Letter from the Board Chair and Head of School

Thank you for your unwavering support of Durham Academy. It is through the commitment and dedication of our entire community that we are able to achieve greatness.

In 2021–2022, we emerged from the thickest fog of the pandemic — feeling more intensely the pleasures of our campus community and thinking more strategically about who we want to be.

While several COVID-19 waves churned up disorienting froth, three bedrock truths became clear:

1. Relationships remain the beating heart of our school. What fun to see students running from their parents’ cars to see their friends and classmates.

How gratifying to see so many alumni reconnecting on campus with beloved teachers. How wonderful to see parents forge friendships that last long past the graduations of their children. While health and safety remained paramount in 2021–2022, we happily reclaimed all kinds of in-person programs and traditions — the glue of our school culture and the sweetest fruit of living in community. Among the most memorable: • The Turkey Trot 5K & Fun Run and the All-School Picnic (both orchestrated by our relentlessly positive Parents Association) • Field Days & Grandparents and Special Friends Days • Musical theatre performances in Kenan Auditorium and (for the first time ever) in the Middle School’s beautiful new Horton Hall • Senior Dinner at the Durham Armory and Senior Commencement at UNC’s Memorial Hall • Our Spring Alumni Reception — celebrating retiring maintenance foreman Randy Baker and Georgetown professor Bradley Hardy ’98

There were many more highlights — from the full seasons of our 40 athletic teams to the full slate of chorus, band and dance concerts, to the assemblies and morning meetings that unite each division of the school. Whether momentous or mundane, these gatherings reminded us how much we rely on and enjoy each other.

2. We are here to learn. Fully on campus from August to June, we were able to propel our students forward. Academic excellence continues to draw families and faculty to Durham Academy. By all measures, we continue to see impressive growth from our students and widespread acknowledgement that the quality of teacher-student interactions is most responsible for that growth. In recent decades, too many schools have been pulled off course by distracting or disproportionate pursuits: mistaking test results or college “outcomes” for human development; chasing victories in athletics, debate or any single realm at the cost of a balanced program; building an ostentatious campus or a culture overburdened by tradition and “prestige.”

Durham Academy, however, has kept its money where its mission is: excellent teachers, advisors and coaches who support the long-term development of moral, happy, productive adults. While we sometimes stumble and fall short of that ideal, our aim is steadfast, with our resources aligned to our mission.

3. We are increasingly clear about how and why we learn. In 2021–2022, we began to implement action steps toward the goals of our Strategic Vision (da.org/strategicvision). The core of that vision is informed by recent findings in brain science. We know that learning is deeper and more lasting when students: • play active roles in their lessons; • have more choice and voice in what and how they learn; • bring their healthiest and most authentic selves to school; • and find meaning and purpose in their work.

Just as our mission compels us to aim at long-term outcomes, we recognize that the purpose of education is not merely the acquisition of facts and skills. We agree with T.H. Huxley’s idea that “The great end of life is not knowledge but action.” Especially when students are practicing teamwork, citizenship and leadership, they are developing their best selves to make the world a better place.

Former Durham Academy Head of School Don North said often to the faculty: “Schools are either getting better or getting worse. There is no standing still.” Amidst the swirling waters of 2021–2022, our school moved forward with vigor and purpose. We tested our endurance and built a more durable school community. We moved through an emergency and emerged more focused and more purposeful than ever.

Your support continues to lift our spirits, sharpen our focus and fuel our work. We are grateful.

WITH PROFOUND GRATITUDE,

Caroline Rogers Chair of the Board of Trustees Michael Ulku-Steiner Head of School