This past week brought me through four very different locations: the State of New Hampshire State House, the McMillan Education Group’s gathering in Boston, back to Tilton School campus for All School Meeting, and then meeting with Gara B. Field, PhD, our incoming Assistant Head for Strategy & Innovation.

Across all contexts, I sat with a driving question…as all educators do!

What is worth carrying forward, and what must we shape for the future?

At the NH State House, we met current Tilton parent and committed Granite Stater Adam Schmidt (our coffee from nearby Revelstoke Coffee & Alex Stoyle, Class of ’10). As a former teacher of the Civil War, I know the extraordinary collection of Civil War battle flags carried by NH soldiers are far more than artifacts. They are symbols of loyalty, identity, and conviction. A reminder that what people carry says a great deal about who they are.

Outside is a statue of the 14th POTUS, and also a one-time Tilton trustee. Whatever one might make of history’s complexities, Tilton has been shaped by the people who have attached themselves to our school, believe in us, and help to move us forward.

Off to Boston, to see the incredible educational advocates at McMillan Education, where the conversation with consultants and colleagues was necessarily more forward-looking: how schools distinguish themselves, how they communicate clearly, and how they make their values visible and compelling to families. To hear Tilton School amplified in those conversations is heartening.  Thank you, Colleen Coyne, OLY, Jill Hutchins, Susanna Beckwith, Sarah McMillan, Ed.D., Don McMillan, Bill Southwick, Kathleen Nicholson, Joe Williams, Elise Estes, and Jacqueline Kenney (and I *promise* Barbara Krein – will be there next time!).

Then back to campus on “the hill” where during twice-weekly All School Meetings, we celebrated our Rams of the Week. Nominated by their peers, two ROTW were honored for making sure an international student – thousands of miles from home – enjoyed a birthday celebration that felt familiar to him. It’s not hard to catch Mike & Colin doing good for our Tilton community and co-creating a culture of care and collaboration.

Finally, Gara’s weekend visit made that same “driving question” feel especially alive. Strategy & innovation, of course, are not about change for its own sake. They help a school discern what is essential, what must endure, and where courage is required to build what comes next. I’m proud to wave the Black & Gold of Tilton School.

Four places, four very different conversations, and one enduring question: What is worth carrying forward, and what must we now create for students?

That feels, to this Head of School, like the best work of schools!

Roll Rams!