Letter from the Head of School

The epic poet Homer sang of heroes who possessed remarkable courage, resolve, and skill. As I reflect on this past year and all we have endured, it’s clear to me that ours is a community teeming with heroes.

The “grytte” and commitment exhibited throughout the 2020–2021 school year by our community has been both astounding and humbling. Everyone worked tirelessly toward three goals: opening our doors in September 2020, keeping students and faculty physically and mentally healthy throughout the year, and engaging our boys academically, intellectually, and emotionally. These “heroic” traits were embodied by every member of our Browning community: faculty, staff, students, alumni, and parents.

Opening our doors and keeping them open was no easy undertaking, but the power of our relationships, the capacity to face each new hurdle head-on, and the collective knowledge, hard work, and, above all, dedication to our students enabled us—as a team—to succeed in our goal to keep Browning operating as effectively as possible.

Beginning in the spring of 2020 and continuing throughout the next academic year, our Health and Safety Team sifted through directives coming from the CDC, New York City, and New York State, interpreting instructions that were sometimes ambiguous and conflicting, and then making sure that the regulations, restrictions, and procedures Browning implemented were as clear and transparent as possible for our community. Decisions were made in the best interest of our boys using the most recent information available.

Our Leadership Team worked tirelessly through the summer of 2020 to create a plan that enabled Browning to open on time. Division heads met individually with everyone responsible for our academic program to explain the rollout. With immense trust in Browning and dedication to their students, our teachers committed to returning last September. We made hard asks of the faculty and they rose to the challenge, creating curricula that were robust, intentional, and thoughtful.

The Collaborative Learning Cohort, two dozen accomplished teachers from across all three divisions, worked together over the summer of 2020 to find new ways to foster curiosity, promote independent thinking, and adopt more inquirybased practices in their pedagogy, especially under hybrid-learning conditions.

This effort spoke to our faculty’s professional skills and commitment to growth and innovation, as well as its capacity for teamwork, all of which helped make our transition to new models of learning as seamless as possible when the school year began.

Once academic, technological, and procedural adjustments were underway, we continued to focus on the building itself. Our maintenance team prepared for the physical and safety needs of our students and teachers. Employing ingenuity, technical skill, and diligence, they created Lexan table dividers, procured and stocked cleaning supplies and PPE, upgraded and cleaned HVAC systems, and redesigned classroom spaces with social distancing in mind.

The emphasis on physical spaces underscored the importance of relationships, connections, and trust. Pod structures were employed to prioritize safety, connection, and collaboration. Time spent with classmates was both vital and precious.

We did all we could to make sure the boys enjoyed every day of school while remaining safe. It was imperative that they—despite hybrid learning, social distancing, and masking—remained known, loved, and supported by teachers and staff. In turn, they exhibited resilience each and every day, borne out of connections to each other and to the adults in their lives.

For our new families, we hosted interactive information sessions and sent numerous emails to ensure that everyone knew what Browning was doing for our students. This proactive exchange of information enabled us to build trust and open communication. The Admission Office also paid special attention to prospective parents, guiding them through the application process and addressing their questions and concerns.

The courage, resolve, and skill exhibited by the entire Browning community last year has been, in my mind, heroic. For that, I am profoundly grateful. Thanks to you we have achieved so much in an impossibly difficult year. We all made important sacrifices in the best interest of the School and our boys. Just like the heroes of antiquity, we have completed this part of our journey and look forward to better times to come.

John Botti P ’26, ’29