View from My Window

Of the first five FWCD Heads of School, I had the chance to meet all but Peter Schwartz H’98, our Founding Headmaster. In my first few months in the Head of School office, I had conversations with the other four, Ted Sanford H’98, Geoff Butler H’98, Graham Brown and Evan Peterson H’15 (pictured above). They were so eager for the School to thrive and for me to succeed. My time with Graham was on the phone in summer and fall 2015. He was in Florida as head of a K-8 school. I was sorry to learn recently that he passed away in November. As a community, we share our condolences with Mary, Graham's wife, and their children, Jennifer Kelly, Kimberly Robinson and Meredith Calkins.

Former Heads of School: Ted Sanford H’98, Geoff Butler H’98, Graham Brown and Evan Peterson H’15

FWCD’s fourth head (1996-2001), Graham’s biggest legacy to the School might be our six core values. I, for one, feel indebted that he set those in stone on his watch. When I think of what I would want our students and alumni to exemplify, it’s those values that make us all proud: Integrity. Kindness. Courage. Respect. Responsibility. Scholarship. (Read the feature story on page 34.)

They are an aspirational collection. To demonstrate all six traits day-in and day-out without slipping up would be impossible. The slip-ups, in fact, become opportunities at FWCD, opportunities to stop and consider the meaning of the values, their importance, and how to maintain them as shared aspirations in our community. They are guideposts and beacons. I imagine Graham formed a committee to create that list, which is now woven into the FWCD plaid. I am curious what other core values they would have considered. One value I think is overarching and absent from our collection is empathy. Empathy is hard to teach. It is hard to monitor. And yet, we want our students and children to exhibit the most empathy possible. The more people understand someone else’s circumstances and situations, the better our world is. Parents and teachers alike work hard to get the youngest children to start to be aware of others. As they grow up, we want those children to be able to read another person’s circumstances.

One of my favorite signs at FWCD is outside an Upper School classroom. It reads, “Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about.” Aren’t we a better place when, before condemning someone for their beliefs, decisions or actions, we go to the extra effort of trying to understand their why?

I remain eager for us to aspire to infuse all of our core values and to bind them together with a sense of empathy that makes us even more proud of our students and alumni.

With sadness at Graham’s passing and with gratitude for his legacy to the School,

Eric Lombardi, Head of School