The atmosphere in Ethical Culture’s Ceremonial Hall was one of anticipation and interest as Head of School Damian Fernandez took the podium to deliver his annual State of the School address. Backed by an imposing portrait of Felix Adler, Dr. Fernandez wasted no time launching into his speech after a short and flattering introduction. From that moment on, the specific goals he seemed to hope to speak of were made quite clear.
Using an anecdote about a critical, “precocious” 4th Grader with whom he had a recent encounter as a launchpad, Dr. Fernandez emphasized student involvement, a theme to which he returned to throughout. Moving to a portrait of the current admissions climate (1,750 prospective student applications were received for 265 open spots last year), he then rattled off an impressive set of other numbers; everything from the 99 community members on the school’s five task forces, to percent changes in student body diversity, to the nearly twelve percent rise in financial aid. However, Dr. Fernandez was sure to advise that there was “no room for complacency” – that our modest roots are what separate us.
Indeed, roots were a heavily reinforced point over the course of the speech, a choice that made for an interesting juxtaposition when coupled with the prominence Dr. Fernandez gave to the various changes enacted since his arrival. It may have been disorienting for some in attendance to remember the progressiveness of Adler in one moment, and meet discussion of a new assistant Head of School and Emotional Counselor the next.
After concluding the Address itself, the floor opened up for questions, most of which were asked by the Fieldston parents who were present. Inquiries covered architectural aspects of proposed renovations to the Library, (that led to a larger discussion of that task force during which Dr. Fernandez poked fun at, but also possibly reinforced the stereotypical conceptions of high school librarians in an effort to stress progress) to the status of both the foreign language and service learning programs at Fieldston. While he addressed some of the questions himself, Dr. Fernandez also passed on speaking duties to faculty members from the department in question. Responding to a query from a parent regarding a perceived foreign language “issue” in her curriculum, high school teacher and department chair Cecile Droz highlighted the extremely strong and multifaceted program that both the task force, as well as her department at large had been working to develop. This included the upcoming arrival of students from French Guiana at Fieldston.
Those in attendance last Tuesday night certainly came prepared with their fair share of thoughts, comments and concerns about the school’s state – parents in particular. While he had carefully thought-out answers for most issues, Dr. Fernandez resorted to humor multiple times in order to get his point across, or simply to damper the tension that was inevitably present in a crowd of solicitous parents and faculty. And as for the Address itself? By the end of his somewhat brief speech, Dr. Fernandez had impressed upon the attendees the importance of change and progress at an institution like Fieldston. But the lip service paid to nostalgia – and making headway to benefit ourselves in the future – seemed to come at the cost of any explicit affirmations about the current state of the school. After all, those admissions numbers and the accolades we received are impressive, but it feels as though this community needs to better understand its place in the present before it moves on to the future.
