Head of School’s Message

message

Continuity and Change at Allen-Stevenson

In their Allen-Stevenson prospectus of 1904, Mr. Allen and Mr. Stevenson asserted, “We intend to teach intelligent habits of study, to train the boys’ bodies, and to develop straightforward, manly characters.” Well over a century later and amplified by any number of robust experiences in the arts and other domains, this approach is still our path. It also reflects our conviction that education for boys should be more than what Mr. Stevenson once termed “a mere stuffing of knowledge in their heads.” Recently I described that process as follows: As boys face new challenges through academics, athletics and the arts, they accumulate a portfolio of robust experiences. Accordingly, our mission statement declares, “We challenge our students to take suitable risks, learn from their mistakes, and support each other.” Over time this builds the foundation that, to quote the mission again, “teaches boys to value the gratifying process by which excellence is attained.” Our approach shifts the focus from teaching to learning, so that boys can become even more skillful, not simply in what they know and can do, but also in their capacities to continue learning throughout their lives. They must become agents in their own learning.

This delightful issue of the Lamplighter illustrates how Allen-Stevenson today is preserving, extending, and renewing its distinctive, robust, and spirited approach to the education of boys. We always start with the School’s statements of mission, vision and community and consider how these are important now. This issue’s page about “Why K-8” summarizes some of the most salient points to understand about Allen-Stevenson:

• We focus on boys’ formative years. • We foster leadership and confidence. • We find boys the right high school. • We know the research.

As we celebrated the 139th “birthday” of Allen-Stevenson on Founders Day last October, this vitality was obvious. Our special speaker Adam Donaldson ’05 spoke to the student body from the renowned football stadium at Notre Dame. He talked about how his Allen-Stevenson education had shaped many of his own values in adulthood. He also gave the boys great advice on how to approach challenges and opportunities in life. [See page 25 to listen to his speech.]

David on the townhouse steps

For a historian, the theme of continuity and change is significant. For example, historians ask whether change is social, economic, cultural, political or personal. They consider how fast or slow change happens, whether it is gradual, steady, rapid, sudden, fast or slow. They also try to determine how extensive change is, whether it is long-lasting or short-term and how it affects people or societies. Also, change can be for the worse or for the better.

David at the Back-to-School Social

Even with the restrictions required by the pandemic, lots of exciting changes are happening at Allen-Stevenson. This issue of the Lamplighter reports on some of them. The most obvious changes are the result of new construction. The building project has provided wonderful new classrooms, science labs and a teaching greenhouse, a new performing arts space, an extended Library Tech Commons, an ample kitchen and larger dining room, and a large new gymnasium that in size meets middle-school regulations. All these changes started with a thorough analysis of the facilities requirements of our educational program—that is, how the schoolhouse should support what we are trying to accomplish in the education of boys.

Other changes grow out of the School’s two-year strategic planning process, which identified four main themes (or “pillars”) around which to organize the strategic initiatives we would undertake. These pillars are: Educating the Whole Boy, A Purposeful Place, A Connected Community, and A Foundation of Financial Sustainability.

Scan QR code for Strategic Initiatives

Last year, considering the end of the 9th Grade, we moved towards two administrative structures (a Lower Division of Kindergarten through 4th Grade and an Upper Division of 5th through 8th Grades). Though we always prized the opportunity for boys to complete 9th Grade at Allen-Stevenson, and made the decision reluctantly, there were just not enough candidates to make that grade workable in today’s world.

As I prepare to retire at the end of June 2022, I am excited to hand this wonderful institution over to Duncan Lyon, our new Head of School. He will become the 8th leader of Allen-Stevenson in what will then be the 140th year. Because of the comprehensive search process the School underwent to select Mr. Lyon, and the enthusiastic engagement our community showed in that process, I am very confident about AllenStevenson’s bright future.

In closing, I want to remind you that I often sign my messages with the School’s motto Fortiter et Recte, which we usually translate as “strongly and rightly.” My explanation is straightforward: I believe that we should approach change and renewal vigorously. That has been Allen-Stevenson’s legacy for nearly 139 years, and it has proven to provide the best learning for boys. Thank you for being our partners and willingly embracing new possibilities for Allen-Stevenson.

Fortiter et Recte!

David R. Trower h’95 Head of School