What a great couple of years it has been for Nuestro Mundo!  

We secured the contract with Madison Metropolitan School District to continue Nuestro Mundo Community School as an instrumentality charter school for another 5 years. In fact, the MMSD Board of Education voted unanimously in favor of the charter renewal contract and reflected on how special the school is as a safe and welcoming place with top notch teachers and staff. Thank you to all who contributed to this effort! 

Additionally, the Nuestro Mundo, Inc. (NMI) board is in a good place as we head into next year. We have increased, and are actively working to further increase, diversity on the board. NMI will continue to encourage all NMCS families and community members to actively participate in the organization’s direction and decision-making.  

NMI—because of you—has had record-breaking fundraisers this year and are looking at attracting more corporate donations in the upcoming years. We appreciate all of your support for the Family & School Alliance fundraisers and events; contributions in the classrooms of time, snacks and supplies; and donations to the Big Share and other financial support to NMI. 

Through strategic planning, NMI has sharpened its focus on short-terms goals. The next big lift for NMI — and the entire NMCS community — will be a push for a permanent home for NMCS in its own building. While we have done well in our leased Monona space, the school needs the stability of a permanent home. The sky’s the limit of what that could look like: community center, early child care, 3 to 5 kinder, mental health outreach, an expanded food pantry and an avenue to provide other basic needs. NMI needs your support with this initiative. Stay tuned!

With this letter, I say farewell to NMI as my term on the board wraps up in June 2019. Over the years, it has been amazing to work with such dedicated board members, teachers, staff, administrators, family members, and community members who have pulled for the school and pushed for dual language immersion education in an effort to improve the opportunities for students of color and who strive toward equity and equality in our community. Thank you! 

Pam McGillivray, outgoing NMI president