Geoff's Letter

December 15, 2009

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 17:54:00 GMT

The following was presented by Geoff Campbell to faculty and staff in December 2009, the culmination of several months of collaborative effort to better define our School. The work began in the spring with the visit to PCDS of nationally known education consultant Dr. Robert Evans, and continued through the faculty/staff retreat at the start of school, in subsequent meetings, and an online survey.

Thoughts on Academic Excellence Defined

As our work with Rob Evans leads us to better define the values that are most critical to our School, I have the daunting task of sifting through all of the work we have done to produce a statement that represents our collective thinking on the subject. I appreciate the time and thought you have put into this discussion: at the retreat, in the follow-up meeting, and through the online values survey. Particularly helpful was your thoughtful feedback in verbatim comments, some of which are shared here.

All of this input points us to a primary core value: Academic Excellence. We may define this as teaching and learning with intent. As a fundamental value and goal, we must pursue it with vigor, always keeping in mind one overarching question: what is best for our students? I have found this said best in a brilliant speech by University of Buffalo President John B. Simpson, from which I’d like to both quote directly and paraphrase for our purposes: “Academic excellence may be defined broadly as the sum total of our academic endeavors.” [It] is our School’s reason for being, and the highest manifestation of our purpose as an independent School. “It is the thrilling vibrancy and diversity of our entire intellectual community in action.”

Of course, at the heart of such vibrancy is a fundamental relationship between understanding and knowledge. That relationship is made facile through the use of creativity and innovation as integral parts of good teaching. It is not enough to impart information; we must follow through to understanding. UB President Simpson continues: “[Academic excellence] is the moment of intellectual connection in the classroom between a student, her professor, and a new concept; it is that moment of electric revelation that takes place between a scholar and his text. It is the researcher sharing her laboratory discoveries with her peers across the country; it is the new artist displaying his canvas for the first time. It is the architect and the engineer working in tandem to create solutions for assisted living; it is the medical resident volunteering her time to assist with local clinical care. It is the UB alumnus applying his knowledge and expertise to strengthen the community in which he lives.”

In the comments you shared throughout our discovery process, many of you mentioned the impossibility of choosing a core value such as Academic Excellence over empathy and compassion or responsibility, and you are correct. One is not more important than the other to the extent that we cannot achieve Academic Excellence without understanding that strong interpersonal relationships and connections, which encompass such values as empathy and compassion, are the underpinning of Academic Excellence. One of you put it this way in the recent survey:

“For me our core values are human ones: forming deep, lasting, meaningful connections with children that help them to grow, learn, and develop; connecting to each other as colleagues, professionals, and caring co-workers so that all know ourselves to be part of a deeply human community.”

As members of this community, our relationships or connections with one another support our efforts to achieve and maintain Academic Excellence. But whether we are talking about relationships with colleagues or with students, we clearly cannot have productive and satisfying relationships without placing a high priority on empathy and compassion. When such relationships with students are successful, they often extend beyond graduation, continuing the impact of the education students received at PCDS.

Chip and Dan Heath speak of simplicity as it relates to institutional goals in their book, Made to Stick. They suggest that to advance three ideas actually says nothing; but one idea, true, simple and well understood communicates volumes and is “made to stick.”

Academic Excellence is the guiding principle of our noble work.

October 15, 2009

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 00:44:00 GMT

The broad purpose of the March 2009 Parent Survey was to bring to the School a better understanding of the needs and interests of our increasingly diverse population. The survey produced a total of 397 completed questionnaires, a participation rate from our families of approximately 79.6%. According to the survey’s facilitator, Lookout Management Inc., this is an above average response compared to other independent schools that they have surveyed. They also inform us that the overall sample is more than adequate for the purpose of trending and for strong comparative analysis across major categories.

I’d like to provide some context for the survey’s results as presented at the recent Parents’ Association meeting by James White, Assistant Head of School. Certain themes have surfaced in the feedback so far and I want to take this opportunity to expand on your understanding of our presentation of the results. Important to keep in mind is that with this survey, Lookout Management, Inc. has now conducted 81 parent surveys for independent schools. We have great confidence in their ability to collect accurate data and to tabulate and present the results to us in a manner consistent with their many successful surveys.

This survey was only one of several opportunities that we have given families over the past three years to provide us with feedback. The AIM assessment, ISAS assessment, and Strategic Planning process all had survey components and/or focus group involvement for parents. These opportunities, plus the ongoing process of receiving parents’ input at all administrative levels, have provided us with a wealth of information.

According to Lookout Management, Inc., the results may be best used as a benchmarking tool, so that one of the survey’s greatest values to the School will be derived over time. As trends can be identified, the School can respond even more strongly to areas of need.

Identifying trends is an important part of understanding survey results. It is one of the main reasons why the results are presented with an emphasis on group, not individual, responses. As you view the results you will see certain themes emerge: for example, an overall satisfaction with PCDS and our ability to achieve components of our mission. However, you also will see specific areas with which parents are less than satisfied. These concerns, while they often represent a minority of opinion, are very important to our understanding of the full picture and are already being addressed by the School.

Related to this was the decision not to break down results by division or grade level. Our School is a pre-k through 12 program and we are interested in examining its strength and weaknesses in that context. Variations in responses between divisions were not substantial. Our belief is that the most productive way for us to collectively look at the results is to embrace the full picture rather than delve into individual grade levels.

Regarding verbatim comments, be assured that we have read them. As you might expect, they fall to the extremes in both the positive and negative. However, in general they support the overall themes that emerged from the survey results yet are not nearly as helpful in developing and understanding trends as the numerical data.

I hope you will keep these thoughts in mind as you view the Power Point presentation. Our goal is to utilize the spectrum of results to embrace change as a positive force fueled by communication, cooperation, and collaboration, and grounded in mutual respect and trust, all of which are ingredients to sustaining excellence.

View PowerPoint presentation of Parent Survey results.

August 19, 2009

Fri, 21 Aug 2009 21:06:00 GMT

An excerpt from the Head’s Address to faculty and staff:

Understanding PCDS as a watershed, from “Watershed and Commonwealth,” an essay by Wendell Berry:

“I LIVE AT THE LOWER END of the watershed of the Kentucky River, which drains a considerable portion of eastern and central Kentucky. After watching it daily and thinking about it for a long time, I cannot help but see my native river as a connecter of places, regions, and people.

“People who live at the lower ends of watersheds cannot be isolationists—or not for long. Pretty soon they will notice that water flows, and that will set them to thinking about the people upstream who either do or do not send down their silt and pollutants and garbage. Thinking about the people upstream ought to cause further thinking about the people downstream. Such pondering on the facts of gravity and the fluidity of water shows us that the golden rule speaks to a condition of absolute interdependency and obligation. People who live on rivers—or, in fact, anywhere in a watershed—might rephrase the rule in this way: Do unto those downstream as you would have those upstream do unto you. Rivers do not run upstream; we are not talking about economic reciprocity or a game of tit for tat. But it is not unthinkable that, depending on which way the wind blows, the downstream people may send the water back as acid rain.

“Not long ago I scooped and hosed a good many pounds of displaced Kentucky soil out of my buildings. And though I have endeavored to keep my slopes well covered, I know that the same flood carried some of my own soil downstream. I mean to say that I speak here as one involved in a common wealth and a common fate, as one eligible to be involved in a common disaster, and as one of the guilty. The ethic (we could say the courtesy) of life in a watershed is unforgivingly practical; it has to be practiced or it does not exist.”

I believe that to be true of our work. Our interconnectedness is undeniable in fact; nonetheless, the nature of who we are as personalities often prevents us from taking full advantage of our collective power –the power to empower, to teach to ethical absolutes – to change the world.

News of Note:

The ISAS Interim Report

The self-study was a thorough and comprehensive undertaking that involved all constituents of the School. All members of the faculty were on at least one of 38 committees, with a total of 30 different committee chairs. Thank you, Peter Flanagan-Hyde, Jenny Cherilla, and Andy Surber, and all of you who were involved for a tremendous effort and outcome. Now it is four years later, and under the able direction of Dean Wilkins, we have engaged in the interim report process that will be our official response to the visiting committee’s final report. Copies will be made available online following the completion of the process.

Implementing the Vision

In one of my first acts as incoming Head of School, I articulated a vision for the future of Phoenix Country Day School. The five parts of the vision as articulated in 2005 were:

Uphold high academic standards.
Reach into the wider community.
Unify the divisions by themes related to values and skills.
Build diversity within each of the constituencies.
Model educational excellence locally, regionally, and nationally.

Since that time we began and completed a Strategic Planning Process that has produced a document soon to be published by the board that supports and broadens the original vision. The revised Mission will better guide us to serve our charges and provide a clearer definition of who we are and what we do. The work that we began yesterday at the faculty and staff retreat will continue to be refined such that we will be able to articulate the commonly understood and shared values of the institution, both as they are and as we want them to be.

This year I have three new goals:

Oversee the successful realization of the Strategic Plan through constituency education, collaborative adjustments and fine tuning, and by fully supporting the Strategic Planning Committee of the Board of Trustees.
Work with the division and department heads to ensure the highest, best, and most consistent use of the employee evaluation process. I will conduct a post-spring break survey of all employees on the efficacy of the current system.
Encourage and foster the values-discovery process that we began this week and move toward a values celebration for our 50th anniversary next year. Encourage faculty and staff to develop a greater sense of their inter-dependence as evidenced in the institutional values.

I am as excited about this upcoming school year as I have ever been. I look forward to new challenges and all that we will accomplish together.

May 20, 2009

Thu, 21 May 2009 19:59:00 GMT

Together we have witnessed historic changes in America during this school year. From the election of our first African-American president to the plummeting stock prices that led our economy into uncharted territory, our country has experienced seismic shifts. So, it is not surprising that our school has seen challenges unlike those we have faced in the past. However, as the school year comes to a close, I see how those challenges have provided an opportunity for positive change.

I believe we have become a more thoughtful institution in this new day. Through fiscal innovations and simple teamwork, we have learned to be more efficient. Though change can be unsettling, we have seized a unique opportunity to redefine ourselves as an innovative, sustainable school that continues to offer its students the finest education in the Valley.

As we look back on this year, we see remarkable success in a variety of ways. A few of the highlights:

Strategic Plan Completion
Parent Survey with results analysis to come
Establishment of an Athletic Hall of Fame
Coffees with Geoff in all divisions
Axis of Hope student seminar
Alumni events in Seattle, Denver, Chicago, New York
Auction Royale
China, Germany, and Costa Rica cultural exchanges
Greg Mortenson’s visit and Pennies for Peace
Varsity Baseball at Chase Field

These successes represent innovations, ongoing changes, or new ideas brought to existing programs. In this context, our commitment to our students and families is the same. The essential elements of a PCDS education remain intact as promised: small classes providing individualized attention; caring, skilled faculty; a challenging curriculum; and well-rounded opportunities that produce confident graduates primed for success.

Let’s look ahead for a moment to some good things to come:

Graduation for the Class of 2009, another exceptional class, with 18 National Merit Finalists and 10 admissions to the Ivy League and Stanford.
Welcome to a new class of 9th graders ready to begin the Upper School adventure, comprised of our own continuing students and new students from schools across the Valley.
Welcome to a third kindergarten class, which will provide many more opportunities for our youngest students to form friendships. We are excited to embrace 15 new families and all they will contribute to our community.

We have much to be excited about as we look toward the future of our educational community. We may embrace further changes as we continue to seek ways to run a smart, efficient institution. But you can be certain of what will not change. Our first priority always will be to serve our students – your children – by providing the kind of education we believe in, one that we have committed to anew through our Strategic Plan 2009. We appreciate you and are so glad you are with us on this journey.