LETTER FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL

Dear TJ Community,

Letter from Head of School

If each year is like a chapter in a story, then the past few chapters have been page-turners. Filled with action and activity, we haven’t been able to put down our book for three years. Now, it’s time to reflect on how the recent story has impacted us and what we want to learn from it. We should celebrate what we have accomplished and build excitement and anticipation for what is yet to come. This summer, TJ needed to acknowledge a dark part of our school’s history with abuse by our first Head. Despite the news, our community showcased compassion, empathy, and resilience. We are who we are because of our stories—both good and bad—and we must always learn and grow from our history. After all, we ask our students to grow every day; we should embody the ideals we hope to impart to them. We began last year by identifying two themes: joy and belonging. These words found their way into assemblies, classrooms, clubs, board meetings, and nearly every moment the TJ community gathered. As a brief example, student “shout-outs” to celebrate someone bringing joy to the community were a part of each week’s assembly. As Covid dominated less and less of our attention last year, the themes of joy and belonging represented what we as a TJ community needed after years of isolation and anxiety. Fittingly, in an

unprecedented addition to graduation, one senior gave a speech that perfectly embodied these ideals. Willow’s sincere and heartfelt comments remain as one of my proudest moments of being a part of this community.

In addition to reflection, the 2021–2022 school year brought much to celebrate as we reemerge into something that feels more like familiar school life. Students continued to succeed in and out of the classroom, and the world is taking notice. One can look at impressive enrollment for this year, or our college placements over the past two. It’s clear that TJ students are “in demand” at this time. Truly, we are emerging as a leader in education. Our school’s reputation highlights our academics and community, of course, but also that we can be innovative, unique, and special. As I tell students when learning astronomy: every analogy has its limits, and every analogy fails to explain all components. An analogy of every year being its own chapter in a longer story falls apart when thinking about the individuals involved. In real life, all endings and all beginnings are intertwined. Separating the two is impossible. The story of one senior’s TJ career coming to a close may also coincide with a seventh-grade student’s beginning their own story at TJ. Each year represents some conclusion and some beginning. While my tenure at TJ is coming to an end, I’m definitely a “subscriber” to see how TJ’s next stories evolve. What appears to be an ending is just another story’s beginning. Our mission acts as a narrator to provide a throughline between our stories. TJ is a place where students are seen, are known, and are valued. Within this incredibly supportive community, our students find out who they can become as they move through our program. Our alumni are successful in an incredibly diverse number of fields, and they all share a common vision: to lift up the world with beauty and intellect.

In lifelong pursuit of ἡ ἀρετή,

Dr. T

Matt Troutman, Ph.D. Head of School