Visitation Team Applauds Middle School’s Culture, Best Practices
The team, comprising outstanding educators from peer schools, spent two days on campus exploring what the division has to offer and how its numerous stakeholders feel about their experiences.
Middle School leadership, faculty and staff, students and families have a lot to be proud of following the recent visit by a team of outstanding educators from peer schools who spent two days on campus exploring much of what the division has to offer and how its numerous stakeholders feel about their experiences.
Serving on the visitation team were Candice McCray, Middle School Dean of Student Life at Durham Academy; CJ Bell, Program Director for the Center for Community Engagement at Cary Academy; Laura Clay, Head of Upper School at Forsyth Country Day; Stephanie Griffin, Assistant Head of School for Academics at Trinity Episcopal School; and Ravenscroft alum John Bower ’03, Head of Middle School at The Rivers School.
The group kicked off their first day with breakfast with Head of School Derrick Willard, Head of Middle School Bernardo Guzmán and other key personnel on campus before enjoying a tour with Alicia Petty from the Office of Admissions and then jumping into classroom visits. Their second day was equally full and included small-group meetings with divisional and grade-level teams, parents and guardians, parent-group leaders and students.
They were directed in their observations and conversations by guiding questions related to engagement and time well-spent, teaching and learning, and school culture and climate — or, in the “short version” offered by Guzmán, “What’s the vibe?”
“I’d been looking forward to this visitation for some time, especially because it offered an opportunity to get feedback that related directly to our goals in the Middle School. My vision was for something quite different than what takes place during an accreditation visit, which typically has a lot of breadth but little depth,” Guzmán explained. “Rather than ask that the team observe and analyze everything about the Middle School experience, I wanted them to be focused largely on culture and climate.”
The team shared their observations with the Middle School Leadership Team and faculty and staff from all three divisions at the end of their second day, in particular noting the nurturing and connected climate of the division and how positively students and parents/guardians spoke of their experiences.
As Middle School parent Amy Holman reflected on her participation in a small-group session, she noted that “it was a great discussion.”
“It was so fun to listen to and share the awesome things about our school, including anecdotes and personal stories. I left the meeting feeling so fortunate to send my kids to Ravenscroft,” she added. “[Visitation team member] John Bower said he totally felt the strong sense of community on our campus, and I couldn’t agree more.”
Bower agreed with that characterization, adding that his personal connection to the school made the experience “incredibly meaningful.”
“I was particularly impressed during the lunch meeting with students, where they were able to so eloquently speak to the ways in which the Lead From Here framework plays out in their day-to-day experience,” he said. “Returning to campus as an alum was a profound reminder of the lasting impact Ravenscroft has had on my life, and it was an honor to be part of the process that supports the school’s ongoing improvement. Ravenscroft continues to balance tradition with innovation, offering students diverse opportunities to lead, collaborate and reflect on their growth — values I have strived to embody since graduating in 2003.”
Guzmán said he was both gratified and energized by the group’s feedback.
“We have a lot of data we are working through — a testament to how seriously the team took their work. In the end, the answer to the big question was clear: the vibe is excellent!” he said. “They made clear the positive culture they witnessed among students, faculty and parents. They saw countless examples of best practices when it came to classroom management and pedagogy. They were impressed by how balanced and ‘untethered’ to technology our students and faculty were.
“They left us with so much to consider about our program, including the pace of our schedule and the ways it is and is not always conducive to our intended outcomes,” he concluded. “We are excited to consider their expertise as we continue to teach with joy and strive for excellence.”