From time to time, I confess, I find myself feeling pretty smug about the work accomplished at The École. I look at some objective data, like the growth in our student numbers, the MAP test results, the top-notch high schools our 8th graders are admitted to, and our low staff turnover, and I tell myself I could perhaps rest a little on my laurels. It’s a sensation that lasts, on average, for a millisecond because I know in my heart that it’s a lure.
Our growth generates more work (the construction of a new school building!), our students’ excellent results drive us to concentrate on specific areas for improvement, the prestigious high schools our middle schoolers attend inspire us to constantly rethink what we propose to ensure our students are as well-prepared as possible, the teachers who stay with us for the long haul are dedicated and demanding professionals who warrant meaningful opportunities for further development.
Every improvement we make at The École inevitably leads to new avenues for reflection. As a result, increasingly nuanced and complex questions arise every day. They are scribbled on the whiteboard in my office in every color of the rainbow, circled, underlined, the targets of frantic arrows, with 10 question marks trailing behind them and just as many exclamation points.
The questions may be on my whiteboard, but they come from the entire team. You cannot rest on your laurels when you work with people like Sophie, Sara W., and Ben. Ideas come at you from all directions, answering questions and, in turn, becoming new sources of reflection. On weekends, exhausted from a week at The École, I find myself sprawled on my sofa wondering why I don’t work in a school where we do the same thing, year in, year out. A school that doesn’t adapt to needs, a school where solutions are found in a tried and trusted guidebook. It would make life easier, right? My phone usually buzzes at exactly that moment with a message from a colleague asking if I’ve read this article or listened to that podcast or considered a new approach.
And that’s when I remember how lucky I am to work with the people I do. We chose Sophie because we knew that her energy and her vision would propel us forward. I recruited Sara W. because I knew she would revolutionize the American side of our curriculum and allow us to attract the best teachers. I asked Ben to take the helm in Maternelle because I knew he was the best person to guide it through the next stages of its development.
One of the things I am proudest of at The École is the quality of the reflection around teaching and learning. The teachers, whom I am meeting at the moment for their annual review, blow me away with the depth of their insight and the richness of their ideas. The dialogue is open, conversations flow, projects and ambitions are born, and my whiteboard fills up with more scribbles. Of course, none of this is very relaxing, but all it takes is a stroll around the corridors where the children’s smiles remind me that it is all worth it.
Wishing everyone a wonderful long weekend. Safe travels to our 26 middle schoolers and four teachers who leave for China on Monday for two weeks!