3 One of the things I admire most about Breck is our community’s artful blend of tradition and innovation. On a foundation of enduring values, Breck develops dynamic new academic programs. In accordance with longstanding standards of excellence, Breck creates new ways for more students to attain those standards. For more than 125 years, Breck has kept faith with its past while reinventing itself to meet the challenges of the day. The Upper School transformation currently underway is a perfect example, and I can’t think of anything more typically and wonderfully Breck. Our building project is going well. And though it’s my first at Breck, this is the fourth major academic building project with which I’ve been involved. Along the way, I’ve learned that the best outcome – one I fully expect to experience about a year from now – is when we ask ourselves only one question: “Why didn’t we do this before?” While the building takes shape, we have been thinking about the curricular transformations also under construction. One particularly exhilarating example is the Melrose Family Center for Servant Leadership, a program that will help make service a more deeply meaningful element of the Upper School curriculum. Drawing upon a concept that has transformed the culture of many large U.S. corporations, servant leadership at Breck will provide a structure for us to give students a foundation in leadership skills that will serve them and their communities well long after their Breck graduation. Though our campus looks different during this year of construction, it’s important for me to underscore what many of you have already observed. Nothing is fundamentally different. It may take longer to get from “Breck East” to “Breck West,” and we have to go outside to do so, but we are firmly focused on realizing our mission. Our approach has modeled the kind of mental flexibility we expect of our students, as it encompasses looking at what’s possible, gathering information and considering different perspectives before we act. And the process has been accessible even to our youngest students. Every time I pass through the science hallway and see a Lower School class incorporating the construction into their academic work and imagining their future selves, I know that we are building more than just a new facility for the Upper School. I’m delighted that this issue of the magazine celebrates Homecoming and some very special elements of our community, including our photo of “legacy” families (alumni whose children are now Breck students) and profiles of alumni members of our faculty and staff. They’re all a constant reminder of how we can look forward and back at the same time, and how Breck is so much stronger as a result.
EdWARD Kim Head of school