Major Donation Returned to Faculty and Staff

As summer drew to a close, The IDEAL School of Manhattan received an extraordinary gift of over $500,000 from an anonymous donor. The Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees and Head of School Janet Wolfe unanimously determined the best way to use this exceptional gift.

Ms. Wolfe wrote in a letter to IDEAL families, “As you know, our faculty and staff are at the heart of our mission. It is as a result of the extra time, work, and care they dedicated to furthering the academic and social and emotional development of our students throughout the pandemic that our children and community continued to thrive in challenging times. We are grateful for all of the ways they model creative leadership and give of themselves to inspire and support each of our students. In countless ways, we see their work reflected in the growth of our children.”

The gift was used to provide all current employees with three separate bonuses over the course of the school year: a $1000 bonus in September and two separate bonuses equal to 2.5% of each employee’s salary in December and June. Ms. Wolfe continued in her letter, “We are grateful that, as a result of this very generous, one-time gift, we are able to acknowledge our staff’s work in this way.”