Dear Bancroft Friends:
When I left for Baltimore to attend the NAIS Annual Conference earlier this week, I was feeling very good about the Bancroft community. We had just made the announcement about Lisa Baker, the dynamic and experienced leader who will be our next Upper School division head. At the conference, as I met with administrators from independent schools around the country and the world, and heard about the work they are doing in education, I felt an even greater sense of pride. It confirmed for me that Bancroft is part of the larger architecture of independent education, but we're also unique. We are among the leaders in the educational environment.
On the same trip, I had two delightful opportunities to have dinner with independent school alumni. I spent one evening with alums from my former school, Glenelg Country School in Maryland, and the other with Bancroft alumni from the Baltimore/DC area. The two groups attended different schools, but shared a common enthusiasm about the experiences they had, the deep relationships they built, and the work they did as students at independent schools.
Communities like ours help to build skills and confidence. Being surrounded by people who are committed to helping you grow is a powerful thing. The Bancroft alums talked about how the School allowed them to pursue things that were deeply important to them, while still providing the foundational experiences that they would need in the future.
Their statements emphasize that it's not all just prep for college. The work we do with students every day, in the moment, is important. Kindergarten is kindergarten. Twelfth grade is twelfth grade. Every stage is a distinct and valuable experience.
Alumni voices help remind us why we do what we do for our students. The communities we build for them matter to them. They can get together years later, with other alumni of all ages, and they have the strong bond of having been a part of this School.
As you read this month's Shorelines, we hope you will enjoy both the stories and the new format. We've shortened the length by trimming the stories and adding links to the full text. As always, we invite your feedback about this communication and other ways we communicate.
Best,
