Introducing Heroes Circle

Last year, Ravenscroft offered a new item in the Online Auction fundraiser: naming rights for the Fine Arts Circle for a period of one year. As active members and supporters of the Ravenscroft community, Pratik and Shital Patel made the winning bid. 

The Patels — parents of Ananti ’32 — were drawn to the idea of having the circle’s name express in a very visible and concrete way their appreciation for the important relationships that exist between students and educators at Ravenscroft.

“In both of our family histories, education has always been at the forefront of our values, and the importance of teachers, faculty and staff is second only to parents,” Pratik Patel said. “And not just academically. We have been brought up and taught that teachers, staff — your school — is a second home. As a result of that, we decided to dedicate the sign to the teachers and staff at Ravenscroft.”

Their choice for the sign: Heroes Circle.

Their daughter played a role in helping them choose. Ananti loves reading, and the naming of the circle was inspired by one of her favorite stories in the series “Ordinary People Change the World.” Brad Meltzer’s “I Am Helen Keller” tells the story of Helen Keller and her teacher, Ann Sullivan, who taught Helen sign language and braille and ultimately helped Helen become an advocate for people with disabilities.

“Ananti always said [Ann Sullivan] was such a big hero,” Shital Patel said. “We thought about that a lot and really felt like it also applies to all the teachers, faculty and staff at Ravenscroft. They are heroes too — ordinary people doing extraordinary things, doing so much for our children.”   

Here’s what some of our faculty said when they learned the circle had been named in their honor:

“To have a family recognize our faculty and staff as heroes says a lot about who we are as a community and how deeply we care about one another. Our Lead From Here framework grounds us in the work we do each day, and it is a true honor to be recognized as a hero. I am grateful for the opportunity to have an impact on ‘every Raven, every day!’”

“It let me know that parents appreciate and trust that we love what we do in the care and teaching of their children.”

“I was truly honored to hear about it! I don't really think of myself as a hero and typically feel like that label is reserved for those who put themselves in harm’s way — maybe in different ways than we currently are. Either way, I was touched that the family recognizes and values us for the sacrifices we make in our personal and professional lives.”

Shital added, “While we didn’t come up with the name ‘Heroes Circle’ because of COVID-19, the school’s response to COVID and all that the teachers have done just highlights it even more. We feel like the school has done an amazing job!”