Fall Family Weekend begins Friday morning with families attending classes, assembly and afternoon commitments before beginning parent/teacher conferences at 1:00 pm. For the first time during the 2013-2014 academic year, nearly all families, students and teachers will be on campus at the same time.



Each student arrives at Proctor at a different age, with a different set of academic experiences. Many come as fourteen year old ninth grades, others as sophomores, juniors, and even a few as seniors. While prior experiences have largely defined a student prior to Proctor, our goal is to expand that definition of self. Our hope is that no student will graduate Proctor as the same individual who first stepped foot on campus.



This can be both exciting and a bit unnerving for parents. However, rarely during a four year period of time do we stay the same. When reflecting on the past four years of my life, I recognize I am a different person today than I was four years ago. Maybe not drastically, but my priorities, life situations, and most certainly my perspective has change as new experiences present themselves.



Perhaps, as parents, we take snapshots of our children (one of my three year old playing in the leaves last weekend will undoubtedly be ingrained in my mind for years to come) and we hesitate to let that image evolve as time passes. I want my three year old to stay the little blond headed bundle of energy that he is forever, but the reality is our children grow up.



Studies repeatedly prove the importance of an engaged family in a child’s education from the earliest ages. While we completely agree with this notion, our goal is not to work with families to educate each student, but rather to become family. It is through this mindset that we approach Fall Family Weekend.

As advisors, dorm parents, coaches, and teachers we welcome students (and their families) into our lives. We embark on an educational journey alongside students and parents, sharing the euphoria of success and the frustrations of failure, all while maintaining consistent focus on the why and not the what of a student’s performance.



As a teacher who will welcome parents and students into conferences this weekend, I am so thankful to teach at a school where I get to go along on this journey with each of my students. I feel fortunate that I am encouraged to develop open, honest relationships with students and parents that ultimately challenge all of us to reach our potential. Most importantly, however, I am thankful the ‘snapshots’ I have in my mind of students are consistently shattered by dynamic, creative, and passionate young men and women who desire to evolve, change, and grow as students during their time at Proctor.

For more information on Fall Family Weekend, visit this LINK.