Head of School's Blog

What a busy month of October around Ravenscroft. Thank you, parent volunteers!  Homecoming, Fall Festival, Faculty & Staff luncheon, Fine Arts concerts, Hispanic Heritage Night ... you name it, and parents were here to support our School! Great job!

October is a time, as Head of School, that I am on the road a bit. Early this month I traveled to Chicago with our Board Chairman, Vic Bell '74. We attended a weekend program entitled Leadership in Partnership, hosted by the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS). We spent our time hearing excellent speakers, working on our joint communication and considering our priorities for Ravenscroft.

The following weekend I served as a faculty member of the Women in Leadership Seminar sponsored by the National Association of Principals for Girls in Schools (NAPGS). This seminar is designed for aspiring leaders in our field who seek to extend their professional development by spending time with experienced Heads of School.  My presentation centered on strategic planning both institutionally and personally. It was gratifying to meet such talented, aspiring leaders. Our own Denise Colpitts and Amy Valerio are graduates of this program.

Finally, as a Board Member of the Southern Association of Independent School (SAIS) Accreditation Committee, I also served as a Chair for the Accreditation Visit for Carolina Day School in Asheville North Carolina. Schools that attain accreditation demonstrate their desire for continuous school improvement through self-evaluation and peer review. It was my pleasure to work with other committee members around the region to certify that CDS is a school in good standing and provide commendations and recommendations to the school for their improvement.  In addition, it was very beneficial to me as we look forward to our own re-accreditation process coming up in a couple of years.

The good news is that Ravenscroft is very well respected both regionally and nationally! Thankfully for me, it was nice to get home in time to enjoy some of our special events and programs on campus. One program I’d like to call your attention to is our Parent to Parent "Lessons Learned" program that will be in full swing in November.  I attended our first session, facilitated by Kathy Virtue, and I think many more parents would find value in making this workshop a priority. I was humbled to be reminded that "tolerance is teaching" and we need to be courageous as parents as we help our kids negotiate an often toxic culture.

On we go to the second quarter. Thanks again for your continued support!