“Sustainability and Relevance”
Back To School Night Speech

This year Grace-St. Luke’s celebrates its 60th school year. As we are celebrating our rich history, our past growth, and our many successes, we must also ask ourselves: what factors will be necessary for us to continue to be in existence for the next 60 years? What will guarantee our sustainability?

Over the summer, the faculty and I read the book Mindset, by Carol Dweck, which was recommended to us by Jamie Baker, who is working with the school as a consultant and Parent Liaison. Dr. Dweck will be our guest speaker in April 2008  at an evening presentation sponsored by the Parents Association. The premise of Dr. Dweck's book, Mindset, is that there are basically two mindsets – a fixed mindset and a growth mindset. She gives examples of the effect of each mindset in sports, business, and educational settings among others. An example in education would be the belief that one is born with all the intelligence that one will ever have, in essence, you are born a genius, or born really smart, or intelligent, or not. We have said it of ourselves, and we hear it all the time: "I'm not good in math" "I can't write - I just don't have that talent." Dr. Dweck tells us that this mindset about innate talent or intelligence causes us to not work at things or try new things because we have internalized the belief that "I am not good at math because I was not BORN GOOD AT MATH!" When we say this, we are operating from a fixed mindset. Therefore, someone with a fixed mindset does not try, will not take risks because deep down they believe their fate has already been determined. This becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. A growth mindset, she tells us, is wholly different. A growth mindset says, "I can become better at anything in which I invest myself, anything that I work at, anything I try hard to achieve. The growth mindset says that the process of disciplined work and practice will yield results. But, she tells us, the individual must believe that progress from point A is possible, that developing talent and expertise is possible; not that we only have the talent we were born with.

As I read the book in more detail, I realized Dr. Dweck's book is also about change, our innate beliefs about change, and the factors that hinder or promote change from occurring. To explore this concept and how it specifically applies to Grace-St. Luke’s School, the faculty and I spent an in-service day off campus at the Brooks Museum. I wanted us to spend an entire day discussing and beginning to understand how to approach institutional change. I wanted us to start the process of discovering what is our organizational mindset, especially our mindset about change. We worked with the themes of "mindset," "sustainability," and "relevance" for the entire day.

Change is not something to undertake casually, without intention. Change must be directed by purpose and vision. An institution, like Grace-St. Luke's School, changes to remain viable and competitive. An institution, like Grace-St. Luke's School, changes to sustain its mission yet remain relevant and adaptive to the ever-changing environment that we must navigate. We must change, lest we become irrelevant. As Tom Peters quips, "If you don't like change, you are going to like irrelevance even less."

Grace-St. Luke's must have attractive and up-to-date facilities to make us sustainable. This is why the school is in a quiet phase for a major capital campaign. We intend to add two new sections of preschool that will increase the overall enrollment through the Lower School, eventually leading up to the middle school. We plan to have a new building that will house science, art, and music classrooms, a new cafeteria, a new library and a new gym. In order for us to be sustainable for the next 60 years, a major capital campaign to improve our campus is essential. Of the 25 schools in the Memphis Area Independent School Association, 24 have already completed major capital projects to enhance their facilities. GSL is the only school that has not.

Grace-St. Luke’s must understand what skills our students will need in order to be relevant and competitive in the 21st century. Our three-year olds will graduate from college in 2026. Daniel Pink, author of A Whole New Mind, speaks to this issue. He gives a great example: In 1970, you ask the Senior Harvard Librarian and a fourth grader what is the Gross National Product of Mozambique? Who will find that information first? Easy, right. The expert - the Harvard Librarian. Now, jump to today and ask the same question. What will happen? Amazingly, and still a new world for many of you and me at times... but the fourth grader will be able to get that information as quickly as the Harvard Librarian. Harvard education and cognitive science researcher, Howard Gardner is also out with a new book detailing the types of minds that will be needed to command the future. His book, Five Minds for the Future, tells us much of what Daniel Pink does. Notedly, the creating mind and the synthesizing mind are needed like never before. Therefore, the question is: What do we need to be teaching our children for the year 2026 when three year olds graduate from college? Grace-St. Luke’s must plant the seeds to meet their future needs now. Spending 11 years of their educational journey here at GSL, our students are developing skills that will anchor their future. Their journey here, therefore, must be a transformative one. It must be a journey that prepares them academically, including the new skills of the information age, but also a journey that molds them into honest, caring, creative, diligent, courageous, and expressive individuals, ready to move beyond GSL.

One of the skills of the future that our students will undoubtedly need is to be independent, confident and knowledgeable about themselves and what their passions and affinities might be. For that reason we are announcing a unique and signature program for our 8th grade students. All 8th graders will spend three days off campus in February to intern at various worksites in lieu of sitting for their February exams. We need businesses willing to open their doors to our 8th graders for three days. We would like parents across the spectrum at GSL to help with this effort, not just eighth grade parents. If you are interested in being contacted by an eighth grade student, please let Thor Kvande, Head of the Middle School know of your interest.

We are also creating an opportunity for our 8th grade students to speak to the entire school about their GSL experience. Each 8th grade student will give a Chapel Talk. This will build good communication skills on paper as they craft their thoughts into written essays, and give them an opportunity to practice public speaking. They will tell their stories of their life here -- their stories of what they have gained while here; their stories of what they will take with them; their stories of what they have given of themselves to the depth and richness of this wonderful school community.

Grace-St. Luke's must review and revise its curricula on a regular basis. This year we will be looking at our Social Studies curriculum through the lens of relevance and sustainability. We will address diversity and environmental awareness as we investigate our Social Studies program. As Thomas Friedman says in his bestseller, our “World is Flat”. We are in reality a global village. Therefore, teaching a curriculum basically designed from the 50's and 60's is not relevant. We must teach American History in relationship to the world so that our students understand and can relate what is happening in other parts of the world.