^^^ :))
I came across this on change.org from this week:
https://www.change.org/p/principal-rawson-call-on-principal-rawson-to-fire-carol-cahalane
And from the updates on that same page:
https://www.change.org/p/principal-rawson-call-on-principal-rawson-to-fire-carol-cahalane/u/24131898
Also see here: https://www.change.org/p/principal-rawson-call-on-principal-rawson-to-fire-carol-cahalane/u/24119208
Doesn’t sound too good!
You’ve attempted to link to a petition started by some kids who are upset at how one incident was handled, and somehow feel an appropriate response is to call on the principal to fire the dean. That says far more about the students involved than the administration.
If you’d like a little more background, read more about the issues with that specific dorm’s culture and traditions, “Community Reflects on Lost Dorm Traditions,” posted on the Exonian website on 1/31/19.
If people have specific questions on current culture on campus when their kids are accepted, I encourage them to reach out to current parents & students to get their questions answered. It is unfair to judge a school culture with such limited data points.
27 people have signed the petition so far. I wonder how many current students? It is risky at any school to be the “nail that sticks up.” I don’t think it’s dispositive on the culture of course, but worth looking into for sure.
PEA obviously had issues with its former principal (forced out very early) and there was even a judicial adjudication that PEA wrongfully expelled a boy on (likely) false sex charges: https://www.seacoastonline.com/news/20161118/jury-rules-in-favor-of-boy-in-phillips-exeter-teen-sex-case
I’ll preface by saying that I know little about the current goings-on at PEA. But 27 whole people have signed an online petition? There is more interest in frivolous petitions like “Cancel class on Friday.” Personally, if I were a prospective student/parent, I’d ask for information from current students/parents before relying on anonymous websites (including this one to a certain extent) to make an informed decision. YMMV.
As new parents at Exeter, we are completely thrilled with the school. I was a bit worried that it would be a high stakes culture and instead there has been a great deal of support both from adults and other students. While everyone seems to work intensely hard, the kids are genuinely nice and are there for each other. I went for a weekend visit recently and it was so comforting to see it. And plenty of adults around to help as needed.
I am learning that Exeter is more of a “faculty-run” school than other boarding schools. I am interested in understanding this more from people with Exeter experience (parents, alumni).
My understanding is that this is more than Exeter faculty having a larger “voice” than typical, but that the faculty actually has more decision-making authority in areas that would typically be overseen/decided by the principal/administration or trustees.
First of all, is my initial understanding accurate? Further, is this approach a positive or negative and how? Also, how does it practically work and manifest?
As a small example, scanning a recent Exonian, I can see there was a proposal about whether Day students with vehicles could drive Boarding students. The issue/proposal was decided by what seemed to be almost a full-faculty vote (~150 faculty voting).
@vegas1 - I love this list! I graduated from PEA several decades ago, so the list I’d write would be pretty long…I’m blown away every time I go back to the Adademy! But the second one made me laugh - we used to have 2 pay phones for a dorm full of girls; no room phones and no cell phones. My parents used to call me at 7 am every Monday morning because it was the only time they could be sure to get a call through… LOL!