By: Brian Hargrove
A mentor and good friend, Doug Hale, welcomed me into boarding school education nearly a decade ago. It was, for me, a significant step. Until that time, I had stuck to what I had experienced as a student: day schools and residential liberal arts colleges.
Doug, who is now retired, spoke often about impacting students in the “creases” of their experiences. Doug was not a hockey player; nor am I. So, for us, creases do not define the small space in front of the hockey net. They are the many spaces that students find themselves in outside of the formal learning environment. It is in these creases that boarding schools have the opportunity to excel because we work with students nearly every waking hour. Back to hockey: Our goal count increases dramatically because we are always taking shots as we work with students across the life of our schools.
Today, I lead Northfield Mount Hermon (“NMH”). Our school’s origin story is unique, We were founded to educate girls — girls who were poor — more than 140 years ago. In less than a year, we opened our doors to boys on another campus across the Connecticut River. Our founder, D.L. Moody, set forth a clear vision: to provide a holistic education for the head, heart, and hand; make it accessible to students who would benefit from and contribute to the community; and nurture a commitment to serve others.
Mr. Moody understood the creases and how boarding schools enhance the opportunity for student success. He also embraced the idea that this experience should be accessible to students from all backgrounds. From our school’s first moments, he set our horizon boldly: We must live up to the responsibility afforded by the tremendous opportunities within our community. Our mission remains to empower young people to “act with humanity and purpose” so that, together, we may serve and lead in communities around the world.
Most students’ journeys are not predictable straight lines. Nor should they be. High school is a time to explore interests and discover passions in healthy, productive ways. At NMH, we rely on a constellation of adults — teachers, coaches, advisors, dorm parents, and other mentors — to support each child’s path. We value the importance of lessons learned in the classroom, in the dormitory and simply living in community with others. Generations of alumni attest, again and again, that it was the people — their fellow students and the adults on campus — who made the most difference in their experiences. They cite how their relationships with classmates and teachers allowed them to move seamlessly from the classroom to performing arts spaces to the athletic field. They remember the power of meaningfully connecting with friends with diverse backgrounds and interests, and with adults who shaped and guided them along the way.
Perhaps now as much as any time in our history, NMH has had to lean into the question of how we can best stay true to our mission. COVID-19 has challenged nearly all schools in significant ways and forced profound compromises. We made a decision early in this crisis that we would leverage our resources to deliver an in-person experience. While prioritizing safety for our students and the adults who support them, we would find a way to deliver as robust a program as possible. We asked our community to commit to rigid safety protocols, to put community health and safety first, and to remain flexible as we adjusted our program as needed. The result is that we have been in session since the end of August without disruption. Our students, while certainly living a different experience than usual, benefit daily from working with outstanding teachers, coaches, and mentors, as well as close connections with their peers across all aspects of campus life. Quite simply, we are working together to thrive in the creases.
As we consider how our nation responds to today’s challenges, and how the generations to come will do so in the future, I suggest that we start with our schools. Let us consider how we can support our educators in public and private schools in new and fuller ways. Together, let us reach into the creases, meet the demands of the moment, and give our students the tools they will need to thrive today and in the years to come.
