Operating Match

As we look to the future, we are guided by our five-year strategic plan, adopted in June 2016, which outlines our goals and priorities – growth, sustainability and preservation.

The Operational Match, $50,000 per year for three years, is a gift and challenge from a discerning Lighthouse friend who saw an opportunity to help better position our adolescent school during a defining moment in our history. The donor is familiar with our strategic goals and invested in our vision with a gift to our operating budget that will impact three key areas:

• Faculty Mentoring – added support and professional development through the hiring of two Teacher Mentors and Advisors to aid curriculum development.
• Classroom Support - increased opportunities for individualized instruction with the aid of a Teaching Assistant.
• Administrative Support – added support through the addition of a fifth member to our small administrative team, allowing us to restructure responsibilities and prepare for an imminent Capital Campaign.

A direct result of the Operational Match is the hiring of ‘retired’ Nantucket Lighthouse School Upper Primary teacher, Sandy Mitchell, and NLS Co-Founder, Lizbet Carroll Fuller. A beloved educator of 30 years, Sandy retired as an Upper Primary classroom teacher this past June. Through funding from the Match, Sandy has been rehired as a part-time Teacher Mentor and Advisor for Literacy Planning and Development. Sandy, a certified reading specialist, has been working with Lighthouse children of all ages. (Read more about her work here.)

With a similar charge, Nantucket Lighthouse School Co-Founder Lizbet Carroll Fuller has been formally hired on a part-time basis to support our Middle School program though curriculum development, integrated art instruction and faculty mentoring.

Lastly, the Operational Match has allowed us to hire Allison Gayo as a teaching assistant, supporting faculty and students in our Rugged Road classrooms, and Alicia Lynn, as our Office Manager.

The Operational Match’s impact is palpable, reaching our entire community – Lighthouse faculty and staff, parents and students. We are extremely grateful to our anonymous donor whose generosity has better positioned our school for success during this exciting next chapter. By reaching appropriate staffing levels, we are able to align Nantucket Lighthouse School with a strategic plan and vision of growth, sustainability and preservation.

Support this vision of growth, susatainability and preservation with a tax-deductible contribution to our Operating Match. With your help, we can double the impact of this Match.