To: Blair Parents
From: Chan Hardwick
Date: February 1, 2011

I have been looking forward to writing a general e-mail to you, coming at approximately the halfway point in the school year, but elected to wait until after the Winter Board of Trustees meeting to pass along to you some of the details of that meeting. It is also a good time to give you a "State of Blair" update so that you can have somewhat more objective and over-arching perspective relative to your child or children's view of life in the bubble. There is one issue about which we are all subjective, and that would be the weather this January (and now into February): it has been cold, snowy, occasionally icy, and there has been a larger degree and amount of these winter elements than is the norm. Sadly (for the students) we have not had a single "snow day," as indeed classes have met with remarkable regularity despite being held in the most unpleasant of conditions, on the darkest mornings, with the chilliest of winds howling. To counter that, we have enjoyed hot nights in the performance gym where basketball and wrestling teams have been victorious, and even warmer nights in the dining hall during our International Weekend (spicy food and salsa dancing) and the candle lit dinner and pulsing rhythms on the dance floor (which was transformed into a circus setting by a very hardworking and creative committee of Blair parents). Still, I think A full February of more snow and cold might be difficult to take, so we are sending them home or to some warm clime over Long Weekend, hoping to learn that the groundhog did not see his shadow.

In terms of "State of Blair" let me report the following:

~The college counseling office reports that there has been yet another wave of application increases at many colleges and universities, and particularly the most selective schools. I am privy to a listserv of independent school college counselors who talk among themselves, and there appears to be some surprise that colleges which had hefty increases last year saw another round of double digit percentage increases again this year. While this probably due primarily to the Common Application growth, there has as well been a surge from international applicants likely inspired by aggressive admission recruiting ad marketing. I tell you this not to be alarming but to give you a candid assessment of the landscape. That said, our early action/decision results at Blair were encouraging in the sense that many students got in somewhere, a solid group was admitted to impressive first choices, and another group still has hopes alive in the deferred category. Of course, there were disappointments, but the admissions season is still very active, and I fervently believe that those whose initial prospects were dashed will recover nicely and have a desired and desirable home in the end. We cannot judge the Class of 2011's experience until it is finally over (and for a few wait-listed students, it will go on even then), but we are cautiously optimistic...

~Blair's own admissions is itself enjoying a very strong year, with both interviews and applications up significantly over last year's record breaking year. Again, we cannot finally judge the success of the admissions effort until the enrollment for 2011-2012 is set, probably sometime in May, but there is good reason to hope that this will be both a very selective year and a year when our yield will justify the selectivity. I mention that because parental support of our admissions effort is--in my opinion--the primary factor in spreading Blair's deserved reputation across the land. Thank you.

~The faculty and I continue to be pleased with the positive spirit in our senior class leadership and the generally good morale of the community, despite having to push through the inevitable seasonal doldrums that are liable to affect everyone but the ski team and winter track squad. One universally held opinion by our students is the wisdom of starting the school day a half hour later than in the fall semester. Reports from the dormitories and classrooms are quite positive, breakfast is lively, and we hope to hear that the Health Center has had fewer visits. A number of other boarding schools have gone to this later start (Deerfield, St. George's, Hotchkiss, Hill, etc.) as a year round model. We shall consider extending this to the spring term in early March and look into a year long schedule for the future. Sleep issues in adolescence has become an important topic, and we shall likely have a featured expert come in to address the faculty on the subject in the coming year.

~Just a calendar note: the last weekend of this winter term (Feb. 26-27) will be officially closed for boarders to leave to allow us to create a pre-exam atmosphere of academic focus and preparation ahead of the mid-semester exam period. Also, next year we are taking some days off of vacations to bring a few more class days back to the calendar. In some cases Blair has slightly longer breaks than other boarding schools, but we have only one internal holiday, while other schools often have several or more. We are adjusting that just a bit.

~Finally in this area, I have announced to the faculty and the Board of Trustees that the search for our new Deans of Student Affairs positions has been completed. The Search Committee made recommendations to me in mid-December, and those recommended were offered and accepted the positions shortly thereafter. The Deans positions are all equal in stature, with different areas of responsibility and focus, though capable of overlapping with each other when and as necessary. Carm Mazza will continue as a Dean of Student Affairs, concentrating on Student Life issues, particularly daily management of operations and systems; Jessica Matzkin will move from her current position as Director of Counseling to a dean's position, concentrating on lower school issues; and a new face to Blair, Peter Curran, who is presently in his fourth year as Dean of Students at Fountain Valley School (CO) will be joining Blair as a dean, concentrating on the upper school. Peter is 32-years-old, a graduate of Bowdoin College, received his Masters of Education degree from Harvard University, and has a wife Sarah with whom he has twin two-year-olds. Saying good-bye to David and Candy Low will not be easy, and David's counsel and deep experience is frankly irreplaceable. I know I have been a better headmaster because David has been a great partner. Nevertheless, the myriad talents and years of experience these three professionals bring to their positions offer exciting possibilities for a superb student affairs culture at Blair going forward.

Board of Trustee news:

~At Saturday's Board meeting, the Strategic Plan (Building on Blair's Strength) was formally adopted. We had all constituencies involved in shaping the goals and initiatives, and I want thank you for whatever participation you had in that process. The next stage is refining and publication of the plan for outreach purposes. We are also immediately beginning an implementation stage for all aspects of the plan. The strategic plan should guide the School for at least the next five years.

~All external area committee reports--Business Office, Budget, Investments, Advancement, and Buildings/Grounds--gave positive reports on successful progress in a variety of areas and current or upcoming projects. My report on the faculty and school discussed many of the issues mentioned above, and reflected the sense that there appears to be very little faculty turnover for next year and no signs of unusual student attrition. (Indeed, in cases where students did not return from last year, we have been approached about taking them back---but, for space and other issues, have told them they must reapply for next year.)

So, that's about it. I hope this e-mail clarifies a few things, brings interesting news to you, and opens the possibility of your communicating back if you want to continue the discussion about any of the issues raised in this e-mail. If you have the chance to see you child or children, have a great Long Weekend.

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