A MESSAGE FROM HEAD OF SCHOOL DAVID G. PERFIELD Dear Oldfields Community,
As I begin my fourth year as the Head of School, I consider the My goal for the summer has direction in which we are heading been to slow down. My guess and the ways in which we will is that many of us do not know continue to honor the extraordinary what that truly feels like. vision of our courageous founder, Pause. Stop. Look up. Look Anna Austen McCulloch. I also around. Don’t rush on to the think about our students and faculty, next thing. Pay close attention especially after what we experienced, to your senses, taking in what and accomplished, during the 2020you see, hear, smell, taste, and 2021 school year. To say I admire touch. Capture your thoughts their commitment and resilience and follow where they take would be an understatement. This you. Reflect. Repeat often— past school year was a success, and whenever necessary. not only because we delivered an in-person learning experience for After a year like no one the entire year culminating in a could have ever imagined, I traditional Graduation on June 5, have focused on balance and but also because of the lessons we revisiting the fundamentals learned during a journey that took that are essential to the us into uncharted territory. We’ve Oldfields Core Experience Lisa and David Perfield with daughters, Anna and Lexi, at Graduation gotten better at recognizing when that our students benefit we should listen more closely and from every day. I’ve been less apologize for mistakes. We’ve been reminded that humility is a focused on my lists, meetings, and deadlines. value that’s at the heart of what we do every day—and I believe As is often the case when an organization is faced with it’s a characteristic that’s permanently embedded in our students challenging times, this past year forced us to examine who and graduates. We will remain a work in progress, and that is a we are and what the “non-negotiables” are when it comes to good place to be, as long as we continue to learn while staying an Oldfields education. It also raised important questions. true to ourselves and our mission. How did our commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion In April 2021, Oldfields hosted the Association of Independent inform and influence our daily commitment to each and Maryland and DC Schools Ten-Year Accreditation Visiting every one of our community members—and their experience Committee. Their visit was the capstone of a two-year self-study at Oldfields? Looking through an equity lens, what school process and an opportunity for students, faculty, and staff to policies need to be updated? How will our new Mission demonstrate how Oldfields provides an exceptional educational Statement, the root of our Strategic Plan, help drive our experience for adolescent girls. In the debriefing session their planning in other priority areas and ultimately move the feedback was robust. I was amazed by how well the Chair and School forward? What are the School’s strategic goals? How her team knew Oldfields—they “got us.” As the visit came to do these goals advance the Core Experience? Are there an end, the Chair proceeded to share one last highlight saying, resources available to support these goals? These are just a “As the committee was wrapping up, I asked everyone, ‘If I were few of the questions I reflect on when considering the past to share one takeaway from this experience with David and his academic year and the near and distant future of this historic team, what would it be?’” The answer was worth waiting for. school. “Tell them we all feel inspired by what’s happening here.” 2
OLDFIELDS MAGAZINE
