News & Weekly Letters

For the past few weeks, I’ve been focusing on the next school year. After opening a Pre-Nursery class in September, and announcing a High School track that will allow our students to extend their unique bilingual education beyond Middle School, there’s no denying that The École is dynamic and agile when it comes to providing the best options for our students and families.

One of the things I’ve noticed in my 16 months in this city is that when New Yorkers eat out in restaurants, they have the excellent habit of striking up a conversation with the people at the table beside them. At least that is how, on a fairly regular basis, my wife Andria and I surreptitiously get to know and share delicious moments with complete strangers. What always surprises me is their reaction when I tell them what I do for a living (I can’t help myself).

Becoming a head of school means having to adjust to not being at your students’ sides for all of their achievements. For that to happen, you need to be in class with them all the time. Learning to read, for example, doesn’t happen overnight: it’s a journey strewn with obstacles, signs to decode, and churlish letters that a child may recognize one-by-one but when coupled together, make an entirely different flummoxing sound.

I mentioned to you a while ago that one of the challenges The École faces is preserving our identity despite an everchanging demographic–there is a constant flow of families that join us and families that leave. Last year, those arrivals and departures were coupled with my wish–as a newcomer myself–to bring a fresh perspective to the school.

As I was putting on my Clark Kent/ Superman costume this morning, I remembered how, when I was younger, I took issue with traditions. I couldn’t stand the rhythm they seemed to impose on my life and I shirked them whenever I could. Then time passed and through education, I discovered a universe where traditions are in fact important milestones in children’s learning. My grudge against them softened.