Board of Trustees

American School of Warsaw is a non-profit Pre-K through grade 12 international school governed by a Board of Trustees.

ASW’s Board of Trustees is comprised of parents who work in partnership with the Director and his team, guiding their efforts through policy formulation and adherence, as well as long-term strategic planning. The ASW Board of Trustees is the governing body of the school, responsible for:

Defining policies and standards
Shaping strategy and facilitating long-term planning
Sound financial management
Hiring and supporting the Director

The Board of Trustees is composed of twelve (12) members: two (2) appointed by the US Ambassador; five (5) members selected and appointed by the existing Board; and, four (4) members of the school community elected by ASW parents. Each elected member serves for a 2-year term, while the term of office for appointed members is no more than three (3) years. The ASW Director is an ex-officio member of the Board.

Board meetings are open to the ASW school community.

If you are interested in serving on the Board of Trustees, please click here to apply.

Board Members

Committees

Governance Committee

The purpose of the Governance Committee is to provide oversight of the Board’s governance practices with the objective of ensuring good governance, accountability, and transparency. The Committee is responsible for organizing elections and appointments to the Board of Trustees, inducting new Trustees, ensuring that the Board of Trustees assesses its own performance annually, maintaining the Bylaws and Policy Manual.

Finance Committee

The Finance Committee is responsible for developing annual budget guidance for Board approval, reviewing annual budget execution, monitoring income and expenses throughout the year, ensuring that the question of risk management is properly managed, and nominating, for Board approval, an independent auditing firm to audit the School’s financial statement and accounts.

Monitoring and Risk Management Committee

The Monitoring and Risk Management Committee has a role to develop and manage a review cycle of school policy to consider the utility and functional viability of all adopted policies. With human resources being the most critical asset of the school, the Committee focuses on monitoring policies ensuring a high level of employee satisfaction and well-being. The Committee is also responsible for managing Governmental Relations, risk assessment, mitigation monitoring, non-financial audits of systems and procedures, and accreditations.

Advancement Committee

The Advancement Committee supports and oversees formal strategic planning and the areas of admissions, marketing, and communications. It focuses on broad issues with a multi-year consequence including endowments and scholarship programs. The Committee enables the Board to be more involved in external outreach including further fostering of contacts with the local community, developing corporate partnerships, and extending alumni contacts. The Committee oversees the outcomes of strategic planning and development of new strategic initiatives.

Strategic Planning

Board Documents

Get Involved

INTERESTED IN SERVING?

If you are interested in serving on the Board of Trustees, please click here to apply.

Board members come from many backgrounds. Typical backgrounds that add value and perspective to the Board include experience in finance, marketing, construction, risk management or law but there are many other skill/knowledge areas relevant to the school’s work.

The Board is currently seeking Association members with experience in fields like human resources, fundraising/development, and strategic planning. We are also seeking association members with strong social networks within both ASW and our host community.

The most important personal characteristics include, among others, the ability to ask good questions, to maintain a broad and long-term perspective, to put the best interests of the School ahead of personal interests, and a willingness to work constructively with others as a team member.

If you feel you can contribute to the benefit of the school community, you can follow one of the following paths:

Run for election

To be eligible, candidates must be parents or guardians of a current student or students who will remain enrolled at ASW for the following two academic years. Board elections are held in May. Please see the 'Elections' tab on this page for more details. [Note: ASW employees and family members of employees are not eligible for election to the Board of Trustees.]

Apply for board appointment

Interested individuals should contact the Board Chair to express interest in serving on the Board. The Board of Trustees normally appoints new members for one or two year appointments. The appointment process for the following school year is completed by the end of June.

Apply for committee membership

Interested individuals may be selected to support one of the following committees: Finance, Governance, Monitoring and Risk Management, or Advancement. Committees meet monthly. Non-Trustee committee members are typically selected for their expertise in a particular subject matter area, and serves as ad hoc, non-voting members.

Contact

The ASW Board of Trustees deals with issues relating to the school on a strategic level. If you have an issue or question regarding school finances, the strategic plan, long-term building goals, or school governance, you can email the Board of Trustees directly at aswtrustees@aswarsaw.org .

To participate in one of the Board committees, contact Board Chair, Mrs. Sarah Kyle, through the ASW's Chief Administrative Officer: bwaliszkiewicz@aswarsaw.org

Please note: If your question or issue has to do with the operations of the school, please go through the procedure listed in the school handbooks, contacting the teacher first, if possible and then moving up the organizational chain of command.