Stories

Last week, a parent told me that her child begs to come to school and doesn’t want to leave at the end of the day, something she never felt as a kid. That conversation offered a great image for what I want our theme to be this school year: Mattering. 

This summer our admin team read a book called Mattering: The Secret to Building a Life of Deep Connection and Purpose by Jennifer Breheny Wallace. Wallace defines mattering as the core human need to feel valued and to have the opportunity to add value.

I see this spirit in action across our halls daily, from a first grader telling a classmate he is proud of him to Chef David delivering a meal to a teacher grieving the loss of her dog.

This emphasis on connection directly complements our high academic standards and commitment to continuously improving our curriculum. We empower our teachers with modern pedagogy tools, professional development, instructional coaching, and classroom observation, which are all especially vital in the age of artificial intelligence.

And those efforts pay off. In a survey of alumni parents whose students started high school last year, over 90% said their Prep grad was either very well or extremely well prepared for ninth grade.

Our faculty continues to lead beyond our campus, too. Bethany Orr, our new fifth and sixth-grade math teacher, is presenting "Recipe for Rigor" at the NC Council of Teachers of Mathematics annual conference, sharing instructional strategies that elevate student thinking, modeling, reasoning, and discourse. 

And as we plan for the future, Julia Walthall-Eisman, our new head of strategic programs, is leading key initiatives in high school placement, PreK-8 STEM/Innovation, and artificial intelligence.

You can learn more about our approach to AI at our upcoming parent information session on the morning of Friday, October 2, or join our Innovation Focus Group on the evening of Thursday, October 22. More details to come!

As we begin a very exciting new school year, I want you to know that each person in this community matters to me, and as your children tell you about their experiences at school, I invite you to send a quick note to a teacher who has made an impact to let them know they matter.