Taking Stock

I recently read an article in The New York Times by Camille Sweeney and Josh Gosfield who proposed that a company's ultimate success often rests with its leader's willingness to step back, examine, and reset, if necessary, the company's basic assumptions and goals. For them, self-examination is seen not as a sign of weakness, but one of confidence and creativity.

At Rivers we are spending this academic year conducting a self-study as the first step in the school's re-accreditation. Committees of faculty and staff have closely examined everything from the curriculum to the administrative structure. A summary document of our findings will be reviewed by an outside committee of educators, including the heads of Greenwich Academy and Milton Academy, and they will make their own recommendations to Rivers next fall.

I have been most interested in the results of the recent surveys that our students, parents, and alumni have taken the time to thoughtfully answer, because, as our “customers,” they are the true measure of whether or not we are fulfilling our mission to educate knowledgeable and compassionate leaders of tomorrow.

Across the board, each of these groups placed the relationships between student and teacher in the highest regard. It has been, and always will be, our first and foremost goal – what sets us apart as a community – to teach, coach, and mentor our students as unique individuals.

Students also praised our strong sense of community that provides a safe, comfortable, and accepting environment. Alumni felt that Rivers had prepared them well for college, with dynamic faculty and strong academic support as key to their success.

As we move forward, we’ll use the surveys and self-study reports to chart Rivers’ future course. Already we’ve begun to address areas where we can do more. Our recent Day of Consideration grew out of the study’s finding that we as a community need more opportunities to discuss and celebrate not only what brings us together, but what makes us different. Throughout the day, students and faculty met in workshops to discuss everything from stereotypes in music to experiencing a major loss. Our hope is that, having initiated these conversations, we’ll be more inclined to talk about these topics in our daily lives.

I am excited to see where our self-study takes us. It is a great opportunity to enhance what we already do well and improve those areas that will make us an even stronger community of learners.