2009-2010 Post Oak School Annual Report

the po

st oak schoo

l

an

nual report

Today I heard from a Post Oak parent who told me abouthis almost-ten-year-old daughter:

lyssa has been taking

swimming lessons since she was five years old. At the beginning of the

summer she set a goal to swim an uninterrupted mile at the lap pool. Last

Saturday she did it: one mile plus one lap.

She was an instant celebrity among the adult swimmers — many of

whom are unable to match her accomplishment.

One person, who has been a teacher, principal and superintendent at

a local ISD, asked me which school Alyssa attends. When I said Post Oak

(Montessori) School, her response was, ‘Those Montessori childrenare our future, our hope. They always do more.’

With this lady’s experience, she should know! Montessori children

are incredible and this experience further confirms it. Thank you and your

staff for all you do.— Mario and Janet

“They always do more” — out of sheer exuberance; the joy of ac-

complishment; the satisfaction that comes from setting a challenging goal

and reaching it, or exceeding it. Who set the goal of swimming a mile?

Alyssa herself. And why did she swim one lap more than a mile? She

was working to please herself and no one else.

In the classroom we often see students complete projects whose

scope is well beyond what any reasonable teacher would dare assign.

Montessori kids always do more.

Why did this Post Oak couple, and the public school administrator

credit Montessori education for its contribution to Alyssa’s achievement?

After all, Post Oak does not have a swim team.

2010 Post Oak Fund

The Leadership Circle

Donors who generously contributed

gifts of and above to the Post

Oak Fund are members of The Post

Oak Fund Leadership Circle.

Cynthia and Bucky Allshouse

Beth and Frank Apollo

Laura and Matthew Baird

Jamie and James Broach

Kim and Michael Callahan

Sherry and Lewis Chandler

Gina Li and Leon Chen

Anne Singleton and Jack Douglas

Laurie and Leland Fondren

Abbe and Adam Forman

Eva and Enrique Gasca

Raka and Jay Gohel

Windi and David Grimes

Martha and Mike Grimes

Colleen and Rudy Haddad

Vicki and Bob Harvey

Rennae and Joe Henry

Carol and John Howenstine

Jeanne-Mey Sun and Tom Janssens

Jane Greenberg and Gregory Kaplan

Ashley and Robert Leder

Ann and Kelvin Lee

Vivian and Kenneth Lee

Erica and Benjy Levit

Renée and Michael Locklar

Kathy and John Long

Lucinda and Javier Loya

Gina and Carl Luna

D'arcy and Robert Madden

Christine and Louis Messina

Tara and Alex Neblett

Katie and Bob Orr

Melissa Coleman and Robert Pascoe

Stephanie and William Perkins

Anh Nguyen and Victor Phan

Marilyn Wilson and Robert Rasor

Alicia Kowalchuk and Benjamin Saldaña

Daniela and Manolo Sanchez

Farrell and Stuart Saunders

Jenee and Nick Stefanakis

Erin and Tom Stus

The Wawro/Gray Family

Vallette and Russell Windham

Constance and Jeffrey Woodman

Kim and Chuck Yates

Anita and Alan Ying

Michelle and Ken Zagorski

ContributorsSushila and Durga Agrawal

Shonali and Rakesh Agrawal

Mohammed Alamin

Maria and Saleh Al-Shaikh

Stephanie and Phil Arnett

Amy Tian and Benjamin Bai

Teri and Thomas Bair

Charlie Barker

Susan and Walker Beavers

Jeannine and David Bergt

Aidan Berkman

Sara and Brian Binau

Laurel and Tim Blando

Beverly Bontrager

Pam and Bill Boyarintegrating school and

hom

e.As its nam

e suggests, this program

is designed

to help

paren

ts in their integration of school an

d home by

combining useful tech

niques and engagemen

t styles

which com

plemen

t the schoo

l’s work in the individual

classroo

ms. T

his program

was initiated by Post Oak

paren

t, Pau

la M

ey, who wan

ted to learn m

ore ab

out

practicing Montessori and then

spread

that know

l-

edge to other paren

ts.

The way we learn shapes who we become.

Alyssa set this goal for herself, as a benchmark to work toward, as a

way to extend her skills. It was not a test imposed by her coach or her

parents. Recent research findings demonstrate that this distinction affects

both motivation and the quality of performance. Focusing on improving

knowledge and performance is very different than proving competency

to others (teachers, coaches, parents). Research Matters, journal of The

Institute of Education, recently reported that “students who focused too

heavily on performance ironically performed less well academically,

thought less critically, and had a harder time overcoming failure.”

Jennifer and Christian Brenckmann

Cliona Rooney and Malcolm Brenner

Debra Broussard

Courtney and Bill Bucy

Erin and J. Brett Busby

Nataya and Johnny Carter

Jennifer and Cliff Chavis

Deepa Poduval and Rajesh Chelapurath

Laura and Martin Citardi

Jennifer and Todd Colter

Audra French and Arnold Colunga

Cindy Comfort

Melissa and Felix Cordero

The Cortes Family

Karla and Travis Crabtree

Jane and Bill Curtis

Jodie and Laith Daik

Maday and Jay Dargan

Kelly and Garth Davis

Kelly and James Davis

Jeff Davis

Robyn Davis

Lissa and Robert Debes

Susan and Marc Dellamea

Michele and Richard Deutsch

Sangeeta Cheema and Karam Dhillon

Carolyn Dorros

Sandra Fogiel and Stuart Dow

Cathy and Paul Duke

Monica and Derek Dunaway

Lisa and W. Christian Eddleman

Monica and Charles Eskridge

Analitza and Justin Factor

Taha and Tahir Faruqui

Bentley B. Fondren

Christa Filak and Martin Fraske

Dolley Levan and Duncan Frearson

Amy and Blair Garrou

Tanya and Jerry Gee

Cathy and Tim Goff

Hannah and Leonard Golub

Sonia and Richard Gras

Jessica and Vean Gregg

Annette and Roger Gregory

Sowmini and Ravi Gudimetla

Mary Ann and Victor Guerrero

Leashanne and James Guo

Sophia Banu and Muzammil Hanif

Sanjiv and Sandhya Harpavat

Jennifer Harrison

Kristin and Joey Hayles

Stephanie and Ben Hertzog

Rochelle Tafolla and Richard Hess

Tracey and David Hilfman

Maureen and Douglas Hirsch

Amelia Ng and Tam Ho

Anh Doan and Doanh Hoang

Munira and Zahir Janmohamed

The Jimenez Family

Seita and James Jongebloed

Catherine and Andrew Kaldis

Josie and Jonathan Kaplow

The Kapusta Family

Cynthia DeLaney and Stephan Kinsella

Amy and Lloyd Kirchner

Alyson and Andrew Koval

Vasanthi and Ramanan Krishnamoorti

Marian Ladner and Yvonne Almazan

Claire Langston

Jamie and Andrew Lee

Amy and James Lee

Laurie and Doron Levin

The decision to ad

d a third U

pper Elemen

tary class w

as finalized

.

Con

struction for this class started

in the summer of

.

“Montessori children always do more.”

When we work hand-in-hand with parents, supporting each other’s

efforts, implementing Dr. Montessori’s insights in the education of children,

we see such personal characteristics emerge. We observe children who

challenge themselves; who do more.

About now you may be asking, “What about Post Oak? After all, this

is an annual report.” All-time high student retention rates over the past

several years have led us to open a new Lower Elementary classroom

(2008) and a new Upper Elementary classroom (2010) in order to ac-

commodate increased enrollment.

Bubba Levy

Sheryl Levy

Yan and Haiyang Li

Amy and Alan Lindsey

Nancy and Erik Littlejohn

Mary and Christopher Livingstone

Karen and Charles Lu

Michelle and Thomas Lu

Cindy and Andrew Lubetkin

Sheung Wong and Gary Luk

Beatriz and Mark Maney

Jenny and André Marshall

Stacey and Mark Martin

Victoria Newnham Matthews

Elise McClain

Tanya Bennett and David McConkey

Sara Jurney and Todd Mensing

Paula and Mark Mey

Jessica and Philipp Meyer

Pat and Bill Mitchell

Sara Mitchell

Melissa and Michael Mithoff

Nandita Gupta and Vikas Mittal

Rishma and Akbar Mohamed

Rachel and John Moody

Cinda and Brian Moye

Michelle and Mike Munn

Jenny and Ed Murphy

Alana Kennedy-Nasser and Dean Nasser

Sanjay Nayyar

Kavitha Neelapu

Raina and Jonathan Newsome

Dinh Lam and Brian Nguyen

Jacklyn Nguyen

Phuong and Sun Nguyen

Maria Luisa Noce

Zaira and Roberto Noce

Susan Hardwick-Smith and

Kevin O’Gorman

Meredith O'Meara

Heather and Brenden O'Neill

Renee Parker

Jaana Porra and Michael Parks

Callie and Steve Paul

Lisa and Patrick Phelps

Kelly and Anthony Policastro

Lana Rigsby and John Powell

Hillery Hugg and Gregory Press

Surabhi and Jarrath Presse

Kimberly and Cristopher Proler

Elizabeth and Adam Pulaski

Joy Pulaski

Kim and Randy Randolph

Karen and Ken Redding

Lisa and John Reed

Deanna and Glenn Reitman

Sabrina Reynolds

Shelly and Bill Richter

Cynthia Page and Fabian Rodriguez

Robin and Marshall Rosenberg

Heidi and Bryan Rosenstrauch

Jennifer Norten and Mark Routbort

Manju and Manish Rungta

Sherri and Gary Sagarnaga

Suzan and Jeremy Samuels

Elizabeth and Mark Santikos

Mona and Sanjeev Sawhney

Shealynn and Paul Schank

Kate and Greg Scheinman

Sherri and Charles Schugart

Jacqualin and Jeff Seely

Zeenath and Arjun Selvakumar

Physical fitness coach, Andrea Dilger, was hired

to

cover the increased number of PF classes. Bearkats

successfully participated against other indepen

den

t

schoo

ls in various competitions during vo

lleyball,

cross-coun

try,an

d baske

tball season

s.

Last October, the board of trustees solicited parent input as a part

of its strategic planning process and heard strong support for a Post

Oak High School. By May, the board and administration committed to

this course of action and by June, we hired the founding director of the

High School.

Post Oak is able to commit to this visionary step because long-term

preparation has paved the way. Over the past fifteen years, the board,

administration and faculty have worked to strengthen the school’s finan-

cial position, academic program, and organizational leadership.

The school, like the children, sets ambitious goals for itself, and as

each goal is realized, we set the bar higher still.

These are inspiring times at Post Oak.

— ,

Jian and Mike Short

Andrea and Jeff Sills

John and Tina Sims

Carmen and Todd Smith

Valerie and Michael Sonsino

Asha and Gaurav Sood

Simran and Manish Sood

The Speed Family

Mary and Garland Stephens

Jennifer Stern

Susana and Juan Stern

Megan and Eric Stidman

Julie and Jason Styles

Bridget and John Styles

Aimee and Greg Taylor

Nikayla and Aaron Thomas

Jennifer and Sam Touchet

Susan Granger Tyler and Seth Tyler

Julia and Terry Vine

Khanhuyen and Huy Vinh

Molly and Coert Voorhees

Catherine and Hoang Quan Vu

Karen and Jason Walker

Connie and John Wallace

Whitney and Marc Walsh

Geraldine and Louis Waters

Ellen and Mark Weinstein

Susan and Wayne Whitney

Denise Wilhite

Rocio Diaz and Francisco Zorrilla

EmployeesDaniel Anastacio

Nazario Anastacio

Mirna Andrade-Salgado and

José Salgado

Alma Armendariz

Diana Ayala

Tamara Basham

Vivian Blum

Ruth Cañas

Millie Chavez

Andrea Dilger

Asenet Garcia

Lilia M. Garza

Luiza Grandchamp

Shekkola Gray

Barbara Hacker

Cynthia W. Harris

Debbie and Todd Henderson

Julian Hicks

Christine Karnabe

Orly Kluk

Christina Kopanidis-Cantu and

Jorge Cantu

Alma Lloyd

Joseph L. Lockett

Deidre Lodrig

Lupe Lopez

Robin Lunsford

Kimberly Magill

Cristopher Mejia

Manuel Mejia

Marvin Mejia

Darwin D. Matusek

Shannon Neufeld

Debbie Nickerson

Joshua Noah

Emily Hansen

Diana Onofre

Patricia Onofre

Julie Parraguirre

Norma Paulin

The new

Professional G

rowth Plan was lau

nch

ed to iden

tify and

enrich

faculty professional growth, which enco

uraged teach

ers

to raise the bar in their personal

and professional goa

ls.

‒ Financial Report

The financial stability of The Post Oak School continued to improve during the 2009 –2010

school year. Our audited financial statements for the 2008 –2009 school year resulted in an

increase in net assets of $835,237. The unaudited results for the 2009 –2010 school year

show an increase in net assets for all funds of $604,406. The School experienced stable

enrollment moving from an ending enrollment of 387 in 2008 –2009 to 389 in 2009 –2010.

Our successful annual campaign as well as careful stewardship of the School’s assets

resulted in reaching a long term goal of a combined cash/property maintenance reserve

of 20 percent of operating expenses or over $1,000,000. The School was also able to

transfer $53,200 to our Endowment Fund as called for in our Endowment policy.

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

vest ment approach that does not include disbursements until the endowment exceeds

$1 million. Therefore, 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 year ended June 30, 2010 was a challenge for fixed income because of low in-

terest rates. The fixed income is invested very conservatively and generated a positive

return of just over 2 percent for the year. A recovery in the equity markets resulted in the

equity accounts averaging a 14.5 percent gain for the year. To put this in perspective,

the S&P 500 Composite Total return gained 14.4 percent and MSCI EAFE foreign index

gained 6.4 percent for the year ended June 30, 2010.

The combined portfolio returned 12.3 percent for the year, resulting in an investment

gain of $76,267 for the year ended June 30, 2010. As markets around the world continue

to improve, the Endowment’s portfolio will continue to improve.

The School continues to remodel and repurpose spaces within the building and we

have completed a number of major projects this year. Our most ambitious project was the

remodeling of the library into a new Upper Elementary classroom and the renovation of

the atrium space to accommodate our library. We also completed the third phase of our

building coating and painting project, renovated portions of the east and west pod kitchens,

and created an office space for our new high school director. Behind the scenes we had

two large repair projects as we replaced and repaired a large section of our tile roof as

well as replaced one of our chiller compressors that went out unexpectedly. The School’s

continued fiscal discipline as well as the generosity of our annual fund donors allowed us

to make all of these improvements and repairs without an additional capital campaign.

Jenna Pel

Christine Peterson

Maya and Errol Pinto

Celia Rodriguez

Jessica P. Samano

Jeff Schneider

Francesca Shoemaker

B.R. Simon

Erin Smith

Mirani Smith

Hifa Sobhani

Heather Spell

Herlinda (Nina) Strane

Phylis R. Tomlinson

Susan Tracy

Mark E. Tucker

Meena Valliappan

Jessica Wagner

Miriam Winton

FoundationsD. Kent & Linda C. Anderson

Foundation

Houston Endowment Inc.

Mithoff Family Charitable Foundation

The Oshman Foundation

CorporationsChevron Matching Gift Program

ConocoPhillips Company

Empties4Cash

Goldman Sachs

H.E.B. Grocery Company

Kinder Morgan Foundation

Lands' End

Merrill Lynch

MW Design Group

Persys Medical

Pipescape International, Inc.

Rilco Manufacturing Co., Inc.

Safeway Inc.

Gifts to EndowmentThe Fondren Foundation

Melanie Gray and Mark Wawro

Patricia and William Mitchell

POPA Dinner UnderwritersShonali and Rakesh Agrawal

Zahra and Mohammed Alamin

Beth and Frank Apollo




Pam and Bill Boyar







Kelly and Garth Davis

Robyn Davis

Lissa and Robert Debes


Cathy and Paul Duke


Bentley B. Fondren






The following is an abbreviated version of the unaudited results for ‒:

Revenue

Tuition based Revenues .% ,,

Other Tuition and Fees .% ,

Other Income .% ,

Annual giving .% ,

Gala Giving % —

All other Giving (Net) .% ,

Total Revenue % ,,

Expenses

Salaries and Benefits: .% ,,

Financial Aid: .% ,

Other Program Expense: .% ,

Plant Expenses: .% ,

General Administration: .% ,,

Total Expenses: % ,,

Increase in Net Assets: ,

Our successful an

nual cam

paign

as well as careful stew

ardship of the

Sch

ool’s assets resulted

in reach

ing a long term

goa

l of a com

bined

cash/

property m

aintenan

ce reserve of

percent of operating expen

ses or over

,

,

.

The Post Oak Community Shares

In 2009 –2010, the normal current of Post Oak’s August-to-May school year was inter-

spersed with a stream of additional activities: community events, volunteering, fund drives,

focus groups, lectures, Bearkats, parent presentations, and even an astronaut’s adven-

tures. One event after another was successfully presented by our parent association,

POPA. Chaired by the talented and hardworking duo of Melissa Cordero and Erin Stus,

POPA brought the community together for festivities such as the POPA Dinner, Field Day,

Book Fair, Grandparents’ Days, and a spring lecture with Astronaut Scott Parazynski.

Volunteers continued to raise the bar this year as Post Oak Fund Drive chairs Kim

and Chuck Yates and their team of Class Captains surpassed all previous annual fund

records. Passing a goal is exciting, but so is seeing the tangible results of a successful

campaign. Post Oak Fund dollars were used in many ways, including space renovations

for a new Upper Elementary classroom and replacing an air conditioning chiller which

stopped working during the hot summer months.

Fundraising was also undertaken by our spirited students, who felt compelled to act

as they watched the earthquake devastation in news stories from Haiti and Chile. Seven

separate efforts, including bake sales, art sales, and supply drives, were planned and

efficiently executed by groups from Lower Elementary through Middle School.

It was indeed a full year. Parents, grandparents, friends, and the whole Post Oak

community worked hard to add meaningful experiences, educational moments, fun, and

a strengthened unity of purpose to our Montessori environment. For this effort, for the

support of the school and the children who receive the benefits, thank you.

Rennae and Joseph Henry

Tracey and David Hilfman

Anh and Doanh Hoang


Jeanne-Mey Sun and Tom Janssens

Janet and Mario Kapusta

Alicia Kowalchuk and Benjamin Saldaña

Ann and Kelvin Lee

Vivian and Kenneth Lee


Nancy and Erik Littlejohn


Kathy and John Long

Gina and Carl Luna

Elise McClain


Christine and Louis Messina

Rachel and John Moody

Debbie Nickerson



Catherine and Robert Orr



Kimberly and Cristopher Proler

Lisa and John Reed

Heidi and Bryan Rosenstrauch


Farrell and Stuart Saunders



Sherri and Charles Schugart

Erin and Tom Stus

Karen and Aaron Swerdlin

Aimee and Greg Taylor



Karen and Jason Walker


Vallette and Russell Windham

Michelle and Kenneth Zagorski

Friends of the LibraryCynthia and Bucky Allshouse

Chick-fil-A

Mary Ann and Victor Guerrero

Melanie Harrell

Amelia Ng and Tam Ho

Janet and Mario Kapusta


Christina Kopanidis-Cantu and

Jorge Cantu


Erin and Thomas Stus

Teo Tono

Book Fair ContributorsZahra and Mohammed Alamin

Teri and Thomas Bair


Diana and Juan Balderas

Rita Barker Petrini

Tamara and William Basham



Sara and Brian Binau


Jennifer and W. Christian Brenckmann

Jamie and James Broach

Nataya and Johnny Carter

Sherry and Lewis Chandler

Sangeeta Cheema and Karam Dhillon

Jennifer and Todd Colter Post O

ak E

lemen

tary studen

ts u

sed their phen

omen

al

talents to bring the children

’s opera, Pe

arl, to life. Students

auditioned, rehearsed vocals, practiced choreography, built

an underwater kingd

om, an

d learned

first-han

d the co

m -

plexity and joy

of producing a full children’s opera.

Our Accomplished Alumni

Tucked in with all the plans and activities for the year was a forward look to the 2013 –

2014 school year, when Post Oak will celebrate its 50th anniversary. An anniversary com-

mittee convened and plans are in the works to appropriately celebrate this milestone.

And what of those students who have populated the halls during the past 47 years?

Post Oak’s alumni are a talented and inspiring bunch. At the POPA Dinner, alums John

Sallans (class of ’02) and Becky Bereswill (class of ’05) shared their Montessori perspec-

tive and its application to their lives with current Post Oak parents.

Our graduates remain part of the Post Oak community. Often they come back to visit

with their teachers, or to talk about their Montessori experiences. A Montessori education

prepares its graduates for a successful life. Here are a few alumni updates that exemplify

how their experiences have shaped the people they have become.


Lili and Jorge Cortes




Robyn Davis


Prarthana Durgam


Monica and Charles Eskridge

Analitza and Justin Factor

Bentley B. Fondren


Christa Filak and Martin Fraske

Tanya and Jerry Gee


Sonia and Richard Gras



Windi and David Grimes


Barbara Hacker

Colleen and Rudy Haddad

Kristin and Joey Hayles

Rennae and Joseph Henry

Maureen and Douglas Hirsch

Anh and Doanh Hoang


Munira and Zahir Janmohamed

Claudia Rojas-Jimenez and

Carlos Jimenez

Seita and James Jongebloed



Alyson and Andrew Koval

Vasanthi and Ramanan Krishnamoorti

Ashley and Robert Leder

Ann and Kelvin Lee

Erica and Benjy Levit

Yan and Haiyang Li



Michelle and Thomas Lu

Cindy and Andrew Lubetkin

Sheung Wong and Gary Luk

Beatriz and Mark Maney

Jenny and André Marshall

Stacey and Mark Martin

John and Lori Martinez

Elise McClain

Paula and Mark Mey

Melissa and Michael Mithoff

Nandita Gupta and Vikas Mittal

Michelle and Michael Munn

Alana Kennedy-Nasser and Dean Nasser

Kavitha and Sattva Neelapu

Susan Hardwick-Smith and

Kevin O'Gorman


Catherine and Robert Orr

Jaana Porra and Michael Parks

Julie Parraguirre



Anh Nguyen and Victor Phan

Lisa and Patrick Phelps

Becky and Wayne Pivec

Deepa and Rajesh Chelapurath

Chelsie and Ricardo Ramos

Kim and Randy Randolph

Lisa and John Reed

Cynthia Page and Fabian Rodriguez

Class of

Joshua Brenner attends St. John’s School. He volunteered

at the Houston Zoo this summer.

Hailey Heck is attending Episcopal High School and enjoyed

a trip to Sweden during the summer.

Class of

Tom Harvey had an internship this summer at a small

medical firm called Vivante. Currently he is the junior class

president at St. John’s school.

Class of

Jayme Edwards graduated from Oak Park River Forest

High School in Illinois and received an , cheerleading

scholarship to Baylor University.

Michael Harvey attends University of Notre Dame and has

entered their Honors Program.

Jamie McDonald was a Camp Ozark counselor this summer.

She is attending Clemson University.

Class of

Allison Bereswill is a rising sophomore at Southern Methodist

University. She received the title of “Most Valuable Member”

of her sorority. She has also been accepted to a fashion

program at Oxford in the United Kingdom.

Rebecca Bereswill lives near Detroit, Michigan, and is

attending University of Michigan while she trains as a pairs

skater in a facility with skaters from around the world.

She is also picking up the Russian language.

Stephanie Styles is in the Musical Theatre program at

University of Michigan. She also played the part of Shelley

Parker in Bat Boy: The Musical with the Generations

Theatre Company.

Class of

Kelsey Caton is in her junior year at The University of

Texas at Austin. Her major is biomedical engineering.

Will Duin is a graduate of Episcopal High School, and attends

The Citadel–The Military College of South Carolina, in

Charleston. His major is business administration.

Matt McDonald participated in the Texas Music Festival at

University of Houston this summer, and played the drums in

the Generations Theatre Company production of Bat Boy:

The Musical.

Chistina Moser is in her junior year at The University of

Texas at Austin and is a design major. This program only

accepts students per year. She also earned a scholarship.

Whitney Moore is in her junior year at Southwestern

University, majoring in environmental studies. She had

an internship with Houston Zoo over the summer.

Bethany Sharp is a graduate of Bellaire High School, and

attends Boston University as a graphic design and drawing

major. She enjoys singing in an a cappella group. She spent

a year abroad, studying in Germany. This summer she was

a lifeguard at the Jewish Community Center of Houston.

Bethany and her mother also traveled to England and

Scotland for a choir tour.

Class of

Sam Boyar attends The University of Texas at Austin’s Jackson

School of Geosciences. This summer, he participated in a

six-week field study with research in Texas, New Mexico,

Colorado, Wyoming, and Idaho, mostly camping out in

remote areas. He has received academic scholarships and is

a member of the Kappa Alpha fraternity. Last year, he was

selected to be a “Silver Spur,” a fraternity at UT that takes

care of Bevo the longhorn, the school mascot.

Nicholas Wallace is working full time on Bill White’s

gubernatorial campaign.

Kellen Burke attends London School of Economics and

Political Science.

Lindsey Moore attends Southwestern University and was

accepted to New York summer conservatory for play writing.

Last year, she spent a semester in London.

Class of

Sam Geer graduated in December from the University

of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts, earning

a B.A. in Film Production. He lives and works in Los Angeles,

both on major television and film productions such as

Terrence Malick’s forthcoming The Tree of Life as well

as on music videos, corporate projects and short films. Sam

has written a feature-length screenplay for an independent

film that he hopes to finance and make within the next

few years.

Nicholas Hetherington graduated with honors from the

communications program at The University of Texas at

Austin and is working for ESPN in sports broadcasting.

Joshua Tobin graduated this spring from Davidson College

with a B.A. in theatre, and a minor in Spanish. He received

the Rawley Turner Award for “Outstanding Male Perform-

ance” for his portrayal of Jack in Leading Ladies. This past

summer, he played the title role in Bat Boy: The Musical,

with Generations Theatre Company. He attends the

Professional Actor Training Program at The University

of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to begin earning his

MFA in acting.

Jonathan Ward is working on the set of a film in Los Angeles.

He will graduate in December from Brooks Institute, and

has been doing freelance work producing films, television

shows, and music videos. He enjoys life in Los Angeles.

He has pitched features to independent investors, studios

and film festivals, including The Four-Faced Liar.

Class of

Travis Caton graduated with a B.B.A. in business honors

from the McCombs School of Business and a B.S. in biology/

neurobiology both from the from University of Texas at

Austin. He attends medical school at Columbia College of

Physicians and Surgeons in New York. This past summer

he traveled to Morocco.

Amelinda Melanson graduated from Texas A&M University

in and is a packaging engineer for Frito Lay in Dallas

where she modifies machines. This summer she visited Belize

to go scuba diving and traveled to Saigon and Cambodia.

Suzan and Jeremy Samuels


Elizabeth and Mark Santikos



Kate and Greg Scheinman

Jacqualin and Jeff Seely

Zeenath and Arjun Selvakumar

B.R. Simon

Asha and Gaurav Sood

Simran and Manish Sood

Anne and Alan Speed

Jenee and Nick Stefanakis

Mary and Garland Stephens

Jennifer Stern

Megan and Eric Stidman

Erin and Thomas Stus

Julie and Jason Styles

Karen and Aaron Swerdlin


Amy Tian and Benjamin Bai

Susan GrangerTyler and Seth Tyler

Julia and Terry Vine

Khanhuyen and Huy Vinh


Jessica Wagner


Constance and Jeffrey Woodman

Anita and Alan Ying

Gifts-In-Kind Asset Management Advisors


Barnes & Noble



Tanya and Jerry Gee

Raka and Jay Gohel



H.E.B. Grocery Company

Barbara Hacker



Stephanie McDonald

PostNet


Rigsby Hull

B.R. Simon

Special ProjectsThe Trammell Foundation

Adam Podet graduated from Tulane University magna cum

laude with a major in cell biology. His work was named

“best thesis” and he was named “second most valuable all-

around student.” Next year he is pursuing a masters degree

in biology.

Class of

Justin Boyar is an MBA candidate at the University of

Houston (expected ). He is interested in city design,

and has been since his days at Post Oak.

Class of

Caroline Sharp is keeping busy with her acting career. She is

currently playing the role of “Cecily” in The Importance of

Being Earnest with the Ark Theatre Company in Los Angeles.

Class of

Allison Dryden is in her last year as a Level trauma resident

at Vanderbilt Medical Center. She was chosen for a staff

teaching award out of residents. She looks back fondly

on her Montessori education.

Lyndsay Kian graduated from the University of Houston

in with a degree in accounting / finance and is an

accountant. Lyndsay married in , and has a three-

year-old and a new baby born in August.

Class of

Darryl DaVera became engaged last November, and is

currently a dentist at Dental Smiles. He graduated from

University of Texas Dental Branch in .

Class of

Stephen Marchione was married in Rome to Monica Posoli,

who taught at The Post Oak School. He is a full time luthier,

and his business can be found at www.marchione.com.

His daughter, Isabella, was born in .

Other AlumniVictoria Aguilar attended Post Oak for three years in Primary,

and now her daughter has started Primary classes this year

with the same teacher: Barbara Hacker. Her brother,

Gabriel Aguilar is now a junior at Millsaps College.

He attended Primary for two years (Bill Zajic’s class).

Post Oak alumni can be found all over the world. If you have

an email address or a way to help us re-establish the Post Oak

connection, please contact Christina Kopanidis-Cantu at

-- or by email at [email protected].

2009–2010 Trustees

Bucky Allshouse

Frank Apollo, Treasurer

Matthew Baird

Melissa Coleman

Stuart Dow

Adam Forman

Windi Grimes

Bob Harvey, Chair

John Howenstine

Zahir Janmohamed

Andrew Kaldis

Renée Locklar

John Long, President

Bev Bontrager

Manuel Sanchez

Marilyn Wilson, Secretary

Russell Windham

Trustees Emeriti

Walker Beavers

Pam Boyar

Leland Fondren

Melanie Gray

Pat Mitchell

Jenny Murphy

John Wallace

Post Oak Parents Association

POPA Chairs (‒)

Melissa Cordero

Erin Stus

POPA Dinner Chairs

Beth Apollo

Shealynn Schank

Field Day Chairs


Book Fair Chairs

Cynthia Page Rodriguez

Suzan Samuels

Opera Chairs

Munira Janmohamed

Claudia Rojas-Jimenez

Yearbook Chairs

Jian Short

Erin Stus

Melissa Cordero

2009–2010 Room Parents

Tamara Basham

Carol Howenstine

Karen Walker

Barbara Hacker

Amy Garrou

Emily Hansen

Jenny Marshall

Sonia Einstein

Orly Kluk

Teri Bair

Joseph Lockett

Elise McClain

Jian Short

Deidre Lodrig

Julia Vine

Liliana Walji

Kathy Long

Susan Whitney

Jessica Gregg

Middle School

Eva Gasca

Debbie Nickerson

Windi Grimes

Abbe Forman

Julie Parraguirre

Amy Kirchner

Vivian Lee

Errol Pinto

Claudia Rojas-Jimenez

Munira Janmohamed

Maya Pinto

Laura Baird

Michelle Lu

Erin Smith

Jennifer Chavis

Seita Jongebloed

Susan Tracy

Ashley Leder

Laurel Blando

Jessica Wagner

Chelsie Ramos

Miriam Winton

Ann Lee

Renée Locklar

Alma Lloyd

Gina Luna

Sandra Fogiel

2009–2010 Post Oak Fund

Post Oak Fund Chairs

Kim and Chuck Yates

Class Captains

Tamara Basham

Rishma Mohamed

Barbara Hacker

Shonali Agrawal

Emily Hansen

Jeanne-Mey Sun

Tom Janssens

Orly Kluk

Alan Ying

Deidre Lodrig

Stacey Martin

Joseph Lockett

Rennae Henry

Kathy Long

Abbe Forman

The Post Oak School Community

Middle School

Bev Bontrager

Heather O’Neill

Erin Smith

Cathy Duke

Debbie Nickerson

Katie Orr

Julie Parraguirre

Lori Martinez

Errol Pinto

Lissa and Bob Debes

Maya Pinto

Catherine Kaldis

Susan Tracy

Valerie Sonsino

Jessica Wagner

Chelsie and Rick Ramos

Miriam Winton

Ann and Kelvin Lee

Board

John Long

Employees

Vivian Blum

Luiza Grandchamp

Lead Teachers and Assistants

Infant Community Department

Deidre Lodrig, Half-Day

Infant Community Teacher

Diana Ayala, Assistant

Susan Tracy, Half-Day Infant

Community Teacher

Cynthia Harris, Assistant

Jessica Wagner, Full-Day

Infant Community Teacher

Elizabeth DiCesare, Assistant

Lilia Garza, Assistant

Diana Onofre, Assistant

Primary Department

Tamara Basham, Primary

Teacher

Celia Rodriguez, Assistant

Barbara Hacker, Primary

Teacher

Norma Paulin, Assistant

Emily Hansen, Primary

Teacher

Ruth Cañas, Assistant

Erin Smith, Primary Teacher

Alma Armendariz, Assistant

Julie Parraguirre, Primary

Teacher

Nina Strane, Assistant

Miriam Winton, Primary

Teacher

Christine Karnabe, Assistant

Alma Lloyd, Primary Home

Environment Teacher

Millie Chavez, Assistant

Meena Valliappan, Assistant

Elementary Department

Orly Kluk, Lower

Elementary Teacher

Hifa Sobhani, Assistant

Kathy Long, Lower

Elementary Teacher

Audie Alcorn, Assistant/Intern

Debbie Nickerson, Lower

Elementary Teacher

Lupe Lopez, Assistant

Maya Pinto, Lower

Elementary Teacher

Heather Spell, Assistant

Joseph Lockett, Upper

Elementary Teacher

Kimberly Magill, Assistant

Errol Pinto, Upper

Elementary Teacher

Jessica Samano, Assistant

Middle School

Shekkola Gray, Middle School

Mathematics Teacher

Julian Hicks, Middle School

Science Teacher

Joshua Noah, Middle School

Humanities Teacher

Upper School After-Care

Asenet Garcia, After-Care

Director

Jenna Pel, After-Care Assistant

Specialists

Andrea Dilger, Physical

Fitness Specialist

Luiza Grandchamp,

Art Specialist

Patricia Onofre, Spanish

Specialist

B.R. Simon, Librarian

Phylis Tomlinson, School

Counselor

Mark Tucker, Physical

Fitness Specialist and

Bearkats Coach

Jamie Ward, Full-Time

Substitute Teacher

Administration

Mirna Andrade-Salgado,

Technology Director

Vivian Blum,

Admission Director

Debbie Henderson,

Office Manager

Christina Kopanidis-Cantu,

Development Director

John Long, Head of School

Robin Lunsford, Finance

& Facilities Director

Shannon Neufeld,

Communication Coordinator

Christine Peterson, Business

Office/HR Specialist

Jeff Schneider, Upper School

Director

Francesca Shoemaker,

Receptionist

Mirani Smith, Lower School

Director

Support Staff

Darwin Matusek,

Building Engineer

Manuel Mejia, Maintenance

Director

Daniel Anastacio, Custodian

Nazario Anastacio, Custodian

Raul Jiminez, Custodian

Christopher Mejia, Custodian

Marvin Mejia, Custodian

Juan Ramon, Custodian

High School Admissions

During Post Oak School

graduates were admitted to the

following highly recognized

college preparatory schools:

Awty International School

Cypress Woods High School

Episcopal High School*

St. Agnes Academy*

The John Cooper School*

St. Thomas High School

The Emery/Weiner School

Woods High School*

*Schools chosen to attend

College Admissions

Post Oak alumni populate top

colleges and universities through -

out the state, the nation, and

abroad. Post Oak graduates

have been admitted to the

following colleges:

American University

Art Institute of Boston

Art Institute of Chicago

Art Institute of Houston

Auburn University

Baylor University

Boston University

Brooks Institute

Brown University

California College of the Arts

Clemson University

Colorado College

Cranbrook Academy of Art

Davidson College

Drexel University

Eckerd College

Elon University

Emory University

Evergreen State College

Fashion Institute of Technology

Fordham University

Georgetown University

Georgia Institute of Technology

Goucher College

Hampshire College

Indiana University

Ithaca College

Louisiana State University

Loyola University–

New Orleans

Millsaps College

New York University

Oberlin College

Rhodes College

Rice University

Rollins College

San Diego State University

San Francisco Conservatory

of Music

Sarah Lawrence College

Savannah College of Art

and Design

Sewanee: The University

of the South

Skidmore College

Smith College

Southern Methodist University

Southwestern University

Stanford University

St. Edwards University

Syracuse University

Texas A&M University

Texas Christian University

Texas Christian University

(Honors)

The Citadel

Trinity University

Tulane University

University of Arizona

University of California–

Los Angeles


San Diego


Santa Barbara

University of Colorado

University of Georgia

University of Houston

University of Houston

(Honors)

University of Kansas

University of Massachusetts

Amherst

University of Michigan

University of Mississippi

University of North Carolina–

Chapel Hill

University of Notre Dame

(Honors)

University of Oklahoma

University of the Pacific

University of South Carolina

University of Southern

California

University of Southern

California–School of

Cinematic Arts

University of Texas–Austin

University of Texas–Austin,

Plan II

University of Texas–

Business Honors

University of Texas–

San Antonio

University of Texas–Tyler

University of Tulsa

University of Vermont

University of Virginia–

Richmond

U.S. Naval Academy

Vanderbilt University

West Point

Wesleyan University

Post Oak School Matriculation

The mission of The Post Oak

School, as an accredited Asso-

ciation Montessori Interna-

tionale (AMI) school, is to

provide a superior Montessori

environment and dynamic

learning experiences which

are designed according to the

developmental characteristics

and needs of children; to guide

and nurture each child—

intellectually, socially, and

emotionally.

Recognizing our donors is a

high priority for The Post Oak

School. We have made every

effort to ensure the accuracy

of our honor rolls, but it is

possible for errors to occur.

If you wish to report an error

or omission, please contact

Christina Kopanidis-Cantu

at -- or by email at

christinacantu@postoak

school.org. Thank you.

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Documents

2009-2010 Post Oak School Annual Report