UNITED AS BRECK

Breck’s new mission statement and core values affirm the Breck we were, the Breck we are, and the Breck we want to be

From the moment you step foot on campus at Breck, you can feel there’s something different about this place. But what is it, exactly? What makes Breck, Breck? What unites us as learners, as educators, as alumni, and as community?

Breck’s new mission statement and core values define that intangible feeling, giving words to what makes Breck so extraordinary. Updated from a 1987 version, Breck’s new mission and core values acknowledge our history, affirms our present, and inspires our future. It is unique, intentional, and aspirational all at the same time. It’s Breck, on paper.

“Our new mission statement is the verbal articulation and recommitment to the school’s history, its present, and its future,” says Natalia R. Hernández, Ed.D. “It should be a representation of our school’s evolution, acknowledging who we were as well as who we intend to be.”

Putting pen to paper

The process of updating Breck’s mission statement began in 2016 following a routine Independent Schools Association of the Central States (ISACS) reaccreditation and self-study visit. Breck was then operating under a nearly 30-year-old mission statement, and ISACS took note. Modernizing that mission statement was the number one suggestion, and the Breck Board of Trustees got to work.

“It was a great recommendation,” says Board of Trustees member Lenesa Leana, who was a leader throughout the entire mission update process. “We took that really seriously.”

Leana, in partnership with then Board of Trustees member Drew Gaillard ’88, began laying the groundwork by interviewing community members — parents, faculty, staff, and alumni — about what defined Breck for them. As the community adjusted to a new Head of School in Dr. Hernández and then, later, the many complexities of the COVID-19 pandemic, the process paused. But the intention to put into writing who Breck is today — and who the school hopes to be in the future — remained.

In the 2021–22 school year, the process resumed in earnest with the creation of the Mission Statement Task Force. Comprised of trustees, faculty, staff, administrators, parents, and alumni, this group began unpacking the data collected by Leana and Gaillard in 2016 while also scrutinizing the school’s existing mission statement. What did each individual word really mean? Was it still relevant to today’s Breck community? Was it worth updating to better fit within our ever-changing context?

“We were blessed with an amazing group of people serving on this task force,” remembers Leana. “These people love this school from the tips of their heads to the bottoms of their feet. They cared so much that every word was right.”

As the mission statement went through iteration after iteration, the group’s dedication never wavered. When it came to determining Breck’s core values, the group was thoughtful and considerate.

“It’s hard to come to a consensus with a highly caring, highly motivated, highly successful group of people. But it wasn’t hard to come to a consensus when it came to our core values,” says Dr. Hernández. The addition of explanatory statements after each core value helped solidify exactly what each meant within the context of the Breck community.

“We added the descriptions,” Leana recalls, “so there wouldn’t be a question of, ‘What does compassion mean?’”

“Our core values are not uncommon or unique,” Dr. Hernández says. “What is uncommon and unique about them are the descriptors that follow each word. Those are potentially more important than the word that precedes them because they tell us how we will live in community together and what our aspirations are for the kinds of communities our students will lead in the future.”

The Mission Task Force presented their diligently crafted language to the Board of Trustees in June of 2022. With confidence, the Board approved it unanimously, and the Breck community began the 2022–23 school year with a new mission statement and core values.

Resonating with students, past and present

Allison O’Toole ’89, a member of Breck’s Board of Trustees, served on the Mission Statement Task Force. Her perspective as a Breck alum was critical. How could the group honor the Breck experience alums like O’Toole had while also recognizing the school — and the world — has changed since they walked its halls?

“The world has changed, student needs have changed, and academics have changed since I was a student,” O’Toole says. “The school has evolved. It’s just the mission hadn’t and the communication of the mission hadn’t, so it was time to catch up.”

As an alum, O’Toole feels connected to Breck’s new mission statement because it still feels reflective of her own experience, just in a more modern context. “When I look at the mission statement now, I still see the Breck I knew,” she says. “But it is more sophisticated, more evolved with the times. And I think it should be.”

Student Body President Will

Walker ’23 believes the new mission statement and core values will resonate with current and future students, too. “I think you should have a purpose behind everything you do,” says Walker. “I think [the new mission statement] does a great job of just laying out the school’s purpose. It sets a good example.”

The school is constantly changing, and Walker believes updating language acknowledges that.

“Times are always changing, from year to year or even just week to week,” he says. “I feel like updating these shows there’s a cohesiveness between the administration and the students, which allows for forward progression. It shows there’s a bond within the school.”

Looking to the future

Since being introduced to the Breck community this fall, the new mission statement and core values have been embraced pretty broadly, Dr. Hernández believes. But acknowledging their limitations is also important.

“A mission statement should not be all things to all people,” she says. “It should be clarifying, and it should be unique. It should also be attributable only to the culture that it represents.”

As Breck continues to grow and change, so will its mission statement. It won’t take another 35 years for the community to reevaluate our core language and common purpose, though. An update every five to 10 years should become the norm, as priorities within the school and our world continue to shift.

“Times change,” says O’Toole. “Thankfully they do change, and we get the opportunity to embrace that change.” B

Our Mission

We create confident learners who lead lives of intellectual curiosity, self-knowledge, and social responsibility.

Our Core Values

Compassion: Honor the dignity of all human beings.

Excellence: Strive with integrity for the highest standards.

Inclusivity: Foster a just and welcoming community.

Respect: Value each other's unique talents, spirit, and potential.

Committed to our community

Thank you to the following dedicated individuals who worked tirelessly to give our school a new mission statement and core values that we can all be proud of.

Mission Statement Task Force

Susan Bass Roberts, Former Board of Trustees, current parent

Sarah Flotten ’85, Director, Peter Clark Center for Mind, Brain, and Education

Drew Gaillard ’88 , Former Board of Trustees, current parent

Mary Gentry, Upper School math

Stacy Glaus, Chief Advancement Officer, current parent

Natalia R. Hernández, Head of School, current parent

Lenesa Leana, Board of Trustees

Richard Mattera, President, Board of Trustees

Allison O’Toole ’89, Board of Trustees

Jeff Parkhill, Board of Trustees, current parent

Sara Pearce, former Parent’s Association President

Leah Lussier Sixkiller ’03, Board of Trustees, current parent

Christopher Thibodeaux, Board of Trustees, current parent

Scott Wade, Director of Admissions and Financial Aid, current parent

Compassion

“Compassion means caring for each other, having empathy for each other, and helping people when they’re feeling down or having a different type of emotion. If you are mean to someone, then they might treat you the same way. So you got to be nice and they are going to treat you nice back.”

— Amran

Excellence

“I think excellence at Breck is taking advantage of all the resources we have because you can really do whatever you want here. You can either join the robotics team, like I’m on, or you can create your own club. I think just making use of what we have is what creates excellence.”

— Trisha ’23

Inclusivity

“Inclusivity means having equitable opportunities for every student at Breck. That means providing spaces where students feel comfortable and allowing students to create those spaces with full support.”

— Daniel ’23

Respect

“Respect means listening to other people and valuing other people’s opinions. It means not speaking over someone when they’re talking, and listening and engaging in the conversation so they know that their opinions are valued and that you really have interest in what they have to say.”

— Jude ’27

Upper School Fall Musical

Breck Theater presented Spamalot: School Edition! on November 17–19, 2022.