50th Timeline: 1984 – “Caring for Each Other” – The First Pension Plan for Staff Members

In previous entries, we have discussed Alex Horsley’s push to carve out a new Middle School and to improve the campus with the Noel-Baker Building.  In this entry, we attempt to discuss his contributions beyond the academic program and the facilities. As Horsley himself wrote in the 1981 Fall Festival and Village Fair program “there is more to a school than pure academics.  Our school strives to be a complete community in which all concerned, young and old, care for each other and work together for the common good.” Horsley’s efforts in this regard cannot be easily summarized, but it included the kind and caring way that he interacted with others each day and his efforts to connect Mullica Hill with other Quaker schools in the region.  One related behind-the-scenes initiative was his effort to create a pension plan for the staff, who were then and always have been the heart of the school. Approved by the Board, Horsley called the matching program “a major step forward for the school.” The struggle to compensate teachers properly and balance tuition would still continue, but this was an important moment.   Horsley’s combination of new facilities, improved academic programs, and a compassionate community all led to a sharp rise in enrollment, from 193 enrolled students when he arrived to over 250 students by the start of the 1984 school year.