This article’s wake up gong is good for us to consider. And yet, the 24/7 model of a boarding school creates what I believe are hard-to-measure interactions across the spectrum of things we do.

Certain things are timeless. This week, I was reminded of that when I heard about the varsity baseball teams victory over Pomfret and listened to the student council present to department heads. The dance concert tonight is another example of creating an invaluable student experience. In all of these examples, the “doing” means that you have to be there.

The article also had me thinking about how the argument of “turning to families from Asia who can afford tuition” is always, and I mean always, written as a pejorative. There’s a story in that. Schools have always evolved over time. If American boarding schools are a highly sought after experience among an international population, is that so bad?

Until the great social changes brought upon by the Civil Rights movement—I am thinking here of such landmarks as Brown vs. the Board of Education and Johnson’s Civil Right’s Act—boarding schools, and indeed colleges in New England, catered primarily to elite populations. Then the great egalitarian sweep of U.S. geographical distribution occurred. And now we are schools to the world.

While tuition costs may be growing, I believe the world view, rather than the provincial one, will create growth opportunities for building sustainable models. Certainly private institutions need to increase endowments for tuition relief—but most important is that we continue to offer relevant and timeless education opportunities for all.

Laramie Project Cast © Janine Norton

I am constantly reminded that Williston is a respectful community, where individuals are valued and supported for who they are; it’s a “community of ‘we’” as I like to quote a student as saying.

As I read with sadness the uncivil discourse affecting an Ivy League college in New Hampshire (over issues of inclusivity and fundamental principles of respect and integrity), it is my fervent hope that Williston students will be leaders in their future communities, helping us advance towards the betterment of all.

Moving from country to country, I can’t help but juxtapose various meetings. Here’s an example of what I mean: At one point, we met the distinguished citizen of Seoul (and Williston’s first Korean alumnus), Mr. Yun, son of a former South Korean president. He graciously showed us his traditional home. In Hong Kong, we met Ronald Chan, from the Class of 2001. Mr. Chan represents the younger generation of civic-minded Willistonians in his role as political assistant to the Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs.  Two men, two different eras, both committed to civic engagement and the public good.

Robert Ward liked to quote the poet Robert Frost in saying that Williston instills in its students “doing good well. ” On this trip, we have witnessed that such values have a truly global reach.

Being peripatetic, I encountered another such moment—but this one the result of considerable labor, time, and planning. The Modern Language department’s curricular review team (the final visit of outside experts in a year-long process) created a report about how we teach languages at Williston. Everything from the use of technology to “backward design” has been discussed, challenged, and tested.

I’m not sure how many of our students know the extent to which our teachers are committed to life-long learning, but Williston’s teachers model the message—the same message they deliver every day in classrooms across campus.  Their continuous professional development demonstrates that good teaching is no accident.

One highlight was certainly “Windows into Williston” and the Board’s exchange with a student panel which focused on the strategic issues exercise of “stop, start, and continue.” Members listened and asked questions as a cross section of students offered their insights about Williston today. As always, Williston students displayed the Purpose, Passion, and Integrity that define our school as they spoke about ways of further strengthening our deep sense of community, developing more Williston Scholars offerings, and increasing opportunities for day students to interact with boarding students.

Because that tragedy happened after Williston students had returned home for the holidays, I wanted to offer reassurance about safety measures that we have taken during the past two years (recalling an all-school drill we had in the fall term), remind our community of the support services at our ready disposal (counselors, mentors, advisors), and reiterate to our students that their safety is our highest priority.

As I watched students wind a familiar path from our chapel to their classes, I was reminded that the young people at Williston, learning and living together, have much to look forward to in 2013 and their journeys beyond. May their clear-eyed optimism of youth never be clouded by the inhuman actions of a few.

Williston students listening as Mark Conroy pays tribute to Al

The return to Williston from Thanksgiving break is generally accompanied by the excitement and energy of the beginning of a new term, but this year, we confronted the loss of a devoted friend with the news of Al Lavalle’s passing. True to his legacy (and a sign of the times) the outpouring on social media sites was immediate, passionate, and memorable. I notified the community via email, but Mr. Mark Conroy’s moving tribute at our all-school assembly on Wednesday best captured the moment.

 As Mark said: “With no disrespect for teaching faculty, students learned as much from Al during his tenure in the ‘cage’ as in any classroom.” Mr. Conroy then read from the 2007 yearbook dedication which honored Al for his service, friendship, and mentoring—all done from the unusual classroom space of the lower level of the athletic center and the equipment cage. It just goes to show you, the purpose of boarding schools, and their unique and irreplaceable value, is what happens outside of the classroom walls.

Students return to the Reed Center

While Williston resumes our normal schedule and students returned last night from an extended long weekend, our thoughts are with those who were not so fortunate. As with other natural disasters with widespread tentacles, six degrees of separation invariably means that the extended Williston family has been directly and profoundly affected.

We have students living in the tri-state zone of destruction, a faculty member whose relatives suffered an unimaginable loss, a colleague whose Easthampton home sustained a direct hit from a tree—these are some of the stories affecting Williston. The minor disruptions we tolerated are nothing compared to what some have had to endure.

Williston is “back to normal” today, and our community is thankful for being spared human and property loss, but ever mindful of those who continue to suffer from Hurricane Sandy’s wrath.

DuBois’ novel, A Partial History of Lost Causes, has made quite a splash in the literary world, earning her recognition as one of the top five authors to watch under the age of 35.

She fielded many questions from the eager audience at her alma mater—including one from me. I asked her how she would have written this work in the pre-Internet era. She had explained that her research included leaning from the photos of random vacationers to Russia, courtesy of Flickr. (See the Williston Northampton Flickr site here.)

What a treat to see a Williston grad achieve such success and remember her teachers and school so fondly.