam Forman

Blair Garrou

Barrett Green

Windi Grimes

Mario Kapusta

Lloyd Kirchner, chair

John Long, president

Harold Malveaux (on leave)

Bert Mellinger

Vikas Mittal

Katie Orr

Jaana Porra

Manuel Sanchez

Marc Walsh

Alan Ying

T R U T E E S E M E R T IFrank Apollo

Leland Fondren

Melanie Gray

Robert Harvey

Pat Mitchell

Post Oak Parent Association

(POPA) ChairsPaula Mey

Suzan Samuels

2015 Starstruck Biennial Gala ChairsLaura Citardi

Whitney Walsh

Post Oak Fund ChairsCarol and John Howenstine

POPA Welcome DinnerJennifer Chavis

Alison Wong

Field Day ChairsStacey Martin

Valerie Sonsino

Book Fair ChairsHuma Manal

Zeenath Selvakumar

Dads ClubMichael Foertsch

Room Parents

Tamara BashamKim Proler

Dinah ChetritJohn Duboise

Danielle DalseyLori Ann Foertsch

Kasia Leon-Lubowicz

Emily HansenKelly Davis

Jennifer Wheler

Orly KlukHannah Golub

Deidre LodrigCari Gill

Renee Morris

Sarah MoudryErica Sherman

Debbie NickersonJennifer Chavis

Julie ParraguirreJennifer Brenckmann

Jennifer Wheler

Errol PintoAmy Kirchner

Maya PintoShonali Agrawal

Beth SmithMichelle Lu

Stacey Martin

Simran SoodErin Busby

Vareen Cunningham

Anita TajBelisa Diaz

Natalia Urreta

Tamara TownsendLeashanne Guo

Miriam WintonNikayla Thomas

Phoebe YeagerSeunghee Fuller

Middle SchoolKatie Orr

9th GradeCarol King

10th GradeJennifer Chavis

11th GradeTerri Armstrong

BIGWork Capital Campaign

ChairsMelanie Gray and Mark Wawro

Honorary ChairsLaurie and Leland Fondren

Family ChairsAnita and Alan Ying

Community VolunteerPaula Mey

Post Oak Fund Class Captains

Tamara BashamJackie Phillpott

Danielle DalseyTodd Parsapour

Emily HansenGina Fertitta

Orly KlukJulie Styles

Deidre LodrigLisa Heyden and Steve Douglas

Sarah MoudrySamantha Wykoff

Debbie NickersonStephan Kinsella

Julie ParraguirreMayuri Patel

Errol PintoAbbe Forman

Maya PintoSuzan Samuels

P O SCommunity

Beth SmithShelley Quillin

Simran SoodKim Yates

Anita TajDiana Ayala

Tamara TownsendCarmen Dikmen

Miriam WintonEvelyn Su-McCain

Phoebe YeagerCatherine Than

Middle SchoolJanet and Mario Kapusta

9th GradeHolly and Greg Han

10th GradeStan Watowich

11th GradeRegina Mellinger

Administration

Admission OfficeVivian Blum

Linda King

Alexis Offner

After School Enrichment ProgramMark Tucker

Business OfficeRobin Lunsford

Alicia Mouton

Christine Peterson

Development OfficeChristina Kopanidis-Cantu

Jessica Jackson

Elisa Schmidt

Division DirectorsMirani Smith, Early Childhood

Jeff Schneider, Elementary

Jami Sweeney, Middle School

James Moudry, High School

FacilitiesMatt Thompson

Anthony Cisneros

Manuel Mejia

Nazario Anastacio

Diego Tax

Front OfficeDebbie Henderson

Ashley Addison

Head of SchoolJohn Long

Summer SchoolMiriam Winton

TechnologyMirna Andrade-Salgado

Steve Beeman

Faculty

Young Children’s CommunityMirani Smith, Early Childhood

Director

Deidre Lodrig, Half-Day

YCC Teacher

Lilia Garza, Assistant

Sarah Moudry, Half-Day

YCC Teacher

Diana Onofre, Assistant

Phoebe Yeager, Full-Day

YCC Teacher

Elizabeth DiCesare, Assistant

Marcela Martinez, Assistant

Lauren Bergeron, Assistant

Primary DepartmentMirani Smith, Early Childhood

Director

Tamara Basham, Primary Teacher

Rebecca Duran, Assistant/Intern

Danielle Dalsey, Primary Teacher

Alma Armendariz, Assistant

Emily Hansen, Primary Teacher

Celia Rodriguez, Assistant

Tamara Townsend, Primary Teacher

Elizabeth Matthews, Assistant/Intern

Julie Parraguirre, Primary Teacher

Nina Strane, Assistant

Miriam Winton, Primary Teacher

Monica Moreno, Assistant/Intern

Dinah Chetrit, Primary Home

Environment Teacher

Alma Armendariz, Before-school

Assistant

Nina Strane, Before-school Assistant

Lauren Simkins, Assistant

Kathy Guani Nava, Assistant

Deidre Lodrig, Transition Guide

Lilia Garza, Afternoon Assistant

Elementary DepartmentJeff Schneider, Elementary Director

Orly Kluk, Lower Elementary Teacher

Lindsay Mistretta, Assistant/Intern

Anita Taj, Lower Elementary Teacher

Lupe Lopez, Assistant

Debbie Nickerson, Upper

Elementary Teacher

Sandra De Leon, Assistant/Intern

Beth Smith, Lower Elementary

Teacher

Jamie Thompson, Assistant/Intern

Errol Pinto, Upper Elementary

Teacher

Jessica Samano, Assistant

Maya Pinto, Upper Elementary

Teacher

Irma Alarcon, Assistant

Simran Sood, Lower Elementary

Teacher

Amanda Tee, Assistant

Middle SchoolJami Sweeney, Middle School

Director & Science Teacher

Monica Lundeen, Mathematics

Teacher

Kathy Long, Occupations,

Community Service

Sunila Madiman, Occupations,

Community Service

& Science Teacher

Courtney Vance, Humanities

& Language Arts Teacher

Diana Lopez, Aftercare Specialist

High SchoolJames Moudry, High School Director

Sarah Beggeren, Music Specialist

Jonathan Gonzales, Theater

Specialist

Jeremy Grisbee, Math Teacher

Kim Harrison, Language Arts

Teacher

Jamie Lee, History & Social

Sciences Teacher

Andrea Novak, Spanish Specialist

Janet Ott, Science Teacher

James Quillin, Humanities

& Language Arts Teacher

Lori Scovill, High School Counselor

Amanda Phelps-Smith, College

Counselor

Emily Sloan, Visual Arts Specialist

Shoulong Zhou, Chinese Specialist

Elementary Before & After CareAsenet Garcia, Director

Jenna Pel, Director

Amani Muhwash, Assistant

SpecialistsNinfa Bridges, Spanish Specialist /

Full-Time Substitute

Rachel Chetrit, Full-Time Substitute

Crosby Easterling, Full-Time

Substitute

Cory Eckert, Librarian

Saida Fagala, Art Specialist

Patricia Onofre, Spanish Specialist

Phylis Tomlinson, School Counselor

Kat Trevino, Physical Fitness

Specialist

Mark Tucker, Physical Fitness

Specialist & Bearkats Coach

James Winslow, Music Specialist

Post Oak alumni populate top colleges and universities throughoutthe state, the nation, and abroad.

Alfred University

American University

American University of Paris

Art Institute of Boston

Art Institute of Chicago

Art Institute of Houston

Auburn University*

Austin College

Bates College

Baylor University

Belmont University

Boston University

Bristol University

Brooks Institute of Photography

Brown University

Bucknell University

California College of the Arts

Carnegie Mellon University

Case Western Reserve University*

Chapman University

Christopher Newport University

Clemson University

Colby College

College of Charleston

Colorado College

Colorado School of Mines

Columbia University

Cranbrook Academy of Art

Dartmouth College

Denison University

Drew University

Drexel University

Duke University*

Eckerd College

Elon University

Emerson College

Evergreen State College

Fashion Institute of Technology

Fordham University

Furman University

Georgetown University

Georgia Tech

George Washington University

Gettysburg College

Goucher College

Hampshire College

High Point University

Ithaca College

Juniata College

Kansas University

Lafayette College

Lewis & Clark College

Lone Star Community College

Louisiana State University

Loyola Marymount University*

Loyola University, New Orleans

Macalester College*

Middlebury College

Millsaps College

New York University

Northeastern University

Northwestern University

Notre Dame University (Honors)

Oberlin College

Oklahoma State University*

Pace University

Pepperdine University

Princeton University

Purdue University*

Randolph College

Rhodes College

Rice University

Richmond University

Rollins College

San Diego State University

San Francisco Conservatory

of Music

Santa Clara University

Sarah Lawrence College

Savannah College of Art

and Design

Seton Hall University

Sewanee–The University

of the South

Skidmore College

Smith College

Southern Methodist University

Southwestern University

Stanford University

St. Andrews University

St. Edwards University

St. John’s College

Stonehill College

Syracuse University

Texas A&M University

Texas Christian University

Texas Christian University (Honors)

Texas State University*

Texas Tech University

The Citadel

The College of William and Mary

Trinity University

Tulane University

University College of London

University of Alabama

University of Arkansas

University of Arizona

University of California

University of Chicago

University of Colorado–Boulder

University of Delaware

University of Georgia

University of Houston*

University of Indiana

University of Kansas

University of Kentucky

University of Massachusetts–

Amherst

University of Miami

University of Michigan

University of Mississippi

University of New Orleans

University of North Carolina

at Chapel Hill

University of Notre Dame

University of Oklahoma

University of Portland

University of the Pacific

University of Richmond

University of St. Andrews

University of South Carolina

University of Southern California

University of Texas–Austin*

University of Tulsa

University of Vermont

University of Virginia*

U.S. Naval Academy

Vanderbilt University

Wake Forest University

Washington University in St. Louis

West Point

Wesleyan University

Whittier College

* Denotes college acceptances for Post Oak graduates

E D UCollege Admissions

The Post Oak School 4600 Bissonnet Bellaire, Texas 77401 www.postoakschool.org

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