A few weeks ago at our faculty in-service week, I had a meeting with several of our grammar school teachers with the aim of discussing our alignment in our writing curriculum. At the time, this meeting felt rather routine. The faculty at our school are constantly holding meetings like this, both formal and impromptu, to ensure we are forming our students well to ready them for the next year’s curriculum or adjusting our grade’s instruction to appropriately support our students’ growth. Yet, as I reflect back on this meeting, I now recognize how special it is that these sorts of discussions are the normal order of our day. The community mindset paired with the K-12 structure of our schools situate the faculty at the Hillsdale schools excellently to give our students the highest level of intentional, aligned education.
Many schools work to have a great community among their faculty. Yet, I find that the unique mission of the Hillsdale schools draw teachers that not only want to serve their students well within their own class but also to constantly have an eye to the greater formation of their students beyond their time spent in a particular grade. Our focus on forming the minds and characters of our students means that our eye is constantly looking back on where they have come and forward to where we want them to be able to go.
This holistic aim can be more easily achieved in our schools’ K-12 structure. In most schools, the elementary, middle, and high schools are in entirely separate buildings that have nothing to do with one another. So, while the teachers there may want to provide the same formation our schools do, they are limited in that scope because, after a certain grade, they will no longer have any contact with the students or their teachers. In our schools, we are able to see our students begin as kindergarteners and later attend their graduation, often all in the same facility. We get to watch our students progress through their formative journey, and all the faculty are able to share their insights into how the students have been progressing and to offer the best strategies to help them continue to grow. I have had innumerable moments where I have chatted with an upper school history teacher to ensure I am properly laying the foundation for content my students will revisit later or chatted with a first grade teacher about strategies to best help a particular student learn. I find these conversations so invaluable to better my own teaching and work to best support my students.
Last year, as I sat through our school’s graduation ceremony, I found myself repeatedly tearing up as I watched the seniors complete their time at our school. While we have not yet reached the point where my former 4th graders are among the graduates, I knew that the work I do in my classroom had contributed to their educational path. I feel so fortunate to get to be a part of the team that gets to educate and form our students.
