Each year certain weekends on the calendar jump out. We look forward to them with anticipation. This weekend is one of them. Starting Thursday afternoon with Ocean Classroom’s departure, the Proctor community will embark on a 48 hour celebration of all that makes Proctor such a special community.
Last week an interesting article was published in Forbes magazine about the disruption occurring in the independent school world. Michael Horn discussed the challenges facing many schools as tuition prices rise faster than wages and technology and charter schools introduce new approaches to learning. At Proctor, we feel these disruptions all around us, and while we are cognizant of how we must adapt to an ever-changing landscape, we are as confident as ever in our educational model.
We’re in the window of beginnings when all feels new and the arc of the possible is the dominant trajectory. On Thursday I met with three sections of Freshman Seminar circled up in chairs in the Black Box. We talked a little about Proctor, my role, and the way our community functions, how their start was going. At no time is the arc of possibility more palpable than in September when the campus first fills.
Life for teenagers can be complicated, scary, and filled with questions. Events in the news over the summer brought to light just how complicated residential life can be at a boarding school. We recognize this. We also recognize sexual and domestic assault and dating violence is not just a ‘boy’ issue. Nor is not just a ‘girl’ issue or a faculty/staff issue. It is an ‘us’ issue. If we do not actively work to shape school culture, it will shape us.
That’s what last night was about as we launched the Proctor Sisters Program.
While new students trek through the White Mountains on Wilderness Orientation, 130 student athletes take part in Proctor's annual pre-season sports camp. Five days of double or triple sessions provide a tremendous opportunity to develop skills, work on tactics, and improve fitness before official tryouts begin next week.
The start to the school year at Proctor builds slowly for weeks. Faculty trickle back to campus during the early weeks of August as syllabi are prepared, advisor letters are written, and dorms are prepared for students. Meetings happen, registration day schedules are finalized, WOFR training happens, and then BOOM, students arrive and we are off and running!
Perhaps the most critical task any organization undergoes is regular self-reflection. While some may avoid this process because they are afraid of what they will see, Proctor has chosen to embrace self-reflection because we know how much better we might be able to be. Over the past five years, we have developed a Profile of a Proctor graduate, agreed upon a set of characteristics of good teaching to which we strive, conducted a NEASC self-study, undergone a faculty/trustee retreat, and developed a strategic plan that reaffirms our deep commitment to experiential education, off-campus programs, and brain-based learning.
Each year the Proctor community changes as seniors graduate, some faculty move on, and others retire. As we gear up for students to arrive over the next week, we wanted to introduce you to some of the new faces students and parents will be seeing this year and to evolving roles for those faculty you know so well!
