<html> <head> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /> <style> @media only screen and (max-width: 580px) { table[class="main-content"], table[class="main"], table[class="main-background"] { width: 100% !important; min-width: 200px !important; } table[class="column-table"] { width: 100% !important; min-width: 200px !important; } img[class="columnImage"] { max-width: 100% !important; margin: 0 auto !important; display: block !important; } table[class="main-padding"] { padding: 0px !important; } table[class="preheader"] { width: 100% !important; } table[class="main"], td[class="main"] { width: 100% !important; min-width: 200px !important; } table[class="main-background"], td[class="main-background"] { width: 100% !important; min-width: 200px !important; } td[class="gap"] { display: none; } table[class="image-in-table"] { float: none; margin: 0px auto 15px auto; max-width: 100% !important; } table[class="image-in-table"] td { width: 100% !important; } table[class="image-in-table"] img { width: 100% !important; height: auto !important; } td[class="image-text"] { padding: 10px !important; } td[class="image-text"] p { text-align: left !important; } h1 { width: 100% !important; } td[class="buttons"] { padding: 0px !important; width: 100% !important; } td[class="buttons"] table { width: 100% !important; margin: 0px; } td[class="footer-column"] { width: 100% !important; display: block !important; } iframe { width: 100% !important; height: auto !important; display: block !important; border: none !important; } } </style> <!--[if gte mso 12]> <style type="text/css"> table { mso-table-lspace: 0pt; mso-table-rspace: 0pt; } </style> <![endif]--> </head> <body style="padding: 0 0 0 0; margin: 0; -webkit-font-smoothing:antialiased; -webkit-text-size-adjust:none; background: #FFFFFF;" background="" bgcolor="#FFFFFF"> <table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" background="" bgcolor="#FFFFFF"> <tr> <td width="100%" class="main" align="center" valign="top" style="min-width: 640px;"> <table width="640" class="preheader" align="center" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0"> <tr> <td class="preheader-link" align="right" width="200" style="padding: 15px 0px; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; color: #666666"> </td> </tr> </table> <table align="center" width="640" class="main" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0"> <tr> <td> <table width="640" class="main-background" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" align="center"> <tr> <td> <img border="0" src="http://www.asl.org/uploaded/Misc_design/Logo_banner.jpg?1471352166254" width="640" class="columnImage" valign="bottom" style="vertical-align: bottom; font-size: 2px;" align=""> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> <table width="640" class="main-background" align="center" valign="top" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" bgcolor=""> <tr> <td> <table align="center" width="640" class="main" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0"> <tr> <td> <table width="640" class="main-background" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" bordercolor="#FFFFFF" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" align="center"> <tr> <td style="padding: 10px 20px" class="main-padding" align="center" valign="top"> <table border="0" cellpadding="10" cellspacing="0" width="100%" align="left" class="column-table"> <tr> <td valign="top" class="leftColumnContent" align="left" style="text-align: left; line-height: 22px; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; color: #373737;"> <p style="text-align: left; margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px; line-height: 22px; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; color: #373737;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 14px;">Dear ASL community,<br><br>We hope you and your families are healthy and finding ways to adapt to this unexpected new way of life. Three weeks ago, we wrote to you and described the steps the Board of Trustees was taking to assess and address the impact of the global pandemic on our school and our community, and invited you to reach out to us with any thoughts or concerns.<br> <br>We have listened carefully. We know that the current challenges continue and that uncertainty about the future remains high. What was unheard of only two months ago is now our new normal and what we expected for our future is uncertain at best. These changed circumstances and lack of clear visibility are accompanied by deeper worries, persistent stress and for many, grief. <br><br>We are committed to our mission and guided by our values and will use them to protect the future of ASL. We strongly believe that our community—our students, families, faculty, staff and administration—is at the core of what we are as an institution. Our community makes us special and unique, and ASL is a place that we cherish. We are determined to protect the health of our community, which was the key driver of our proactive move to distance learning. We are also committed to protecting the financial health of the School and supporting those in our community who are in need. In that vein, the Board of Trustees and the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) have agreed to take the following actions:<br><strong><br>Tuition adjustment:</strong> For 2020-21, we will keep our tuition fees at 2019-20 levels. The previously communicated tuition increases will not be put in place.<br><strong><br>Community Support Fund:</strong> We will establish a new, dedicated fund for the financial support of our families who are most severely impacted by this economic crisis. This fund will enable us to help current ASL families who would otherwise be unable to return to ASL, by providing discounted seats for the 2020-21 academic year. Our goal is to provide as much stability as possible for our students in this uncertain time. Questions regarding this fund, including how families in need can utilize it, should be directed to <a href="mailto:admissions@asl.org">the admissions office.</a><br><br>To ensure our capacity to implement these key decisions, the Board has worked closely with the SLT to reconsider all aspects of ASL’s current and future financial position. There are important details that we wish to share to provide clarity and transparency on our decision-making process.<br><br>Fortunately, since the economic crisis over a decade ago, ASL has practiced prudent financial discipline and built reserves and an endowment to help mitigate any significant changes in the environment and protect the position of the School. However, our reserves are finite and will likely be tapped as a function of the current situation. Additionally, UK charitable requirements significantly constrain our access to ASL’s endowment.<br><br>As all institutions have done during this period, ASL has implemented a number of cost-saving measures for the remainder of this year and next. Our priority is to maintain our excellent student experience, and we are therefore focussing on non-program-related costs. </span><ul><li><span style="font-size: 14px;">We have closed the campus down as much as possible while still ensuring its security. </span></li><li><span style="font-size: 14px;">We have postponed non-essential maintenance projects where we are uncertain as to whether the current environment will allow them to be completed during the summer months. </span></li><li><span style="font-size: 14px;">Approximately 70 employees have been furloughed, although we have ensured that their overall income is not reduced.</span></li></ul><span style="font-size: 14px;"><br>At the same time, there are risks to the School’s budget for the current and the coming year. </span><ul><li><span style="font-size: 14px;">Each year we rely on the generosity of our community for our Annual Fund, which supports our programmatic and financial aid budget. This year the goal for the fund is £1.85M, and the budget for next year was based on a similar target. We recognize that in this period of economic uncertainty, we may not achieve these goals. </span></li><li><span style="font-size: 14px;">The School’s endowment income, in all likelihood, will be reduced as a result of the economic impact on market values, and interest income on bank balances is low.</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 14px;">Expected non-tuition-based income from programs such as summer camps and facility rental is likely to fall. </span></li><li><span style="font-size: 14px;">We must continue to service our £27M of debt, although, fortunately, we recently restructured it to lock in low interest rates and longer-term principal amortizations.<br></span></li><li><span style="font-size: 14px;">We have taken uncertainties about re-enrollment numbers into consideration.</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 14px;">We recognize that the current health and related economic challenges may span more than one school year, and we have factored this into our decisions.</span></li></ul><span style="font-size: 14px;"><br>We are still in the early days of this global pandemic. We acknowledge that in the coming months the situation will change. Therefore, we continue to engage in scenario planning, to meet regularly, and to listen to our community. Though we do not know what the future will hold, we look ahead together with optimism and dedication to our mission.<br><br>Thank you for your commitment to our School and community.<br><br>On behalf of ASL’s Board of Trustees,<br><br>David Novak<br>Chair<br><br>Erin Roth<br>Vice Chair</span></span><br></span></p> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> <table class="main" width="640" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" align="center" > <tr class="social-icons" align="left" bgcolor="#F47A20"> <td align="left" style="padding: 10px 30px; font-family: Arial;"> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left" style="color: #FFFFFF; padding: 10px 30px; font-family: Arial;" bgcolor="#F47A20"> <span style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 16px;">The American School in London</span><br> One Waverley Place<br> London NW8 0NP<br> <br> <a href="//www.asl.org" style="color: #FFFFFF;">www.asl.org</a><br> <br> <a href="http://email.mail2.veracross.com/c/eJxNkcmOozAQhp8GjggvGHPgQMZNRCRodSs9AS6R47hjs0aYLOTpx8xIo5ZqUf1VKpW-OsdAkIAg9y6OVzmZcTjKnuvueG3jEAEMMXJVHGCKAh9DSEMahZKDKKQwCrlAGCJCsdvFap6vxkGJA1Nr37zX3eLd5cTFNBrjyZtVuelsNLeTEZO-znocbNnzgV-kg9JWLg5ictmNp0PaZM2o88PH8s7OTcF2qtqrpmpaWG9rXTQVyA91m7-SR80ur5olz7rPQfHKnu-_MpP1n-q8TXVVFt26x2ZTwh-afui6VA9e7qzW3U86I1mTPfImmXP2ZV195fsLKVhCcrbh67zY_l4EjG4l2kx_b9uLZ8Eq_f1hj7bm6hj60LeQMKDYB8ADHiFvgIJNQP002DAcOdhf2cIfXMTYu1P8D5dtK6mHSQtlde_Wrk8RnZbDHFt0a_X_N5QgSv8AtYKQbQ" target="_blank" style="color: #FFFFFF;"></a> <br> <p style="font-size: 10px;"></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td class="main" width="640" height="30"> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> <img width="1px" height="1px" alt="" src="http://email.mail2.veracross.com/o/eJw9jjsOwyAQRE8TSrTLz-uCxkpyDYsAlpHxR5BYyu2Dm5TzZjR6waI32kh2-vGIpe7bGFeX8ngstpOohJJstr2alAmhmww0REL14LrwAkJHmrxnyQoQAG2OpACRIzfmgYSDJnjq4a76m4LrWPAzFufLXiv3-8qKndya8rfVc0xbSX5unH-Wy8jnFLe3dTVf6S9GRhL9ALR5OHg"></body> </html>