Who We Are, What We Do, and the Trail Ahead

On Monday, March 15, 440 members of the Thacher community attended a webinar that focused on them—the community. 

In her State of the School address, Head of School Blossom Beatty Pidduck CdeP 1992 began with a snapshot of the School today, presenting an overview of today’s School composition and the value of living and learning in a diverse community. 

“We are constantly building opportunities for us to know one another deeply,” said Blossom, “to see one another clearly, to support one another, to understand one another, to see our differences, and to build our shared experience around that collective endeavor of our mission and values.” She described how evergreen aspects of a Thacher education, such as the horse and outdoor programs and a tradition of hands-on, applied learning are deeply connected to this work of building connections that strengthen both community and learning.

She shared news of our new academic building, Gates, and some of the ways it has quickly captured imaginations and reenergized an already vigorous and rigorous curriculum before concluding with some thoughts about the work ahead.

As the School’s response to the covid-19 pandemic has been a focus over the past year, Blossom shared our successes: Students are back on campus enjoying the Thacher experience once again and of the 8,054 tests administered, there had been zero cases in our on-campus community. That success reflects the long-term commitment of many far beyond the gates of Thacher. Blossom’s reminder that “We drink from wells which we did not dig,” was an acknowledgment of the generosity of generations of Thacher alumni, current and past families, and friends of the School.

School Chair Sophie ’21 followed Blossom’s presentation by sharing her perspective. She concurred with the head of school: “Despite a global pandemic around us, we're still able to find moments to connect, we're still able to collaborate while learning, play soccer with and against each other, play basketball, do sports, and most importantly, establish and strengthen the bonds we have with each other.”

To close the discussion, Matt Balano, director of diversity, equity, and inclusion; Dan Yih, chair of the board; and Tracy Miller, director of studies, took questions during a Q&A session. To conclude, attendees were treated to a peek into the new Gates building.

View the full recording on this page.