Two months ago a
distinguished group of eleven educators from independent schools around New
England spent three days on the Rivers campus sitting in on classes and interviewing students,
teachers, and parents. Their visit was
part of the accreditation process for the New England Association of Schools
and Colleges. The group included the
Head of Greenwich Academy, the Head of Milton Academy, and educators from
Concord Academy, Hotchkiss, Thayer, and Brunswick Academy. Their final report
confirmed what we already know ̶ Rivers lives its mission.
I wanted to share
three excerpts from the visiting committee report because I think they capture
the essence of Rivers.
And from another
section of the visiting committee report:
“Constituents
articulate the mission of the school in deeply personal ways, indicating a
strong buy-in to the core values of the school. Students readily articulate
their investment in their experience, including ways they have grown in
character. Faculty members are committed
to their mission as educators and role models and routinely go above and beyond
the parameters of their job descriptions when it serves the interests of their
students… the Rivers faculty have distinguished itself not only for
professionalism, knowledge, and teaching skill, but also for a collaborative
and humane spirit that pervades this school.
“Students and
teachers alike spoke with a sense of belonging to a stimulating academic
culture, one in which learning is championed even while students are pulled
toward extracurricular specialization.
Rivers has not forgotten that the primary academic business of a school
is the conversation between teacher and student… In addition to respect,
there’s great affection on both sides, too.
Students lavished praise on their teachers. And teachers did likewise.”
And finally from
another section of the report:
“Faculty feel
supported, motivated, and encouraged to teach their passions and to pursue
various teaching strategies. Faculty at
Rivers are happy and engaged; they exude a loyalty and admiration for their
school, their colleagues, and their students.
Their love of Rives is palpable.”
These excerpts point
so clearly to the reason Rivers exists… the why of the school and that is to
help students live meaningful lives, lives filled with purpose.
The why of most
independent schools is excellence. These schools teach students how to compete,
how to win, how to work harder and smarter in this competitive world. For these
schools, demonstrated excellence is an end. A graduate of a highly regarded
school in the area once told me that he always felt that the question being
asked of him while he was a student there was “What are you doing to enhance
the reputation of the school?”
Make no mistake, Rivers
teaches students how to be successful, how to work hard, how to compete; we can
point to lots of markers of success to demonstrate that excellence is a
critical value. Seniors accepted to highly selective colleges, 5’s and 4’s on
the AP exams, art and music prizes, athletic championships, awards in Robotics,
Model UN, and Debate. We are proud of these achievements.
But these
accomplishments are not why Rivers exists. They are not what fundamentally inspire us to
go the extra mile for our students.
Rivers exists for
one simple reason ̶ to help students live meaningful lives, now
and in the future. At Rivers excellence is a means, not an end. We don’t challenge our students for the sole
purpose of demonstrating that we have excellence. We challenge them so that they can learn
about themselves, so that they can discover what they are good at, what they
love, what they need to work on. We
challenge them so that they can discover who they are and who they want to
be. We challenge them so that they can
live lives that matter.
And here’s the kicker. The best way to help students live meaningful lives is to make sure that teachers are living meaningful lives, to make sure that the reason our teachers got into this business in the first place ̶ to make a positive difference in kids’ lives ̶ never dies out, that their life purpose is not only valued but constantly nurtured. “Faculty at Rivers are happy and engaged.” That statement from the Visiting Accreditation Committee reflects the school’s belief that people should live meaningful lives. That is why Rivers exists.