As his weekly letter to parents, Mike Henriques just wrote a smart, thought-provoking essay on the qualities that make a school--this school--distinct, special, and desirable in the eyes of applicants and their families. "What is it that tips the scale to
remarkable?" he asks.
"Is it rich programming?"
"Is it the ability to wisely implement the latest technology in the classroom?"
"Implement the most recent research on adolescent cognitive development into teaching practices?"
"Is it ringing intellectualism? Successful athletic programs? Is it all of the above built around a sound fiscal model? Yes. And also more.
It's a community of educators who share faith in the mission of the school, who place intellectual and personal growth of students above self-interest, and who understand that community needs to lean into the future while being mindful of the past. It's about momentum and change with a particular brand of constancy."
"It's about rigor and support, support and rigor. It's about putting in the hours. It's not about being fearful of change, and it's never about any one adult. But it is about every student."
"As the Admissions team sifts through hundreds of applications, we believe there are hundreds of remarkable moments every day that await those who will join us next year. In the aggregate, do these moments make us a remarkable school? Perhaps. Our goal is less to pause and wonder and more to move forward and bend to the work of being a school. And on this damp Friday at the end of a long term, that is exactly what we will do."
