<p>(apologies for the length)</p>
<p>Tad Roach, headmaster at SAS since 1997, speaks often of the school’s effort to be a “counter-cultural” community. That’s a novel use of the term, given its associations going back to the 1960s. He essentially posits a healthy, balanced community that seeks to prepare young people for college and for civic leadership without buying into the fads and hype and practices that prevail elsewhere. </p>
<p>I agree that it is about kindness and resilience, hope and transformation over “strategizing for success”, a common response to the hyper-competitive college admissions scene. Here, I’d like to dial back the focus lens a bit. What should not be overlooked is how much dialogue takes place among all constituencies of this small community, where the whole 370 adults and kids congregate often for both formal and informal occasions, and Harkness teaching is nurtured year after year. Tad “preaches” often and unapologetically, but the students and other teachers are encouraged to speak up. After doing as much listening as St. Andreans do, and acquiring the reading and experiences that they do, it’s not surprising that they in fact have lots to say or to write. Teens entering into dialogue with adults is itself notoriously suspect, as we “know”: excepting the brown-nosers, the generations don’t have all that much in common, or much respect for each other, or the ability to communicate. Tad Roach powerfully leads the community out of this wilderness, and I’d submit that a very high percentage of the student body is willing to make the journey of true learning and growth. When applicant families discover SAS, they find this singular mission unmistakably addressed to them. The “counter-cultural” message and Tad’s passion for it can be so attractive that some have commented very positively on the school even after they ended up attending elsewhere. </p>
<p>There is nothing mysterious about the choices that enable the “counter-cultural ethos”. The first is a circumscribed approach to utilizing digital technologies. New parents and students quickly realize that these modern tools are evident on campus, but not used to the extent they are at other independent schools. There is no real-time reporting of homework and grades to the parents, few gaming stations on corridor, and there are limits on cell phone and laptop use, among other things. When Mrs. Roach talks to the school community about the art of conversation and Mr. Roach reflects on his father’s passing by bringing up reading, you know that the school is consciously tackling the digital tsunami that is modern life. In fact, he writes that, “cultivation of a love of reading is perhaps the most important responsibility we have as a school, for this commitment to expansion, regeneration and creativity will serve our students for a lifetime.” Growing, authentically, the human skills by which we must relate to one another is the priority. </p>
<p>Secondly, St. Andrew’s will long be wholly residential and no more than 310-315 students. This is what sets the school apart from the vast majority of its day and boarding peers (Groton, Thacher and Cate, the most comparable to SAS, have day students). The dialogue amidst a unified teacher-student community, the virtual absence of drugs and alcohol, the high level of engagement with the natural world on a 2100 acre campus, the emphasis on spiritual traditions and exploration (from the Founder’s “faith and learning”) – all of these exceptional outcomes are made possible by the willingness to stick at what has been determined as the sweet spot for best serving the kids who want this kind of experience. St. Andrew’s adapts and changes, for it is neither reactionary or Luddite, and so is fortunate, by virtue of the signal decisions in its history and the stewardship of its loyal families, to have gained a maturity deserving of recognition.</p>