One hundred and thirty-five visitors attended classes and panel discussions today, weighing whether this is the right school for them. We hand out little notepads in which to jot impressions. I can only imagine what these contain. "April 2. Proctor. Andover, NH. Snow/sleet falling. Dining hall reminds me of ski lodge on New Year's Day."
"Met tourguide. Nice guy. Skateboards. Had breakfast togther. Coco Puffs. Dishroom is intimidating. John Coltrane playing loud, but where do bowls go? Felt like I was taking an IQ test poorly."
Or: "On first visit, saw classes with 12-14 students. Today, 18-20."
This was the first of two revisit days, and--judging by the scene at the final, informal wrap-up--things went very well. There had been a faculty panel discussion with parents in the auditorium earlier in the day, and--afterward--one parent said to me, "At the other four schools we revisited, the response to every question was all about the school, as if it existed first--and then students attended. At Proctor, the response to every question referred to students first, as if the school only exists when students are here."
