I was in Maine this week, in Freeport, for an appointment to see an old friend. We’d set up the meeting a couple of weeks ago. She was someone who I had worked with years ago, in the late 90s at LL Bean, and today is the Chief Human Resources Officer at the company. She is someone wise with a quick wit, ready to laugh or share a world of experience. I see her as a friend even though we hadn’t seen each other in over 15 years. No Facebook connections, no instagram feed.

As we prepare for another 60 families to arrive on campus tomorrow morning for our second Admissions Revisit Day, we can’t help but pause to consider: What attracts a family to a school like Proctor? We shared THIS POST earlier this winter as we looked at the different “pain points” we solve for families, but we also need to think on a grander scale in order to truly answer this question. Families are flocking to Proctor in record numbers because the intangibles of a Proctor education align with what our world needs most right now: good people.

Proctor Academy's Spring 2018 Mountain Classroom group convened in Las Vegas to kick off their term-long adventure across the United States. Understanding the intricacies of rock climbing is critical to the program's curriculum under the leadership of faculty members Kate Sabo and Alex Lyttle, so the group spent the first few days of the term in climbing camp at Red Rocks. Enjoy this abbreviated blog post from Katie '18 (the group went out of cell coverage and was only able to send a portion of photos and videos they took before their weeklong hiking adventure in the Grand Canyon over the next week). 

Today marks the first day of classes for the Spring Term. The sun is shining brightly, while the still-freezing temperatures remind us of winter's lingering grip on New Hampshire. As we move into this final stretch of the school year (graduation is just nine weeks away!), we look back at Project Period 2018 and remind ourselves why we commit four academic days to this endeavor each spring. 

In this time of everything-always-now, of streaming content and the new next, it can be remarkably centering to step into a sugar house in March where there is fire, sap, and patience - an antidote for the age of hurry. The sugar maples and the weather conspire to pick the timing of the season, and however much you want that first thimble of syrup to come out of the evaporator, there’s no hurrying the process. You are not in control. There’s no overnight shipping. No Prime. You move in the rhythm of the season or do without.

As Director of Enrollment Chris Bartlett stood in front of our start of Spring Term faculty meeting discussing the importance of upcoming Revisit Days, faculty nodded their heads at the need to showcase the best version of our authentic selves for visiting families on March 30 and April 6. As independent school educators, we know full well the balance every school seeks to manage during Revisit Days as our Admissions team works to enroll the most dynamic, fun, engaging, diverse student body for the 2018-2019 academic year, while not simply putting on an Admissions dog and pony show that fails to give prospective families a genuine window into our community.

The long-awaited admissions decision date for the independent school world has arrived. Emails were sent to all 600+ applicants at 6:00 PM this evening notifying each prospective student of our Admissions Team’s decision. We are incredibly excited about the group of individuals we have chosen to make up the Proctor Community for the 2018-2019 school year!

European Art Classroom or "Euro" is all about intensive study, intensive together-living  and complete immersion within the arts. The arts we see, the arts we make and the constant natural and human made beauty we simply discover daily by accident.  Just prior to flying to Prague, we visited St. Rémy in order to say good bye to Vincent van Gogh and the hallowed ground where he painted Starry Night among many other great paintings. Finally, our adventure to the Czeck Republic. Towards the blog's end there are final reflections from each of the artists. Enjoy.