The Index Eutαxia Swzein Dokei
May 2013
Volume LXXIV, No. 9
Haverford, Pennsylvania - haverfordindex.com
School Surveys: Evaluating Dr. Cox’s Legacy Remember the survey you took in the fall? Brendan Burns ‘15 reviews the results and compares them with 2000, 2004, and 2008 to analyze how the school has progressed under Headmaster Dr. Joseph Cox. Brendan Burns ‘15
Last November, all Haverford employees, the majority of Haverford parents, and 621 Haverford students in fifth grade through Sixth Form participated in a constituent survey that was designed to assess the school’s standing in key areas. The survey, like its three predecessors that were taken in 2000, 2004, and 2008, was conducted by Lookout Management, Inc., an Ontario-based company that specializes in conducting surveys for independent schools and providing accurate reports on constituent satisfaction. Kevin Graham, President of Lookout Management, says that the constituent surveys act as a “report card” that track “many measures of satisfaction and of attitudinal agreement.” But what has been the practical application of this data over the past 13 years? When Dr. Joseph Cox arrived at Haverford as its eighth headmaster in 1998, a gap in the education Haverford provided was apparent. This gap was not academic in nature; rather, it pertained to the social and moral development of students and the health of the Haverford community. Satisfaction with the School was low in key areas regarding communication, sense of community, character development,
and the advisor system. In order to quantify this deficiency and set a benchmark for future progress, Dr. Cox and Haverford leadership contacted Kevin Graham and orchestrated the first constituent survey in 2000. The results confirmed what Dr. Cox suspected: Haverford students and parents were satisfied with the School’s academic curriculum but uniformly felt that Haverford did not invest sufficient effort into educating “the whole boy.” The 2000 survey was used to inform Haverford’s Strategic Plan for the next few years. Dr. Cox says that there was a realization that, “If you’re preparing boys for Harvard, you’re developing academics,” but if Haverford was to prepare boys for life, there needed to be changes made that were extraneous to Haverford’s role as a college preparatory school. Kevin Graham reiterates this, saying that when he “first met Dr. Cox and his team 14 years ago, the plan was to pay more attention to the social, character, and moral development of students, while at the same time, not sacrifice academic rigor.” This focus at the highest governance level at Haverford resulted in multiple immediate changes following the 2000 survey. With the help of Mr. Thomas Lengel, former Upper School Head, a change in the advisor system at
DECA Brings Home World Champion
Alex Sanfilippo ‘16 recaps Haverford DECA’s sterling performance at the international competition, including a world championship for Sixth Former Grayson Sessa. Alex Sanfilippo ‘16
Haverford DECA has always had the reputation of sending dozens of kids to the state and international competitions, and this year was no exception. Fifteen Haverford students finished in the top four in their respective categories at the state competition, and qualified to represent Haverford at the international competition in sunny Anaheim, California, from April twenty-fourth through the twenty-seventh. Eight Sixth Formers (Sam Blitzer, Lucas Elek, Connor Fairman, Jeff Green, Austin Merritt, Aron Morgan, Fisher Pressman, and Grayson Sessa), two Fifth Formers (Graham Gaddes and Alex Zhang), three Fourth Formers (Manav Khandelwal, Jack Henderson, and Jackson Simon), and two Third Formers (Walter Paiva and Alex Sanfilippo) made the 3,000-mile trek across the country to participate in DECA’s International Career Development Conference. After a relaxing “DECA Day,” the competition started in earnest with the grand opening ceremonies Wednesday night. There were 16,000 students gathered in Hall D of the
Also inside this Issue...
Anaheim Convention Center to kick off the competition where students learned about the events in the ensuing days Continued on Page 3
Sessa holding his 1st-place trophy.
Make sure to read Grayson Sessa’s Letter from the Editor on Page 2. An innovative and productive force for The Index, he reflects on his two years as editor-in-chief, both its challenges and successes, including a Gold Medal from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association.
DECA Inc.
Haverford was made during the 2000-01 school year. According to Dr. Cox, whereas the advisor system used to be only an “academic relationship” in which an advisor could help advisees choose courses, the advisor system was reconstructed to “involve teachers [to a greater extent] in the lives of boys.” Brendan Burns This chart shows the progession of Haverford under Dr. Cox. began In addition, the schedule exploring the feasibility of instituting an was changed: the community period, which Honor Code in 2000. For an entire school year, had traditionally been slotted at the end of the the IV periodically met at Dr. Cox’s house school day, immediately before after-school to discuss the matter. Dr. Cox estimates that athletics and “didn’t resonate effectively” (as about 60-80% of the form was present at each students often attempted to skip the period such meeting. After gauging what virtues the altogether), was shifted to the middle of the students valued most in their community, an school day. In addition, reflections were put Honor Code was created, and the next year into place for the first time so that students the mechanics of an “Honor Council” were could speak to their peers about profound, discussed. personal issues. And in 2002, Mr. Lengel With these changes having been in effect called the first community awareness meeting. for more than a decade, In order to create a learning environment rooted in morality and character, Dr. Cox Continued on Page 4
Independent Senior Projects: 2013 Edition
Jack Henderson ‘15 explores what Sixth Formers will be engrossed in over the next two weeks, their Senior Project, and some interesting examples. Jack Henderson ‘15
The Senior Independent Project is one of Haverford’s most distinctive co-curricular features. The school has had this system in place for many years, and it has developed into a tradition for the graduating Sixth Form class and a period of time between high school and college where Sixth Formers are allowed an opportunity to experience the real world. The Sixth Formers finished their classes during the week of April 29th and those who were required to take exams took them during the week of May 6th. The beginning of the senior project began on Monday, May 13th. Regarding the time period of the projects, Dean of Students Mr. Mark Fifer explains, “It takes place over a 17-day period from May 13th through June 5th. It is in the expectation that seniors complete 30 hours of work a week on their project.” He added that students’ projects ranged from business, medicine, and law internships to independent academic studies to community service work to working with youth in community sports. The faculty coordinator for senior projects, Mr. Robert Upton, explains the process that the school uses to coordinate the senior project.
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He says, “The seniors make an initial proposal towards the end of January mainly to get them to think about what they might be doing and talk to other people if they are looking to do an internship or work for a community service organization or something else outside of the school, and if so, they need to start getting those wheels in motion.” Mr. Fifer adds, “The rationale for why it’s in place is we want to provide our seniors with some real world experience that is unique to what they have experienced leading up to the senior project. It is also a recognition that by the end of May most students know where they are going to college and know what they are doing next year, and therefore they are in a position where this type of work like experience makes sense for them.” Haverford has the difficult task of deciding what to do with second semester Sixth Formers, most of whom are already into college. It decided that this system allows the rebellious seniors to open their eyes to the world, while the school can still regulate their projects and make sure they are receiving a beneficial education. Continued on Page 5
After several weeks of deliberation, The Index has announced it’s staff for the 2013-2014 school year, which will begin with the upcoming June Issue! You can find the full editorial staff on Page 5.
Article Page Letter from the Editors 2 Career Column 3 VEX Worlds 4 Spring Concert Recap 4 Fords Focus 7 Hardest Sport at Haverford? 9 History Curriculum 10 Constitution Outdated? 11 Outdex 12