Better Together

In 2019, the iconic Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral was severely damaged by fire. Later in the year the celebrated Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison, author of Beloved and The Bluest Eye passed. Greta Thunberg made headlines at the 2019 UN Climate Action Summit. In her speech she exclaimed, "This is all wrong. I shouldn't be up here. I should be back in school on the other side of the ocean. Yet you all come to us young people for hope. How dare you?"

The year also heralded the banality of the college admissions cheating scandal, the Mueller report, and levying of the first of two distinct impeachment proceedings arising from the conduct of Donald Trump.

Bises

The 2019-2020 faculty Rentrée was launched with the usual upbeat aplomb. The ambiance in the gym was charged with hope and renewal. It was loud. It felt good. Calins and bises abounded. Old and new faces were speedily and raucously re-acquainted, fueled by flaky croissants and strong coffee. It took several minutes for Melinda to quell the excitement and settle the crowd. She did this with good humor with her signature teacherly quip about available seating at the front.

Of course this was all pre-pandemic. For now it was business as usual. Nobody could imagine the lethal global pandemic that would force school closure half way through the second semester. We were blissfully unaware. The first known case of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China would not appear until December 2019.

In an uplifting opening speech Melinda extended her vision of “Better Together.” She, quoted Montaigne and

Dewey in the context of the school’s tripartite identity and education of global citizens. Montaigne had affirmed in his 1575 essay On the Education of Children–written in France at a time fraught with conflict, as is our own–the experience of diversity is at the heart of any education: we must learn ‘of the humors of [other] peoples and their manners… knocking off our corners by rubbing our brains against other people’s.’ in order to build our own understanding of the world.”

Melinda went on to welcome new faculty and staff by name to the sound of warm applause. Next she delivered an appreciation of the previous year’s endgame metrics. Data points included robust Brevet, Bac, and IB Diploma examination results; college matriculations; enrollment successes; and some record breaking fundraising.

The moment Melinda thanked her faculty and staff for their partnership, and wished one and all a bonne rentrée, marked the start of what would become the most notorious and storied year in the history of the school.

Calm before the storm

Covid was looming. It would cause school closure before the end of the academic year. At this juncture, however, we were all oblivious. Nobody could anticipate the virulence and the baneful disruption to come. The Rentrée was upbeat business as usual. Business as usual at the French American and International–notwithstanding the unseen RNA menace offstage–included yet more game-changing innovation.

In 2018, we welcomed new Director of Teaching and Learning Julie Strong to our school. Her role soon morphed into an Assistant Head role leading the four Principals in the Instructional Leadership Team. Julie would lead strategic work on curriculum and instruction and coordinate accreditations. She also held overall responsibility for oversight on our faculty’s learning and growth, leading the school’s robust professional learning program. This program encompassed individually-designed learning aligned with goal setting and school wide initiatives, as well as leadership development.

A further enrichment to professional development, championed by Melinda herself, was the introduction of a summer Experiential Learning Grant. In its first year, the program funded six faculty members from various levels of the school for projects encompassing restoration and research in the Peruvian Amazon, translating for immigrants in Florida, attending the Bard Institute for Writing and Thinking, teaching music in Ghana, and volunteering at the Children of Haiti Project! During the year following each project, recipients would present to their colleagues on their experience and learning and share the impact of these on their practice.

Campus developments

The Vibrant Urban Campus strand of the Strategic Plan included: establishing more visual connection between the separate physical spaces at our Oak Campus; building additional flexible activity and athletics spaces; and designing and developing improved learning spaces for our adolescent students, including a dedicated building for International High School and more flexible, innovative spaces for our middle school students.

In the summer of 2019 the school built a new and inviting library for Grades 3 through 8 students on the third floor. The overwhelming emphasis for the library is the pleasure of reading physical books from its well chosen collection. There are numerous attractive and comfortable niches for doing just that. Structurally, the library is situated in the very heart of our academic program on the third floor. The design brings additional natural light to the lobby and hallway, just as the panoramic window overlook project had done previously on the second floor.

In June 2019, the school began the construction of a new playing field at 84 Page Street. The facility encompasses a 6,600 sq. ft. turf field for use by our physical education department and athletics teams. It would open just before the Covid lockdown. Attentive readers of this narrative will recall the purchase of the 98 Franklin land parcel. This site will become the dedicated building for International High School. No spoilers here. The project is astonishingly well underway. All will be revealed at the very end of this sexagennial history!