Existing in a truly global market, a boarding school prospers to the degree that it differentiates itself from others. This awareness of unique qualities goes from the obvious "mission" to a whole spectrum of subtleties: curricula, community norms and ethos, residential life issues and policies.

Biology students are studying the structure of epithelial cells scraped from their own mouths:

 



The variety and diversity of these qualities are beyond the ability of an outsider to fully grasp and internalize. Still, a campus visit accomplishes much. Buz Morison, who taught at several prep schools before returning to Proctor, spoke of this school's sense of community in assembly:

 

In response to the enormity of the task of finding the right school for a child, a whole industry of educational consulting has grown and expanded since Robert Parsons opened his office in Boston in the early '60s.

In economics, Spencer and Truman dress up to pitch their business plan (green diesel trucks with massive solar panels) to teachers playing the role of venture capitalists.

 

Bob Parsons loved Proctor, remarking to me in 1976 (in the Cary House dining hall!) that the school was "so knowable."

 

Other consultants discovered the same distinction: the nature of support services, experiential teaching methodologies and the balance between academic structure and social informality all combine to make Proctor easy to know, and to recommend to families. Ian Hamlet's honors chemistry class spontaneously posed and demanded I shoot them before class began yesterday!

 

When I became Director of Admission in 1983, Dave Fowler sent me down to Boston to meet Bob Parson's successor, Faith Howland. On my arrival, she started, "I meet these kids, and they just belong at Proctor!" I was shocked, and responded, "What are they like?"

A psychology class circles outdoors to consider the subjective nature of perception.

 

She answered me in surprising detail, citing real-life examples of high-verbal, abstract thinking students who benefitted from coaching with time management, organization and related executive skills. Over the decades, Faith--and many other consultants--have helped us realize our dream by directing appropriate applicants to the Admission Office.

 




The Math Department poses with a low-tech computer!