As we reflect on this year like no other, we are filled with pride in the efforts to ensure not only the Shipley community’s health and well-being, but also the ways in which colleagues have innovated our program to serve our students. Shipley’s tradition of being and producing changemakers is alive and well! Beyond the numbers and behind the masks, we have welcomed students on campus and online to develop the relationships that define a Shipley education. We have tested in unprecedented ways our definition of Educational Excellence—believing that it is the unique interdependence of student achievement, and individual and collective well-being that enables us to deliver on our Mission. 

As we see a path forward beyond the trauma and loss of the past year, what will be the new normal, and how does our diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) work fit in? We will need courage and grace as we work to heal from crisis to create true belonging for all members of our community and prepare our students to be compassionate participants in a diverse world.

Moving boldly ahead, we reflect on the past year and ask: What have we learned and how have we grown? As a school community, what will we bring forward with us as we begin to reset and plan for life after a crisis? How can we make use of our understanding of crisis and the trauma it inflicts to inform our rejuvenated and long-term DEI efforts?

We know it will take time, reflection, and concerted effort. I am so proud, as I know you are, of what we have accomplished together, and even more hopeful for how we will continue to grow and learn together.

Michael G. Turner
Head of School