Note to Schutzites:  For those attending the SASAF annual meeting in South Carolina July 20-21, the Board will be discussing the way forward for our organization, including some new ideas for planning activities and programs that might be of interest to us all and to the school.  Paul Clark, our current president, distributed the following paper to the Board last fall to get us started on this thinking.  Any of you who wish to be part of this discussion – and any who are not planning to attend but who have something to contribute to this discussion (we plan to conduct the meetings in South Carolina with live web access for any who would like to join us from afar!) – let us know your reactions and suggestions, by posting these on Facebook or sending us emails and letters to:

Amanda Johnson, SASAF Secretary Email: [email protected] Snail mail:       341 Cherry Ave West Sayville, NY 11796

Think-piece on SASAF Programs

Foreword

WAY BACK WHEN the people who attended Schutz as students and boarders or came to Egypt as Schutz School teachers, administrators and house parents and devoted themselves to creating the warm and tight-knit living and learning environment that we alumni fondly recall, Schutz was a special place and time in our lives.  Our individual memories of Schutz mean different things to us today and touched us in different ways but we all share an emotional attachment to that experience which makes us eager to stay in touch with our old friends, read what people recall of what happened there, and causes us now to want to come together to reminisce and perhaps to recapture some of that magical time in our lives.

What was it about Schutz that made it so?  Unlike other schools that we attended or places we have experienced in our lives since then – places where we may not think of going back to find some lost youthful identity, where we don’t go to attend gatherings and reunions with the same sense of anticipation, which didn’t have that feeling of belonging – we all can agree that our Schutz experience was something special and that nothing quite compares to the feelings we have about it.  For many of us, Schutz and Alexandria and Egypt altogether was a place and time of adventure and discovery for us. We remember Schutz as a school where we did things as an entire group together, where there was a sense of fellowship and home, a place and a community that we missed when we parted and for many of us, made us look forward to summer’s end.  Schutz had a sense of family and tradition in those days that made it something unique.

Today, as we consider what SASAF should be, those traditions – carried forward by the school’s administrators, teachers and also, the older kids over the generations of Schutzites, and we ourselves, now – ought to be remembered and somehow defined for what it was to us.  Whether it was the influence of the Presbyterian mission or something else, the school conveyed a sense of fellowship and belief in principles of caring, sharing and community in the way that a family is bound together.  We care about each other and in preserving what bound us together.  We love reading about Schutz, getting together and recalling the good times, places and events of our experiences together, not just for the sake of reminiscing but for the pleasure of being together again.  Moreover, many of us care about not just Schutz School but more broadly, our connection to Alex and Egypt; we are, many of us, “American Egyptians” as one of us has recently remarked.

Our task as the SASAF board of directors is to lead the organization, tend to its functions and to our responsibilities to the membership, and also to be creative in finding ways that SASAF can serve as a platform for not just keeping us connected, but to do this in a way that draws more Schutzites to the active SASAF community and enrich our time together today.  This paper is intended to provide some food for thought on this last aspect.

New Opportunities for Expanding and Enlivening the Schutz Alumni Community

What do we want to accomplish?  Let us first focus on those things that we’ve been doing as an organization and how we might do those things better.

• Defining and sharing our common bonds and experiences.  SASAF represents for us a contemporary social mechanism for keeping alive that former spirit of community that Schutz once conveyed to us as individuals and that still binds us together.  All of us want to capture these lasting bonds and what they mean, and this begins with the challenging task of reducing to words and tangible imagery our memories and emotions from that time in our lives.  The SASAF’s communications media are one of the ways we can do this.  Through newsletters, our website, blogs and by other means of sharing information, we have the means to create a many-faceted forum for discussing and reminiscing about our experiences then, and getting in touch on what has happened to us since that time.  These media can and should be used and enhanced to serve this interest we all share, and it is incumbent on us to take the opportunity now to consider the best and practical means for increasing SASAF’s ability to serve this function, be it through newsletters, our website, social media, publications or whatever means we can imagine.
• Facilitating personal connections and get-togethers.  An important need is giving the Schutz community ready access to the database of information, including contact information, on people we want to hear about, hear from, see again and know again.  This kind of information is proprietary to some extent, and in making this data base available, we should think about how to protect such information from general public view.  This kind of information is also useful tous in our work to increase connectivity within our community, in planning such things as reunions and get-togethers, from a geographical standpoint.  One idea has been raised to attempt to place this information in an expandable geographic format, such as what would be possible using geographic information systems (GIS) or Google-Earth, something that can be done through the internet and perhaps our website.  Done well, such a format might extend to people posting reminisces, photos and blog-style writings that individual members may wish to share with the community.  Facebook, of course, is one current method that such sharing is happening, but this isn’t something that everyone uses. The need for preparing our Schutz alumni database along these lines would require some research of Google-Earth or other systems available to us to know what is possible. At a minimum, one of our tasks is to tackle the issue of the Schutz alumni data-base, something that has not yet been done.
• Getting more Schutzites involved in SASAF.  Perhaps our greatest challenge is to find ways of getting more Schutzites involved in the organization and attending our reunions.  This has many dimensions, not the least of which is making more people aware of SASAF and drawing wider attention to our website, and planning our communications in a way that is practical but accessible.  A more complete database is certainly needed for this, and we must think of ways of reaching people and getting this information out there.  One way of doing this is to consider doing things that could draw people’s interest in SASAF, through wordof-mouth and by publicizing our programs and activities, including things that could have the effect of interesting people who aren’t merely interested in our reunions or are unable to make the effort to travel to them, so we don’t see much of them.

With this last objective in mind, it is time now to think creatively about what SASAF might do, going forward, to infuse new interest and energy among the broader Schutz community of alumni, administrators, teachers, parents and friends and that can above all make our time together pleasurable and perhaps also more meaningful in re-connecting us to our fond memories of our youthful experience and our love of Schutz, Alexandria and Egypt.

Before getting to what those ideas might be, a word on the guidelines for considering new activities and programs.  Firstly, we ought to think of things that we believe the older generations of Schutzites could be interesting in doing.  SASAF is, after all, an organization that came together from the interest of Schutzites from those earlier days, not that we aren’t also interested in connecting to today’s Schutz School and students and attracting people from later generations of Schutzites to SASAF.  These activities and programs should be of a nature that brings us into contact with what interested us about Schutz, Alex and Egypt in our time, including reconnecting us to Schutz School today.

Above all, they should be things that could enhance our enjoyment in working together and getting together, and perhaps draw other people into the fold at the same time.

Certainly, not everything we might think of will be of interest to everyone, but that should not deter us; perhaps there are a number of things that are worth doing and possible to do.  There are many Schutz alumni who have pursued quite interesting careers and interests in their lives.  What are some things that might give us an opportunity to share our talents and interests with each other and perhaps with the Schutz School and its people today?

Finally, we should not be constrained, in our thinking starting out, by the question of funding requirements; in fact some of these ideas may by their very nature involve raising new sources of funding.  We as an organization, our community, our history and our very connection to Egypt, is after all unique and special.  The history of Schutz American School itself is quite a story!  Perhaps that story and our connection to Egypt can provide a compelling reason to get donors and donor organizations to open their pockets to us (through, most likely, Schutz School); the U.S. government, for one, has a stake in supporting and strengthening cultural and other links between the U.S. and Egypt in these challenging and perilous times for our bilateral relations.  But neither should we make any foregone assumptions about being successful by going the proposal route to funding.

The following are some ideas that have occurred to me.  I do not necessarily advocate any of these ideas.  But I find it better not to start with a blank sheet of paper when seeking suggestions and getting creative juices flowing.  Nor do I think we need to press this matter prematurely.  To repeat, we have to deal with the basics first and then move to the broader agenda of things that SASAF might consider doing to stimulate a more lively interest within our community.  That said, I know that any of these ideas would take considerable time and effort to become actionable, and I would like to think that we can reach a decision on at least one new activity during this coming year.

1. SASAF-sponsored tours to Egypt.  School alumni organizations everywhere sponsor alumni travel and tours as one of the programs they use to attract and keep alumni involved in their networks.  Should we consider doing this?  If so, we might think of planning such tours to include stops at the particular places that would bring us back to where we spent time together, not just Schutz and Alexandria but specially designed itineraries to include places of special interest to us from our experiences of Egypt.  These visits could also be scoped to encompass activities with the School as are mentioned below. We might also consider arranging tours and travel to other parts of the world.  Needless to say, security-related and liability-related considerations would be paramount in considering this option, where SASAF would be in the position of sponsoring travel to Egypt and possibly other places in the world and would carry certain legal and logistical responsibilities to the people who would choose to participate.
2. The 2024 Grand Reunion in Alexandria. At the July 2012 reunion, we talked about scheduling a grand reunion in Egypt to coincide with Schutz’s 100^th-year anniversary.  This of course is some time off in the future, but it is not too early to consider how to plan such an event entailing a large group and all the logistics involved in doing that, including putting the initial plans in place early enough so that people can consider participating.  It is quite possible, of course, that other things SASAF might be doing by then could be incorporated into this particular event, so the particular arrangements for this grand reunion should be left open (read further).  The security-related issues of course will be important.
3. SASAF-sponsored symposia at Schutz School.  As noted, we have in our wider community – including those who haven’t been part of SASAF up to now – many people with varying career experiences and interests, and it may be that some of us would enjoy sharing our experiences and knowledge with the kids who attend Schutz today, not the least of which is our own experience of Schutz and Egypt long ago.  Much thought and planning would need to be put into this, but the idea of working with the Schutz School administration and faculty to arrange special, short-term (of one week’s duration or less) symposia at the school for, say, upperclass students on topics such as freedom and authority in a changing society, the role of religion in culture (including our own micro-culture back then), and perhaps topics that might be suggested by Schutz alumni relating to their careers and interests that might be of interest to the school faculty and the students, i.e., what are the paths to certain kinds of careers, and what kinds of learning is involved and how do such careers relate to issues of universal interest in the world today?   We might think of many things that could be of genuine interest and value to these kids as part of their learning experience.  These events could not only be of interest to the groups of Schutz alumni who would plan and conduct such symposia, but would certainly produce interesting stories of Schutz and Egypt today that could be shared with our community on our website and through other media.

Nor should we overlook the possibility of considering these kinds of topical sessions at our own reunions (perhaps more in the way of lectures and presentations by individual Schutz alumni) – it would be quite interesting to know more about what our old classmates have done with their lives and hearing about their experiences and accomplishments.

1. Internship sponsorships for graduating students.  Along the lines of what we older Schtuzites have to offer from our career interests, some of us may be in a position to arrange internships at our organizations of work, or by other circumstances available to us, in sponsoring summertime visits to the U.S. (or to other places where alumni are) by rising Schutz School seniors or graduates.  This would be intended to offer opportunities for these youngsters to get exposure to careers that may be of interest to them, and for those of us who might be able to make such arrangements, the chance to know these people.  Perhaps the George Meloy Scholarship Fund provides an example to follow in putting together a fund of some kind for this purpose, the sources of those funds to be the subject of discussion and exploration by the Budget and Finance Committee.
2. Sponsoring visits Schutz School seniors to visit colleges and universities abroad. Another, similar, possibility is working with Nathan and Schutz School to sponsor travel abroad (U.S., mainly), for shorter visits by rising seniors and graduates to stay at our homes for the purpose of visiting colleges that these kids might be interested in attending.  Obtaining visas generally requires the sponsorship of a U.S. organization, which would be the reason for making this a formal undertaking of SASAF.  These could be scheduled around the time of our annual meetings and reunions to expose these kids to the earlier generations of Schutz kids – it would certainly be fun for us, as a group, to meet some of these people, would it not?
3. SASAF Projects.  This is an idea that will merit careful thought and a good deal of outreach and research.  Many of us are involved in ‘good works’ projects both at home and abroad as being one of the things that allows us to gain that sense of ‘giving back.’  Perhaps there are things that need doing and need sponsorship that we as a group can undertake, possibly in connection with Schutz School.  We might want to keep this notion on our agenda, and be alert to opportunities we might come across that could resonate for us as being worthwhile and at the same time be of interest to SASAF as something that we would enjoy doing together.

First Steps and Next Steps

The first step is to complete the SASAF communications plan.  There are a number of decisions and practical questions that must be addressed in doing this, which is one of our chief objectives for the meeting scheduled for the 9^th.  We should consider that this will be a work-in-progress over the coming months, and as we do this, some of the new ideas we might have for SASAF programs and activities can be blended into the plan as we go along.  Ideally, the communications plan should be a ‘living document’ and something we as a committee should review and update from time to time.

Key items in the agenda list I have suggested for this topic of our meeting include especially the website and how it should be revamped to serve our various needs.  In particular we will need the help of a website expert or two to take in hand what we determine to be its functions and capabilities.  We also need to consider what will be required on an on-going basis to manage the website, receive content, check content, write content, and so on.  This is no small task and we must not make any casual assumptions that it will all come together somehow, and we must be prepared to put the resources into it that the job in fact will require.

We must also think carefully about our audience.  As noted, we have quite a story to tell and this alone is one of our assets in working on our funding needs, perhaps with other organizations.  The public at large – through our website – is certainly one of those audiences, and one of the reasons it is important to do a professional job on that particular aspect of our communications plan.

We must also make a wise determination on how we are going to plan our meetings, and I include in this consideration what needs to be done to make our meetings more accessible.   Part of this, as noted above, is getting to the question of our alumni database and thinking about ways for extending our outreach especially to Schutzites who haven’t been participating in our meetings and with whom we have lost contact.  There is a lot of talent, and I suspect, latent interest in actively participating in the Schutz alumni program, out there in our community!

While we have ourselves as a committee and as a board, there is no doubt that we need to involve other people in all of this that we are setting out to do.  This, after all, is one of the ways to engage other Schutzites in SASAF and its activities and work.  One of the next steps, therefore, is for us to reach out to other Schutzites to solicit their help and creativity in setting our broader agenda and making things happen.  At some point, after due consideration of what we need to do and can think of doing, we should consider issuing surveys of the Schutz community as way of attracting people to our organization and stirring interest.  This would also be a way of validating some the things that we as the board think might be of interest to the group.

We will also need to spend time with Nathan and the school discussing our needs and plans, whatever they may be.  Particularly in contemplating some new activities that directly or indirectly involve the Schutz School, we will need their buy-in, and it most likely will require working with the school should we decide to make formal proposals for funding and support.

Finally, there is this matter of financial resources.  We are blessed to have a pretty solid kitty of funds available to us, but there is no reason not to think that we can leverage these resources and add to them.  This is a matter for our other board committee, and I have already done a bit of exploring on the question of where funding might lie in the U.S. foreign assistance budget, something with which I am quite familiar.

Paul Clark