STEVE’S STUDY STEVE’S STUDY STEVE’S STUDY

Dear Burke Community,

Throughout my career as an educator, have heard this question most predictably: “So, is the school year winding down?”

This could not be further from the experience of working in schools. In May, the cadence of daily routines starts to quicken, the special events and performances increase in frequency, and everyone feels the activity and the momentum building toward a joyous crescendo.

Then, at some point after Graduation and Moving Up, a hush quickly descends, like the closing of a curtain, as the school shifts into a slower, summer rhythm.

Even as this year is ending, our eyes are on the future. Who will be joining our community next year? What campus improvements will we make? What new electives or programs will launch? These are the questions that we are asking–and answering–as we look to the summer months.

This summer we will also re-activate our strategic planning process, which will inspire questions about who we are as a school and who we aspire to be.

At our core, we are a progressive school. In these pages, we explore how progressive education began and how it looks in practice today.

How do we put students at the center of our work? How are we activating their critical thinking muscles in all arenas of their school experience? How do we inspire them to be civically engaged and invested in bettering our world?

As John Dewey stated, the progressive educator’s duty is to prepare students “not for the world of the past, not for our world but for their world — the world of the future.”

As we close out one school year and look ahead to a new one, we also should ask, “how are we creating time for relaxation, reading, creativity, family, and unplugged communion with the natural world?” I hope healthy doses of all of those activities are part of your summer rhythms.

Have a great summer, Burke!

In peace and partnership,

Steve McManus Head of School