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Standing for Something

            One of our Board President’s favorite mantras is that Berwick stands for something.  Often he is in the foxhole with me sorting through particularly challenging ethical dilemmas associated with school leadership. My hope is that our community takes pride in knowing that our children, in this way, will always be a part of something bigger than themselves. To some degree, our core values articulate what we stand for, and I would draw our attention most specifically to our commitment to integrity today. Having engaged our student community in a conversation about values when I first arrived here, this was their greatest source of institutional pride: there were lots of great schools, but our students knew that Berwick tried to do things the right way.

            Standing for something is often quite painful as a Head of School when dealing with unhappy students, parents, faculty, alumni, or even trustees. One case study I present in eighth grade Ethics is to ask the kids to become me for a day and consider whether or not they would accept a $10 million gift if it compromised the integrity of their leadership in some way. They struggle with the decision, which I appreciate deeply. Standing for something requires courage, empathy, and strength. At our recent admissions open house, I was pleased to be approached by four or five families whose sense was that they were most impressed with our transparency and collective ability to speak directly to where we stand. Much of this was in the context of Curriculum 2020, but my sense was that it was an acknowledgement that our leadership team was on the same page.

            As we enter an election year with the particular excitement in New Hampshire, we will witness again both the triumph and the cost associated with standing for something. We will watch candidates waffle, appease, and struggle to put metaphorical lines in the sand. As an independent school, it is tempting to adjust one’s message and direction to accommodate everyone. In an environment where there are only so many families willing to make an investment in a Berwick education in the Seacoast, I find myself working hard to avoid alienating people at times. But when we do ultimately acknowledge that a student, family, or teacher is not a match for this place, it comes back to our sense of institutional integrity.


            My hope is that our students absorb this type of integrity by the experience of being here for their education day after day. Through the partnership of school leaders and parents who agree that standing for something matters, we model the kind of courage and resiliency we seek for all Berwick graduates.

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