Berwick Academy Head of School

When I walked into the Upper School faculty meeting this past Tuesday morning, I should not have been surprised by the sense of despair in the room on the heels on a weekend that involved a horrific car crash of one of their colleagues. After making a few comments about empathy and logistics for the week, there were no questions. Ironically, when I visited Upper School History teacher Lucy Pollard for the first time after her accident, I had completely lost my voice. I told her it was appropriate, given that there were no words to ease the reality of what had taken place. That being said, I left the faculty meeting a bit early and headed to assembly. Our students were already there. I am quite sure many of them were despondent as well, and yet they were still adolescent kids – chatting with each other after a long weekend, catching up on the latest news. While I needed to make some sobering comments in assembly, by lunchtime there was that familiar buzz in the Commons lunchroom. W...

Heads of School know that January/February is the absolute pinnacle of the high paced reality of running a school. So many things come together at once: admission decisions, contracts for employees, snow days, and hiring jump to mind. I have always felt that bringing new talent to campus is likely the most important role of a Head of School. Without question finding people with the right skill set and temperament to make classrooms come alive is essential to the future of the school and the experience of your children. Yet we also know hiring is an imperfect science. It is a blend of art and science when one tries to understand not just skills but ultimately the nebulous notion of “match” with the institution. It is one of the most enrapturing parts of my job – trying to formulate questions that will somehow unravel the mystery of hiring one candidate at a time. At the end of it all, there is always a blend of personal emotional intelligence (e.g. relationship-building) that seems...

There is nothing like a blizzard to remind you of the unsung heroes at your school. While I am sure many of our parents did pause to think that moving all that snow on campus was going to be a challenge, there is always so much behind the scenes that people don’t know. For example, we found our meager staff of five cut down to three during the blizzard on account of illness this week. The trio of Richie Knowles, Paul Calo, and David Hamilton were nothing short of a force on this campus Tuesday and Wednesday. I have to imagine that while they were plowing all day long on Tuesday, they felt like a modern day version of Sisyphus and his stone. Every time they made a run with the plow, the snow would be blown back in. It was impossible to keep up, and yet they had to keep going so the campus could be accessible to emergency services if needed. When the storm cleared on Wednesday, the real work began. It takes a storm like this to appreciate fully every nook and cranny on the campus t...

Just a few days ago, I wandered into a class in Fogg for a Head of School “drive by,” where English department chair Meg Martinson was introducing Frankenstein to her students. Many months ago, I remember her mentioning to me at a lunch table how much she loved the book; she lit up as I walked in the door and invited me to grab a seat in the discussion. She told me that “I could not have chosen a better moment” for a visit. As a former English teacher myself, the discussion reminded me of how many gaps I have in my own reading: this was yet another classic novel I had yet to tackle. I had always assumed it would be dense and predictable somehow. Clearly Meg’s job in this particular class was to try to ground the students, as they had been assigned the first few pages in the book the night before. For those of you that have actually read it, you know that Mary Shelley chooses to structure the tale with a complex layering of narration – a female author employs a male narrator,...

This week I had the pleasure of taking my oldest daughter to a Berwick varsity swim meet. It was an amazing time for me to be alone with just one of my girls (a rare occurrence these days), and we talked about her dreams for the future. Already, she idolizes a number of the female swimmers on the team, and I find myself encouraging this. At the meet, she kept asking me questions about the individual swimmers, and I found myself feeling eager to talk about the blend of athleticism, work ethic, and character I know to be present on this team.   Sitting in the stands watching our swimmers power through the waters achieving victory after victory, I could think of no better role models for Kenna than the female leaders of that team. I wondered what it could be like for her, and for me, to see her wearing a Berwick swimming cap some day. About halfway through the meet, as I was using the roster to familiarize myself with the new swimmers, I was reminded once again of how normalize...