|
As we begin the process of selecting our next Head of School, it is important that we reflect on the priorities that we hold as a community—priorities that we believe our next Head of School should also recognize. In selecting a Head of School, we are choosing more than just our school’s spokesperson, a role Mr. Shanahan has played well. We are also choosing the leader of and the most visible member of our community. Since this process is of integral importance to the state of our community and our lives as Choate students, the News believes it is important that the Search Committee take into full consideration a range of opinions and perspectives—not just those of teachers, parents, and alumni, but also those of students. As current students, our views reflect a unique and important perspective that deserves recognition.
As we begin the process of selecting our next Head of School, it is important that we reflect on the priorities that we hold as a community—priorities that we believe our next Head of School should also recognize. In selecting a Head of School, we are choosing more than just our school’s spokesperson, a role Mr. Shanahan has played well. We are also choosing the leader of and the most visible member of our community. Since this process is of integral importance to the state of our community and our lives as Choate students, the News believes it is important that the Search Committee take into full consideration a range of opinions and perspectives—not just those of teachers, parents, and alumni, but also those of students. As current students, our views reflect a unique and important perspective that deserves recognition.
We operate under the core belief that our Head of School should be more than a symbolic figurehead. Although we recognize that the Head of School fulfills the role of representative of the school to the outside world, especially with respect to fundraising, he or she must also be truly committed to being a direct, active, and constructive member of the Choate community. The News has identified three values that are central to Choate’s culture as a school and as a living community that our new Head of School must share: respect for Choate’s traditions, an emphasis on community, and an enthusiasm for communication with Choate’s diverse community.
The first value is a respect for Choate’s traditions. In its 120-year history, Choate has continually remained true to its motto of fidelitas et integritas (fidelity and integrity) in many ways. Our new Head of School must join in our community’s commitment to this ideal. This ideal includes supporting both our Honor Code and our one-strike policy for major school rule violations. These two manifestations of our motto help to ensure that a Choate education goes beyond the classroom and provides moral direction to the student body. The new Head of School must also respect the Choate tradition of student independence. In many ways, Choate students are granted the freedom to roam independently, especially with regard to the student clubs and organizations on campus, many of which are entirely student-run. This independence is integral to providing the comprehensive learning experience that Choate must provide its students in preparation for college and for life in the world beyond the “Choate Bubble.”
The second value is an emphasis on community. Although some attempts have been made in recent years to institute greater consolidation of our community, such as community lunch and dress code changes, most have fallen short in the eyes of students. In fact, some students and faculty see these examples of “new traditions” as empty rituals. However, this does not mean that we should give up on promoting a united community. On the contrary, we believe that the new Head of School must embrace the value of community as a keystone principle. This should mean more than just administrating from afar. Ideally, our Head of School should be a visible member of our community. Whether this means making his or her office more readily available to students, or simply by spending more time on campus getting to know the students, the new Head should be physically present at Choate more often. No community can truly come together under an absentee leader.
The third value is an enthusiasm for and commitment to communication. Our new Head of School must be able to juggle many distinct groups of people and be able to weigh their diverse perspectives before making important decisions. Choate’s community is large and varied. It consists of more than just the trustees and the alumni. It stretches beyond the faculty and the student body to the facilities staff, to Aramark, and to OneSource. Our new Head of School must be able to listen to these groups of people when making decisions, and he or she must listen with genuine empathy. The new Head must be able to connect with all members of our community so that in this way he or she can be a leader for all. Without this commitment to empathy and open communication in a diverse community like Choate, the efforts of any new leader are doomed to fail.
In essence, our new Head of School should be someone committed to our values as a diverse body, with—at our best—no small amount of independence; he or she must be both a passionate mentor and a supporter of student life. We feel that a passion for shaping the hearts and minds of young people is a trait that our new Head of School must certainly possess. Choate is a community of teachers and learners. In order to truly respect a Choate education in its entirety—including its dimensions of moral integrity, student independence, cohesiveness, and the range of perspectives that Choate promotes—the new Head of School must have significant experience in directly interacting with young people. If our new Head embodies these characteristics and embraces these values, he or she is primed to be both a dynamic and effective leader for our community, our school, our home. For Choate.As we begin the process of selecting our next Head of School, it is important that we reflect on the priorities that we hold as a community—priorities that we believe our next Head of School should also recognize. In selecting a Head of School, we are choosing more than just our school’s spokesperson, a role Mr. Shanahan has played well. We are also choosing the leader of and the most visible member of our community. Since this process is of integral importance to the state of our community and our lives as Choate students, the News believes it is important that the Search Committee take into full consideration a range of opinions and perspectives—not just those of teachers, parents, and alumni, but also those of students. As current students, our views reflect a unique and important perspective that deserves recognition.
|
