Change. It’s a concept the Casady community has become all too familiar with over the past decade or so. But as I near the end of my third year as Head of School, I feel that we are finally beginning to enter a new era of stability and growth. Many aspects of our institution needed thoughtful analysis and as I’ve begun to look strategically at our School with valuable input from many of our stakeholders, we have indeed made many changes. Changes that put our School on a stronger financial footing; changes that provide a better classroom experience for our students; and changes that ensure we have the very best cadre of faculty to guide and shape young minds.
Questions about identity and values inevitably arise during transitional times with any institution, but schools are unique in that much of what creates our core identity are the thousands of interrelationships among teachers and their students over time.
Casady has had its fair share of transitions over its 65-year history, and while we’ve continued to challenge our students and to prepare them for success, we’ve also worked to ensure that the ways we prepare them are the most effective and long-lasting, given conditions in our local, national and global communities. Research shows clearly that our students are experiencing their worlds in very different ways than their parents and grandparents, and the School has been able to respond and grow accordingly, while maintaining its commitment to the pursuit of excellence.
One key area we’ve spent a lot of time and energy reviewing is our grading structure. Any time schools begin to look at how students are assessed and evaluated, there is a fear that those changes will damage the central value of the school. Having looked back over the years and having carefully analyzed our current system, I have found that we are not unique in our desire to provide and communicate an appropriate context for the challenging curriculum at Casady School.
Back in the 1970’s, legendary Headmaster Dr. Robert Woolsey determined with the faculty that the grading scale used at the time wasn’t accurately reflecting the work students were producing. Their solution was to move the scale for an “A” from a 90-100 to an 85-100. Fast-forward 40 years, and we have found ourselves in a remarkably similar situation and have now taken additional steps to ensure that our students are properly rewarded for the work they do as they prepare for life in college and beyond.
We believe that taking on challenging work should not be an impediment for our students. Here’s a description of the plan we will implement next fall, including a full Upper Division course list for the 2011-12 school year.
We, in no way, have tried to make the work easier. In fact, we’ve created additional levels in mathematics and other courses to make certain that each student is appropriately challenged to be their best. We believe that upholding high standards helps our students learn to be self-reliant, confident, organized, ethical and competent young men and women.
We celebrate our teachers who challenge students to think, to defend and to provide reasons for their arguments while learning how to write critically with a strong voice. Additionally, given what we know about learning styles and learning differences, we also strive to find teachers who understand those realities and work to teach to the top of each child. We attract and retain teachers who promote these values because it is they who create the experiences that become part of our graduates’ identity and the identity of the School.
Finally, as we work to build on the solid foundations laid over many years, we look critically and thoughtfully at each decision we make and how we make it. As with every era in our history, difficult choices have to be made, but we have a strategic and thorough process in place to guide us to the right answers. We endeavor to make those choices in the way we ask our students to make them: with respect, with understanding and with an eye to what serves the greater good.
Going forward, we’ve planned conservatively for sound financial and programmatic development, we’re hiring the finest and most dedicated teachers we can find and we’re making great progress on our capital projects – all of which will ensure an environment for our students to pursue excellence in academics, the arts and athletics. Our Episcopal identity and history provides essential spiritual guidance for each of us in all of these areas as we continue to grow and learn together.
