"Connectedness to others in (a child's) community is essential to happiness, self-esteem, and moral worth." So wrote Robert Bellah and his co-authors in Habits of the Heart. The first and foremost community through which this connection is established is the family. In healthy families, that foundation can provide a lifetime of trust between a growing child and his expanding world.

The next community, after the family, to which children are entrusted, is school. We know a great deal about what kinds of schools work best. Nearly every piece of research supports the contention that small schools are better for all children (even high school aged), small classes are better, and having longer contact with fewer teachers is better. Small schools tend to be less formal, more open and flexible, and they seem to cultivate a climate of trust and support among faculty, parents, and children that is crucial to each child's sense of belonging.

This kind of school is based on the principle that learning begins where there is both physical and psychological safety. Emotional intelligence, related to a child's level of comfort and trust, is now recognized as a crucial component in the development of academic skills. Daniel Coleman's book Emotional Intelligence is an elucidation of this thesis.

The connection between the strength of a school's sense of community and the academic development of its students is one which I do not believe is well understood. My experience with children in schools over the past thirty years has clearly demonstrated to me (almost without exception) that children who feel respected and nurtured by both their family and their teachers successfully acquire academic skills.

One of the most important ways that a school can strengthen its sense of community and help children feel a sense of connectedness to their school is to establish and maintain a strong co-curricular program. Note the term co-curricular rather than extra-curricular; the former connotes that the program is integral to the curriculum and required of all students; the latter that is outside the curriculum and likely optional. A strong co-curricular program includes art, music, drama, athletics, community service, field trips, and opportunities for leadership with one's peers as well as with younger students.

By offering such an array of opportunities to every student every year, children discover talents that would otherwise lie dormant. Additionally, children cannot help but develop a deeper appreciation and respect for themselves, their peers, and their teachers. When students experience this feeling of connection to other children and their teachers, they feel more confident and are more likely to develop their academic skills at a level commensurate with their aptitude.

It is more expensive, in the short run, to offer a strong co-curricular program. The long-term consequences of raising children who do not feel that they are a part of a community is ultimately much more costly to these children, their families, and that greater community from which they have become disaffiliated.

Thomas A. Northrup
Headmaster