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Change is in the Air at Sage Hill School
Change is in the air at Sage Hill School this spring, as Head of School Gordon McNeill prepares to take on a new role. Find out more in his latest blog post.
Around this time of year, we all seem to marvel at how quickly time flies. Lurking right around the corner are AP exams, finals, Spring at Sage, and graduation. Shortly thereafter, on July 1, I will officially assume my new role as President of Sage Hill School, while Patricia Merz takes over as Head of School. At this month’s Parent Association meeting, I spoke in depth about the transition and some of the other changes afloat this spring. For those of you who did not attend the meeting, I am using this blog post to recap.
The decision to adjust my role and that of Ms. Merz grew out of our successful Campaign for Innovative Learning, which funded the new Lisa Argyros and Family Science Center. Part of the campaign’s success is directly attributable to my presence in the community, building relationships with donors and developing partnerships that will serve our students for years to come. But a side effect of my laser focus on the future of our school was that it became increasingly challenging for me to also manage day-to-day operations. Ms. Merz stepped up to help keep things running smoothly here on campus. With the Science Center nearly complete, my focus has shifted to executing the goals of Sage Hill’s new strategic plan, which I will address in more detail later in this post. Once again, I will need to spend considerable time making connections within the Sage Hill community as well as the broader community in order to best accomplish our goals. Against this backdrop, we started looking at a model where we have a Head of School and a President, as equals, one handling internal operations and the other expanding the experience of the students and the reputation of the school.
Under this model, you and your students will actually see more of me than in the past. I will be keenly focused on the student experience, how the parents are involved in that experience, and how we are connecting to the outside community to enhance every aspect of the school. I will also act as the new administrative liaison to the Parent Association. Ms. Merz will oversee internal operations such as course scheduling, faculty, marketing and finances. She and I will both report directly to the Board of Trustees. Although our roles aren’t official until July 1, already we are meeting for about an hour each day to ensure a smooth transition. We are confident that our complementary roles will serve the best interests of the Sage Hill community.
Implementing the Strategic Plan
My first task as President will entail implementing the new strategic plan developed earlier this year. Independent schools typically develop new strategic plans every five to eight years, as a way of prioritizing and evolving with the times. Our very first strategic plan in 1998 included one key goal: Find a place to build a school with great people and a great program. Obviously we’ve come a long, long way since then! While the new plan will be unveiled in its entirety later this year, for now I want the community to know a few areas of focus.
One is to enhance the overall student experience through outstanding programs that overlap and complement each other. Another is to fully realize our commitment to inclusivity, diversity, equity and justice. While these values have always been at the heart of our mission, we want to be intentional in promoting them through our curriculum, hiring practices, and community activities. We want to foster an environment where great educators come to thrive, not just financially but also in how they practice the art of teaching. Another priority is clearly communicating our mission and living it on a daily basis. Lastly, we will focus on completing the campus master plan, expanding our endowment, and building Sage Hill’s nationwide reputation.
Threaded through all of our strategic goals is our overwhelming desire to offer the best possible high school experience to young people in our area. To do that, we need to define what being the best means. In a general sense, I can tell you it means our students are graduating as whole people. They can think, they are happy, they're engaged, they’re service-minded, and they're prepared for the future. Sure, we want a top nationwide reputation, but we also want results. We want successful alumni to look back and say their Sage Hill education made a difference. That’s our own version of success.
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.