"St. Luke's Changed the Direction of My Life."

Wow. What a powerful statement. Did I hear this from an alum? Perhaps a senior?

No, it was a fifth grader, as relayed by his mother at a new family party we had tonight.

I love these new family parties. Our head of school invites small groups of new families to his house to get to know them, welcome them into the community, and to talk to them one-on-one and together as a group. A few administrators, teachers, or trustees attend too, so they can welcome parents and parents can get to know more people at school.

It is very important to us that not only the children transition and feel part of the community but that the parents do too. A school-parent partnership and a strong parent community are crucial to children's success.

What's magic about these evenings is hearing stories from the parents themselves. This particular mother was saying that her child did not want to come to St. Luke's, as he was happy at his previous school. Now that he was almost through his first year, their 10-year-old made the profound statement, "St. Luke's changed the direction of my life." Mark asked what he meant, and the mother said that she thought he meant that he felt respect here. Her son was doing well by any objective measure, but his teachers said he could do better. They didn't let him slide, and even in his young mind, he appreciated that. Another family said they were worried about the transition for their two children, having moved back to the area from London, but the change was seemless. Recently, their daughter had posted a picture album to Facebook, and its title was "St. Luke's - How I Love Thee." How great is that? Other parents had similar stories to share about their children thriving, growing, and "being known" at school.

We work very hard at school, and we care so deeply about people in the community. It's affirming and energizing to hear that it's making a difference.