about. … Ten years as head of a thriving school! Not a very long time. Yet, change was in the air. … I had been informed that many prospective parents were enthusiastic about a private day school in Fort Worth that was then the only city of comparable size in the United States that didn’t have such a school. … Would anyone dare to pioneer one in the Fort Worth area? More important, would I dare?” Taking the helm in June 1962, while simultaneously transitioning out of his position at Pembroke, the document chronicles the challenges of Schwartz’s first year of building the school, while also detailing the process of how the Board decided upon a name. With a name and headmaster in place, ground was broken on December 12, 1962, with the master plan being developed by Fort Worth’s premier architecture firm of the day, Preston M. Geren & Associates. Schwartz adds: “A large number of trustees and friends of the school gathered on the cold hillside, and with shovels hastily provided by Mr.
Leonard from his store’s stock, earth was ceremoniously turned.” While building the school in one year posed a significant challenge, Schwartz details the mountainous task of hiring the administration, teachers and coaches needed for a school offering grades 1-9 on its very first day of class. “We had decided that the faculty of the new school should represent Texans, nonTexans, and people who, regardless of where they had been reared and educated, were currently residents of Fort Worth. … In the course of the teacher search, I began to realize that teacher talent was in short supply,” Schwartz added.
glimpse into the incredible hard work and determination that the Founding Trustees and Schwartz shared in an effort to make Fort Worth Country Day a reality. During FWCD’s 50th anniversary year, the School has set aside a special place on the FWCD website for this document in its entirety so that all members of the community have an opportunity to review this piece of Fort Worth Country Day history. To read “Fort Worth Country Day: The Beginning” go to fwcd.org/50 and select FWCD History.
The above excerpts eloquently illustrate the time and culture in which Fort Worth Country Day was founded, and the document shares Schwartz’s philosophy, which ushered in the core values that are associated with FWCD today. Moreover, it provides a
FWCD School Archives Uncover a Treasure By Jason Meyer As Fort Worth Country Day celebrates its 50th anniversary, there has been quite a bit of reflection on the past by School administration, the Board of Trustees, faculty, staff, parents and students. As any organization might do when looking back on its own particular journey, this anniversary gives FWCD an opportunity to review the School’s archives of historical documents and artifacts. One of the year’s more interesting activities to date was the reopening of the 25-year time capsules on Founders’ Day 2013—one per division— from 1988. For some of us, the time capsules were a trip down memory lane; for others, it was an introduction to an era of floppy discs and cassette tapes. While the time capsules brought back memories and a few laughs, a review of the
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School’s archives revived a true treasure—a fascinating and inspiring document written by FWCD’s first headmaster, Peter A. Schwartz. Written in 1975, the document details Schwartz’s first two years at the helm of FWCD, a school without a building, a teacher or a name, but a school that had a vision. And one that Schwartz and the Founders tirelessly worked to realize during 1962 and 1963. Coming to Fort Worth in 1962 was a bold move for Schwartz. By this time, he was already the successful headmaster of Pembroke Country Day School in Kansas City, and he had only been to Fort Worth once—spending a night at a local Holiday Inn, while traveling to San Antonio. The circumstances surrounding his decision to join the FWCD Founders in creating Country Day couldn’t have been more unlikely.
In fact, he was hesitant as he read through an initial invitation to meet with the Board of a school that had yet to be built. Taking advice from a friend and fellow headmaster in Houston, he decided to give the interview a chance. Like most adopted sons and daughters who move to Fort Worth, it’s the warmth of the people that often becomes the deciding factor—and who better to sell Schwartz on Fort Worth than Perry Bass, one of the School’s Founding Trustees.
Founding Trustees George Ann Carter Bahan Perry R. Bass Sam B. Cantey III Rufus Garrett, Jr. James S. Garvey Robert K. Hanger Elton M. Hyder, Jr. Priscilla Holland Johnston O.P. Leonard, Jr. William W. McKinney Betty Claire DuPree McKnight William W. Meeker Thomas M. Ryan Edmund W. Schenecker Patricia Schutts
After meeting with the Board, Schwartz became enamored with Fort Worth and the idea of building its first college-preparatory school. It took only two brief meetings for the Board to be convinced that Schwartz was the right man for the job. Schwartz recalls the experience: “I went home to Kansas City with much to think fwcd.org
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