A few days ago, letters of admission were sent to approximately one hundred applicants. As they consider Proctor for their college and life preparation, we are recycling a couple of webpages that address some of the school's distinctive qualities. This one first appeared in June, 2004.

Proctor is a remarkably independent school. We tend to define ourselves without comparison to others. We are what marketing analyst Seth Godin calls a "purple cow"...an organization taking risks--not to seduce the majority--but to be irresistable to specific segments of our highly segmented culture. We're talking about institutional risk taking here. I can't take pictures of that, so I'll offer some metaphoric images of students sensing the safety it takes to take personal risks.

Whether personal or insitutional, we're talking about doing amazing things. Some of the risks include social informality, freedom within specific fences, open forums, the commitment to diversity that includes a cross-section of the college bound population and all of the experiential stuff. What is remarkable is the degree of agreement shared by Proctor's constituencies as to the validity of these qualities. It's bone deep. No matter where you look, you see the same thing.

The easy part is deciding to be great. It just takes an instant. Pulling it off takes time and adult talent; (consider the staffing requisites to run Mountain Classroom, to sail a schooner to Puerto Rico, to orchestrate excursions through Andulacia or manage 2700 acres of New Hampshire woodlands.)

During uncertain times, there's a natural urge to play it safe...to retrench or move to the middle. In an industry (independent education) that is inherently conservative and--in many cases--steeped in tradition, Proctor's position is superb.

Seth Godin asks, "Why not be great?"

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