News & Weekly Letters

School years fly by; at least that is what we tell ourselves in the month of May, when there are only six weeks left, and we find ourselves feeling a tad overwhelmed by everything that remains to be done. That feeling is partly due to the fact that school years are punctuated by traditions and milestones—as I mentioned here a very long time ago—that roll around in quick succession.

When I was in Middle School, I wanted to become a journalist (after having first wanted to be a garbage collector and then a professional soccer player). I was an avid watcher of the evening news and any program that featured the press (Michel Polac’s Droits de Réponse, devoted to the editors-in-chief of France’s leading newspapers, was a highlight of my week). I still remember writing an essay describing my dream job and citing my hero Hervé Brusini as an example—his reporting, tone, delivery, and the way he concluded his segments were a real source of inspiration and an invaluable resource for understanding the world around me.

Spring Break is usually a moment for me to sketch out the broad strokes of the coming school year. In a school that is suddenly so quiet, I analyze all the information gathered this year, take stock of student and staff needs, evaluate the options—ones we have readily available and ones we have to imagine—identifying gaps that need to be filled and, of course, finding the necessary responses while balancing logistical and budgetary constraints.

A few days ago, I was watching this extract from The Truman Show with the students in my philosophy elective. Truman has decided to drive beyond the bridge at the town’s limits and set off toward freedom. The screenwriters, who have up to that point dictated his entire life, throw outrageous obstacles in his path in a bid to force him to return to his scripted life in Seaside, Florida.

Six years ago, when Philippe, Laurence, and the other members of the search committee that was formed to find a successor to Yves Rivaud offered me the job of head of school, they presented me with a twofold challenge: to make The École the best school possible for the children who come here, of course, but also—something much rarer—to make it a place where their parents feel at home as well.