The role of parents within a boarding school community has changed dramatically over time. Until the 1970s, parents “sent” a child to an independent school, entrusting the educational, moral and spiritual development of their son or daughter to the masters. A report card documenting progress and disappointments arrived by mail at the end of a term.

 When I was appointed Director of Admission in the spring of 1983, the office secretary--a woman named Rose Chapman--decided it was time to quit and move to Florida. I immediately began interviewing candidates for a position that demanded an extraordinary set of diverse skills. Charlie Durell did more than fill that position; she reinvented it to exceed all expectations.