Board of Trustees President and Head of School Q&A

What gives you the most joy in leading McDonogh School?

[HEAD OF SCHOOL DAVE FARACE '87] I was a scholarship student on campus for six years and the school changed my life. McDonogh instilled core values, broadened my horizons, and gave me lifelong best friends. So, I find pure joy in giving back to this place. “We give something more than we take” is a McDonogh ethos that I have internalized over the years and try to live by. Oh, and carpool duty and campus “walk-abouts” also fill my tank!

[BOARD OF TRUSTEES PRESIDENT ROB YOUNG '86] From a leadership perspective, my greatest joy comes from witnessing those moments when bonds form between students and faculty that will last a lifetime. We talk a lot about transformational experiences, but not enough about the people who make a career and life of developing young minds and challenging them to meet their personal potential. Recognizing that the work of the Board continues to help make these relationships possible is the reason I serve.

The field of education is changing rapidly. What are the biggest challenges for schools today?

[DAVE] In this ever-changing global environment, we need to educate students for their future, not our past. Experts estimate that 85% of the jobs that today’s learners will be doing in 2030 haven’t been invented yet. So, it’s critical for independent schools to use their independence—I mean really use their independence to lead the way forward. I’m proud that McDonogh is doing just that with LifeReady and its promise of deeper learning, which means we want students to take what’s learned in one situation and apply it to another. It is the antithesis of students memorizing and regurgitating information for a test and then quickly forgetting it. Unfortunately, many schools are still stuck in this framework.

Another imperative we are committed to is academic freedom in the classroom. Put simply, McDonogh classrooms must serve as marketplaces of ideas where students can engage in civil and respectful discourse and debate. Teaching students how to think, not what to think is central to our mission.

Last year, the Board of Trustees introduced the concept of “The McDonogh Way.” Can you talk more about this phrase and what it means?

[ROB] The McDonogh Way is a commitment to always focus on what is best for kids—period. It is a community-wide promise to hold one another accountable to our Mission, Vision, and Values, and to not politicize or polarize the School.

The McDonogh Way reminds us that we are united by a school and community that changed most of our lives for the better, and changed many of our friends’, kids’, and grandkids’ lives for the better, too.

You have said that Greatest Good McDonogh is one of the most important programs the School has ever launched. Why?

[DAVE] I love this question because I have never been so bullish about a program in my 25+ year career! Like LifeReady, I think Greatest Good McDonogh is a game changer and differentiates us at the local and national level. In year one of the program, we are already empowering and inspiring students to be philanthropists in the broadest sense of the word—ethical problem solvers committed to serving others and doing the greatest possible amount of good in the world.

This issue of McDonogh Magazine highlights the dedication of The Memorial to Those Enslaved and Freed; how do you see the Memorial becoming a part of school life?

[DAVE] McDonogh is a school that remembers. We have a multitude of memorials on our campus that honor the legacy of “those who’ve gone before us” from John McDonogh to those brave soldiers who fought and died for our freedom to distinguished faculty and staff and alumni. The new memorial expands our circle of gratitude by honoring the sacrifices of the enslaved people—men, women, and children—whose forced labor contributed directly to the wealth that led to our founding.

What do you see as priorities for the Board of Trustees in the coming year?

[ROB] A board colleague recently reminded me that one of the toughest duties of leadership is to recognize when the world is changing, develop a response to it, and communicate that new vision

going forward. We will know better a decade from now, but history is likely to characterize these years as pivotal. This recognition requires Board attention to the efficacy of our school’s operating model and an understanding of the vision for our future. In response, we recently completed a strategic plan to better oversee and measure the many initiatives affecting our school’s future. With the goal setting process for the new school year underway, I anticipate attention, in varying degrees, to all of the plan’s key categories: campus master plan, financial sustainability, governance, institutional culture, and LifeReady and curriculum.

Tell us what you like to do for fun outside of school?

[DAVE] I’m a bookworm and a gym rat. There is also nothing more relaxing than walking my dogs, Willie Nelson, a basset hound, and Boomer, a black lab, on McDonogh’s cross country trail. And I’m a little too obsessed with Wordle and pickleball.

[ROB] As new “empty nesters” I am enjoying time with my wife that did not exist for the last two decades. Additionally, play/sports/movement have been lifelong loves, and at this stage in life, I appreciate two persistent truths: there are never too many ice bags and Father Time is undefeated!