Are we a 21st Century School?

The Oakhill Day School faculty and administration had an opportunity to share, grow, and connect on Monday, January 28^th.

My colleagues – other heads of school in the KC area – from St. Paul’s, Pembroke Hill, The Barstow School, Bishop Seabury, Topeka Collegiate, St. Teresa’s Academy, Notre Dame de Sion, Rockhurst High School, Kansas City Academy, Horizon Academy, Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy, and Cristo Rey of Kansas City strive to bring professional development opportunities to our schools.

Although the Heads of Schools get together each month to chat, discuss, and share, our communities had not gotten together for the past five years. We were excited to meet at St. Paul’s Episcopal Day School on January 28^th. We began by hearing from Pat Bassett, President of the NAIS (National Association of Independent Schools). His presentation focused on 21^st Century Schools – what needs to be taught and emphasized. The skills needed in today’s world and beyond are: creativity, character, communication, critical thinking, collaboration and cultural knowledge. 

As Pat discussed each of these skills, of course, my reaction was to say to myself… is Oakhill cultivating these skills as well? And, the answer is yes! These skills can be hard to measure, yet our “products” – our graduates and alumni truly “measure up”! If you came to Fly Up Night, you were able to hear from a few of our alumni – their confidence and presence in front of a large crowd were amazing!

Our teachers then went to breakout sessions with their divisions. For instance, the Early Childhood teachers were able to share and interact with other Early Childhood teachers…the Lower school…the Middle School…and, the Specialists. Pat Bassett did a second presentation for the school administration. This presentation focused on the importance of managing and leading a school to greatness. As he pointed out, a strong community is essential to a school’s overall success.

Finally, Mr. Bassett presented to the Board of Trustees from the various schools. He focused on the commonalities of great independent schools – it was exciting to see how well Oakhill “scored” according to his rubric!

I feel we are great…but, of course, there is ALWAYS room for improvement! We will continue to reach for the stars, to be better, to be stronger, to stay true to our mission! Being good is not enough – being great is expected!