You would think that I had been around long enough to know that when the government says that a particular change will either “save money” or be “revenue neutral”, it should really be taken with a grain of salt.

Even so, I was lulled into a sense of false hope when it was announced that we were phasing out the penny. Retailers, we were told, would adjust prices by “rounding” (up or down) and that the change (no pun intended) would be revenue neutral for them (cost neutral for us) and money saving for the government.

The first hint that I had that all might not be what it seemed happened the very next morning when my large cup of coffee at the local shop went from $2.07 to $2.10. Now, every good KGMS student knows that if you are properly “rounding”, $2.07 should become $2.05. Apparently basic mathematics does not apply in the “real” world!

The second revelation came just this week. I was picking up my wife and son at the airport. Fighting a nagging cold, I went to the newsstand to buy at packet of Hall’s.

“That will be $1.67”, the salesperson told me. I put down $1.65 and said that I had a couple of pennies in my wallet. “We no longer accept pennies.” I was told. “Well”, I asked, “will you accept $1.65?” “No, the price is $1.67.” “If I give you $1.70 will I get change?” “No, we no longer deal in pennies.” I was told.

“So”, I asked between coughs, “is the price actually $1.70?” “No”, I was corrected “if you would like to pay by credit card, the charge will only be $1.67”.

I thought of pointing out that when they factored in the 2% administration cost for using plastic then they would actually only receive $1.64 for the packet of Hall’s but the blank stare facing me from across the counter convinced me that further dialogue would be a waste of time. I paid my $1.70 and pocketed the cough drops.

Rounding should not be a particularly difficult concept. School children from my day to the present have completed exercise after exercise which ask them to round to the nearest 5 or 10 or hundred or thousand. Even in our calculator dependent age, everyone should understand that. Could it be that in our pendulum swinging between math “facts” and language-based math problem solving we have chosen mastery of mechanics over the understanding of concepts?

At KGMS we spend a great deal of our instructional time in mathematics using hands-on manipulatives or virtual manipulatives on the SmartBoard. The intent is to ensure that as more abstract concepts are introduced, they are based on a foundation of concrete, meaningful experiences from which the student can draw. By definition: A manipulative can be any object (cube, rod, disc, bead, etc.) that is designed so that a learner can demonstrate some mathematical concept by manipulating it, (hence its name). The use of manipulatives provides a way for our students to learn concepts in a developmentally appropriate, hands-on and experiential way. These mathematical manipulatives are used in the first step of teaching mathematical concepts, that of concrete representation. The second and third steps are representational and abstract, respectively. As the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) states: Multiple experiences with manipulatives provide children with the conceptual foundation to understand mathematics at a higher conceptual level.

So how do we reintroduce some of these basic hands-on concepts in our digital age? There would have been no point in me lining up seven pennies on the counter to try to demonstrate the concept of rounding. After all, “they no longer deal in pennies”.

There may be no easy solution, but I was pleased to hear of one victory for rounding brought on by customer pressure on the Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurants in the United States (see picture above). Their cash registers now automatically “round” the total according to the accepted rules of mathematics (lower half down, upper half up).

Maybe there is still a chance that I can get my cough drops for $1.65 without having to wait for full-scale educational reform! In the meantime, I will continue to fight the good fight and horde my pennies. At the very least we can use them as manipulatives in our math classes!

My family has a long history of running small businesses. My grandfather emigrated from Greece at the beginning of the last century and eventually owned a small hotel and a restaurant (which is still around today). My Dad ran a magazine and tobacco store (Christopher’s Smoke and Gift); my eldest son (a former restauranteur) runs Theatre Kingston in Eastern Ontario; and my daughter has her own online nutrition consulting enterprise.

As for me, I thought that I had broken the mold with a life in academics. But family history has a way of catching up with you!

A number of years ago when I was being interviewed to become the Head of my last school in Bermuda, a teacher on the interview team asked whether I looked at the school as “a learning community” or as a “business”. The answer was, and is, simple. Independent schools, like KGMS, are wonderful learning communities. However, they cannot provide a long-term sustainable, positive and productive learning environment for the students in their care unless they are led and managed like a business. The two are not mutually exclusive or even in conflict. They are just the two key dimensions of any successful school.

It is the Head’s job, in partnership with the staff to deliver the best possible educational experience for each and every child. It is the Board of Governors’ job, in partnership with the Head, to ensure that whatever we undertake is financially sustainable in the long-term.

In the case of a school like KGMS, this is no mean feat! Without the large endowments and long list of wealthy alumni that characterize many other independent schools, we have to operate pretty much on a “pay as you go” cash basis. The result is that we have to be creative and frugal at the same time.

This is the month when we let you know how deeply you are going to have to dig into your pockets to pay for next year. Although paying for schooling for your child is a bit of an act of faith, it is also critically important that you know where your valuable dollars are going.

To begin with, it is essential to understand the costs of schooling at KGMS. Our projected per pupil expenditure for next year will be about $29,000. By comparison, our tuition fees will continue to be the same as this year, just under $20,000 per student. We endeavour to be lean (but never mean!) in our operations, keeping our overhead as low as possible. But given that tuition doesn’t cover all of our expenses, where does the additional revenue come from? Well, to begin with, the Ministry gives us significant support – an average of about $7,500 per student. This gets us closer! We have other “hard” income as well through rentals, student material charges, and outreach services. That brings us up to about 95% of our needed funds. The rest is made up of donation income from the Gala, MPC fundraising and personal and corporate donations. It is these generous contributions with enable us to provide almost $100,000 in bursary support each year.

Where does all of this money go? Well, needless to say, education is a “people” business. Consequently about 83% of our revenue goes to salaries and benefits, outside services and professional development. This means that we can offer competitive salaries and benefits and provide timely professional development and training to keep our staff current and on top of the latest trends and best practices in teaching and learning. Other major expenditures out of our budget include: renting the school building and grounds (8%); classroom supplies and resources (4%); transportation (3%); and general office/communications costs (2%).

For us, as a school, the real challenge is to maximize our services while minimizing our costs. We have a hard-working staff and a dedicated Board, but what really tips the balance is the amazing generosity of time and resources provided by our parent community. Tomorrow night is our annual Gala, a testament to countless hours of volunteer effort that will enable us to provide the bursary support and programme enhancements that make our school what it is.

School is a business. But it is a business based not on making money, but rather on a collaborative effort to provide a unique and meaningful learning experience for our students. What more profitable a business could you ever ask for!