Shuttering a School

[Ruth Huyler Glass]

On Thursday evening, the Board of Trustees of Calmont School, which I joined as Interim Head at the end of January, voted to close its doors at the end of this academic year, following a 30-year history. While the decision was the only viable choice and definitely my recommendation, it bears with it much sorrow and an extraordinary amount of work to be accomplished in the next few months. While we are feeling isolated and a bit alone, I know that there are others out there who have been through this experience. If you are one of them or someone who has watched another school go through the process, I welcome any advice you might have -- either of the "the best thing we did was this..." variety or the, "if only we'd done that...."

In the meantime, treasure the end of year madness in your own school, as you know you will have more to come.

[Demetri Orlando]

Hi Ruth,
Thanks for sharing this news here. This is obviously a huge occurrence in the lives of all involved with Calmont. Of obvious concern are the immediate needs of placement in other schools for current students and alternative employment for faculty and staff. I am sure you are well on your way with plans for those two items. I would also expect there to be a significant amount of anxiety around the event, so I'd imagine you are having meetings with various constituencies to address these. The presence of the school counselor or even a consulting psychologist would likely be helpful to navigate the complex emotional elements brought out by closing down a significant institution in the lives of those affected. Clarity of message- details, purpose, plans are all important. I'm sure you are aware of all of this, because I know you as a great communicator. I have not been part of something like this, so I don't have more to add, but hope that someone who has been through this will share their experience. Meanwhile, I hope you are also taking care of yourself. This must be enormously stressful.

[Jim Price]

Ruth, I am very sorry to hear this news. I echo Demitri's comments.

[Ruth Huyler Glass]

On the eve of our very last graduation, it is painful to hear and see the continued deep levels of grief, anger, and denial. These last few months have been very much like dealing with the death of someone much loved and "not old enough" to die. As one of my brothers said when our mother was dying 5 years ago, this has brought out the most "us" in us. There remain the faculty and parents who never swerve from doing what is right and who always keep students at the heart of all decisions and actions. There are also those whose level of defiance or of passive aggression can be somewhat startling. I remind myself that, much like dealing with middle school students or your own children at the same age, sometimes when it seems that they are angry at you, it's really that their emotions and hormones are out of control, and you are the one in the way at the moment.

And so I appreciate those who go out of their way to be kind to each other, to avoid the rumor mill, or who add humor to a day -- intentional or not. This morning's laugh-out-loud moment was the gift of one of the 8th grade boys (there are only 7 of them) as we began our rehearsal for their graduation tomorrow. In all earnestness, he queried, "Do we wear our own suits tomorrow?" Um, yes....