PROGRESS TOWARD EQUITY
A New Bridge Program Helps Preps Navigate Their First Year B Y W E N DY C A R L S O N
P H OTO: W E N DY C A R L S O N
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morning at Fairfield Farm, a group of preps barely took note of a tractor rumbling and sputtering past the field where they were busily digging potatoes and marveling at the abundance of earthworms. Nearby, at the Sharon Audubon Center, another group of Bridge Program students chatted nonstop as they pulled weeds from the Center’s extensive flower garden; yet another group, equipped with bow saws, worked as a team to tackle invasive brush at a neighboring land trust property. The endeavors were all service projects for the 31 students enrolled in the School’s inaugural Bridge Program, designed to help preps from diverse academic, socioeconomic, and geographic backgrounds ready themselves for campus
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N A CRISP SEPTEMBER
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life at Hotchkiss. Community outreach work — pulling weeds, digging potatoes, or blazing trails — is an important part of the overall Hotchkiss experience, according to Instructor in Physics Anju Taneja P’04,’09, who worked with the students over the summer to help them design their own service projects. For two weeks in August, Bridge students gathered virtually to discuss both academic preparedness and community service in order to ease their transition to Hotchkiss in the fall. They met with instructors in English, math, and history to brush up on writing skills, participated in class discussions, learned about expectations in their individual math levels, and reviewed basic research methods. But as importantly, they forged a connection as
a group, laying the groundwork for strong friendships that should help them overcome hurdles in the year ahead. The Bridge Program at Hotchkiss had been in the planning stages for several years as part of the School’s efforts to attract and support a broader range of students, according to Dean of Admission Erby Mitchell P’22. “Students in our Bridge Program are racially, ethnically, and geographically diverse, and they possess a range of interests,” Mitchell said. “Far too often, programs like these are stigmatized as remediation for weaker students, but that misses the point,” says Mitchell. “This program is about enabling capable students to thrive, and contrary to expectations, this group reflects racial,
