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Standing at the front door
This is not a glamorous part of the job, but I love it. Welcoming students every day and seeing them excited to come to school is affirmation that we are doing something right. Now, let’s be honest, everyone has a bad day, and not everyone will be smiling and happy when they walk through those doors everyday (although many are). But I can say that there is not a student that I see in the morning that isn’t happy to come to school almost all the time. Think about this for a moment. This is important. I will never forget when I transitioned from Baker to ETHS, as a student, how surprised I was when I talked with friends and classmates who hated school or didn’t want to be there. They brought that attitude with them from middle school. If you don’t have a positive attitude about school, think of what that can do to your outlook on life. Loving school is a huge part about becoming a lifelong learner. If I saw kids not wanting to come to school, or unhappy to walk through those doors, then that would be a major red flag for me.
One other amazing thing that I get to witness at the front door is how students grow and become more self-confident. Many students are hesitant to look at me when they first come here. I get it, I’m really tall, and I’ve got a scary title: Interim Head of School. I’d be hesitant to look at me too if I was a kid. However, as the kids become more integrated into Baker, and understand that they are welcomed, belong and that the school is there for them, then a transformation happens. They aren’t intimidated by the tall guy at the front door. They say hello back, they ask me how I’m doing, and they look me in the eyes. I love it! These are little things, but they represent skills that are important for them and will serve them for the rest of their lives.
Tour Tuesdays
I’m an introvert, and you can ask my wife for confirmation, but she has to drag me out to social events. Meeting new people and engaging in conversation with them for an hour at a time would never be my idea of a good time. Nevertheless I enjoy Tour Tuesdays, which is exactly that. I like talking about Baker with prospective families. I tell them about my experience at Baker, my children’s experience, and the current students’ experiences. I graduated from Baker in 1992 loving school, and with the self-confidence that my uniqueness as a person was important, and that if I stayed true to myself, I could do anything I wanted to. That feeling carried me through high school and throughout my whole life, and I attribute it to my time at Baker. Baker felt like a second home to me when I was a student. I loved ETHS, but when I got to high school, I remember receiving constant reminders of what I wasn’t supposed to do and where I wasn’t supposed to be. This was new to me, because at Baker, I got reminders of all the things I could do and places I could go. It was practically limitless (except the equipment room, I wasn’t allowed to go in there). This is still true today. We empower our students here. Their personalities and selves are all unique, different and wonderful and we give them tools to understand and express themselves in ways that even their parents are often surprised by.
Telling prospective families these stories and showing them the incredible work that happens in this building, and seeing their reactions, reaffirms how wonderful we are as a school. Not every family that tours ends up enrolling, but I do hear shock, wonderment and surprise at how much incredible work happens here. So many times, I hear, “I wish I could’ve gone to a school like this.” My dream is that every child should have access to a Baker education, because as a current parent put it so succinctly, “Baker helps children become who they were meant to be.”
Thank you
A big thank you to all Baker parents who have entrusted me with the care of your children these past two years. It is a huge responsibility and I’ve been honored to hold it. Thank you also to the Baker faculty and staff for working with me. I am constantly in awe of the work you do, and have learned so much from all of you. Thank you also to all those who came out to Double Clutch last night, and who have reached out to send me notes of gratitude about my time here at Baker. I very much appreciate the support all of you have given me here. Finally, thank you Baker students!! You all are the best kiddos in the world and I’ll miss seeing your smiling faces every morning. I love the Baker community, and being able to positively impact Baker students’ lives is one of my proudest achievements in life.
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