Faculty are nearing the end of their first full week of meetings in preparation for the 2013-2014 school year that officially begins Friday with the arrival of new students heading out on Preseason Wilderness Orientation in the White Mountains. As conversations around iPad implementation, technology in the classroom, community program and updates to facilities provide tangible energy on campus, we become keenly aware of Proctor's ability to continuously build on its solid foundation.



At this point in the year, we are filled with enthusiasm (and rightfully so as we launch a 1:1 iPad program, a new myProctor intranet system, new academic classes, welcome new faculty and even a new dormitory in November!). Much of our attention has been on strategy: How to best use new technologies to bolster the learning of our students? How to best integrate a worldwide network of alumni and parents into our classrooms? How to most effectively use the tools, resources and facilities available to us to provide a transformational education?



A few weeks ago, I read this blog post and while many of the article's lessons may not directly relate to our life as educators, the core concept of bridging the chasm between strategy and execution remains incredibly vital to our mission as a school. Thankfully, we are surrounded by faculty, staff, and administration that collectively serve as both strategists and executers of established strategy, but that doesn't mean the implementation of our strategy will be seamless.



As we move into the school year, we know that our best laid plans will be challenged by unforeseen obstacles. Sundheim notes in the blog linked above, "Execution is a minefield. The clean and elegant logic of strategy gets dirty in the real world. Agendas compete. Priorities clash." Time is a finite commodity that plagues every boarding school, especially one that offers 135 academic classes, 39 art electives, 39 athletic offerings, five off-campus programs and a residential life curriculum to each of its students. When faculty were asked to offer solutions to a scheduling issue this week, Bill Wightman (Art Department Chair) proposed adding an eighth day to each week.

While an eighth day to the week isn't likely to happen, it is reassuring to observe (and be a part of) such a clear, tangible community-wide desire to work collaboratively to ensure our strategy as a school will be executed to the best of our ability. 

Now, we just need our 356 students back in our classrooms so we can really start having fun!