STEPPING FORWARD

FROM HEAD OF SCHOOL

PAUL LINDENMAIER

IN THIS, OUR 225TH YEAR, WE ARE “STEPPING FORWARD” and embracing our role as stewards of this special school in ways none of us could have predicted a few short months ago. We have arrived at an unprecedented moment that asks us to hold the school and its future promise with great care. In this issue of Seedlings you will read about how we are adapting to the realities of the current pandemic, while continuing to pave the way towards a bright future for BFS.

All of the work we have done over the past few months to confirm our mission, vision, and strategic plan has positioned us well for sustainability in these uncertain times. Before COVID-19 required us to rethink how we live, work, learn, and connect, we had already begun to address long-held questions about what we wish to preserve, and to identify what we must build upon (and change) to ensure that BFS can best live its mission and be sustainable – prepared to support our core values, our community, our children and teachers, the spirit that is BFS, and teaching and learning for generations to come.

As we all adjust to our new norms, that work has slowed, but not stopped.

During our recent strategic planning process, we affirmed that our extraordinary 44-acre wooded campus is one of our most precious resources (an affirmation strengthened by our current distance from our beloved land and spaces). Although our faculty, staff, students and families have embraced distance learning with curiosity and courage, we all know that our campus is ultimately essential to the learning and interactions that occur at Buckingham Friends School, and core to its ethos. Five unique and varied buildings and a Meetinghouse are linked by walkways through green common spaces and playground areas. Playing fields and an extensive network of trails host scores of athletes while providing vast open spaces for gym classes, recess, or quiet contemplation of the clouds. The pond is a year-round science lab. Mature trees, inviting glens, and ample green space attract birds and wildlife.

Realizing the Promise: The Strategic Plan for Buckingham Friends School established four overarching goals that we identified as essential to realizing our vision for the future. Goal 4 focuses on resources: By 2023, BFS will have stewarded all its resources – financial, campus, and talent – for a sustainable future. One strategy to reach this goal is to “revitalize and/or update campus facilities and grounds in environmentally proactive ways that improve aesthetics and functionality.”

This winter, we were privileged to work with Jim Childress and his colleague Beth Hedde from Centerbrook Architects. They were hired to guide us in the creation of a facilities plan that will allow us to improve, adapt, and answer our big questions about the future of our campus while integrating architectural solutions to advance our strategic plan and goals for teaching and learning.

Centerbrook has skillfully led an inclusive master facilities planning process that invited participation and ideas from members of every BFS constituency group. Throughout that process, it was clear to me that Centerbrook understood BFS’s unique attributes and culture.

Their work will result in the completion of a Master Facilities Plan – a conceptual blueprint for the stewardship of our campus in the future. I will continue to keep you informed and engaged in the next steps of the process as we realize our collective vision for Buckingham Friends School. If you have any thoughts or questions, or would like to be more involved, please contact me directly.

I would like to share with you an excerpt from my note to faculty on March 23, as we all took a deep breath just prior to plunging into our brave new experiment in distance learning:

I write on the eve of our efforts to implement distance learning and this grand new experiment of living BFS’s mission in a new way to offer my deepest thanks to each of you. It truly has been humbling to witness everyone stepping up as they prepare and work together while preparing to step over a threshold into a whole new world. I could not be more grateful for everything you’ve done and are about to embark upon.

As a community, we are building upon the legacies of those who came before us, those who were deeply committed to our mission and the future health and purpose of the school. We are also finding new paths to delivering on our mission, of connecting and serving the members of our extraordinary community. As we blaze new trails, I invite you to be in touch, to share your stories, to follow us on social media, to go to our website, and to consider how you may want to join us in our future endeavors.

Be well.

Paul Lindenmaier Head of School