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Mr. McNeill Reports Back from the National Association of Independent Schools Conference
Mr. McNeill is feeling the love for Sage Hill School after a visit to the City of Brotherly Love. Find out more about his trip to Philadelphia in this week’s blog post.
This is the week every year when I return to Sage Hill invigorated after attending the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) Annual Conference. Held this year in Philadelphia, the conference brings together more than 4,000 independent school administrators, teachers, and colleagues. While the conference agenda offers a multitude of interesting seminars on important topics in education, the setting also gives me an opportunity to get together with other leaders to share ideas.
After arriving in Philadelphia on Wednesday night, I met with Steinberg Architects, the architects of our new Science Center, on Thursday morning. Why would I meet with our Los Angeles-based architects in Philadelphia? Because they are so keen on getting to know more about the culture of independent schools that they decided to attend the NAIS conference. Their interest in finding out how they can best meet the needs of schools like Sage Hill only confirms to me that we made a great choice.
Later on Thursday, I spoke about our service learning program to more than 200 attendees at the launch of the National Network of Schools in Partnership (NNSP). Sage Hill was one of the first schools to join this new organization designed to help educators and community leaders form successful public-private partnerships to expand educational opportunities. My presentation focused on our highly successful partnership with schools in Santa Ana and Costa Mesa, and how it goes far beyond the service work. As an example, when our 9th graders create science curriculum and lead their 3rd grade buddies through our garden, they are learning about much more than science; they are learning about leadership, empathy, relationships—life lessons. Many are also learning about a broader community than where they’ve been raised. I also discussed how the service learning program helps demystify Sage Hill outside our immediate community. We’re not just a private school on a hill off in the distance; we are a place where all are welcome.
The conference featured keynote speaker Jim Collins, an expert on building great organizations. Having read one of his books, Good to Great, I found his address all the more enlightening. Jim’s message is that good is the enemy of great. In other words, we should never settle for good when we can strive for true excellence. I think that attitude is part of the culture at Sage Hill, both within the administration and amongst the students. Greatness, Collins asserts, can be achieved only where there’s a culture of discipline—clear goals, consistency—combined with creativity. Collins shared what he calls his leadership paradigm and a whole lot of advice that I found extremely useful, not only in my role as Head of School, but also in my role helping our students grow into leaders in our society.
So it was fitting that later on Thursday I was interviewed by Ted Fish, director of the Gardner Carney Leadership Institute (GCLI), an organization that trains educators to help young people learn to lead. I was one of the Institute’s first graduates nine years ago, and the interview will be posted on its website in the coming weeks. To spare you the wait, I’ll share my key point: Sage Hill students lead in many ways beyond the traditional arenas of student council, honor committee and the like. They also lead by grabbing the microphone at town meeting, by designing curriculum for their service learning projects, by helping prepare for the State Junior Classical League Convention coming to campus next week, by joining a team, by joining a discussion in class… I could go on and on. Leadership is happening all day, every day at Sage Hill School. It’s part of our DNA.
On Friday, I paid a visit to our former Latin teacher, Ted Freeman, who now works at Westtown School in West Chester, PA. It’s impressive to set foot on a campus that’s more than 200 years old. But our young school is accomplishing some equally impressive work despite being only 13 years old. Our program, our high expectations and our opportunities to engage are on par with those of venerable Westtown.
Next I boarded a train to New York City. After a tour of The New York Times with my cousin, who works as a researcher there, I met with Alex Tatusian (’07) who is looking for ways to make the arts more accessible to the general public. With New York museum admissions prices as high as $25, Alex hopes to start a nonprofit that can help keep access to the arts from becoming too exclusive. I bring this up not only because it was part of my trip, but also because Alex’s ideals so closely mirror those of Sage Hill, and I am proud to count him among our New York alumni. That night, in keeping with my tradition when I travel around the country, I shared dinner with some of the other alumni who are either attending college or working in the city.
It was a busy and very productive trip. I learned from others, I shared my own knowledge, and I was inspired. It fills me with immense pride to represent Sage Hill in various arenas, but what makes me even more proud is to return to campus and see the great things happening right here, every day.
Sage Hill School
Sage Hill School admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the School. The School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship programs, and athletic and other School administered programs.