Head of School Blog: Monday, 2/17/25

What’s Happening at Bement
Earlier this month, 13 Bement students headed to UMass-Amherst to compete in the regional competition of MathCounts, a mathematics competition for middle school students.  Bement’s top five competitors qualified to move onto the state competition, held later this winter.  Additionally, Bement won first place in the team competition – check out the winning quartet with their medals and their proud coach, Mr. Galvagni!

What I’m Reading, and/or Watching, and/or Listening To
Like many educators and decision-makers across the private and public sectors, I have been reading a lot recently about how policy and personnel changes in the Federal Government may affect independent schools.  Diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts and initiatives have been a focal point of media coverage and a shifting landscape in Washington.  Setting aside the politicization of the acronym “DEI,” one thread in my recent readings on this subject has been clear and is worth sharing: research from across a range of fields is clear that diversity drives success, achievement, growth, and advancement.  It’s easy to forget amid all the political noise that numerous rigorous studies over a period of decades and from a variety of apolitical sources have demonstrated this fact.  Indeed, the academic consensus that diverse groups are more productive has spurred the promotion of diversity initiatives across businesses and schools in the United States alongside other societal considerations. 

 Three recent examples, taken from an educator’s newsletter I receive, of the many, many studies on this topic from the last few decades: “Why Diversity and Inclusion Matter” from Catalyst, an NGO focused on gender equity in the workplace; “Diversity Matters Even More” from McKinsey & Company, the global management consulting firm; and this research report from the College Board on the importance of diversity in education.

Amid all my reading on policy changes and the uncertainty they may bring, it has been refreshing to be reminded of the academic rationale for why diversity matters. I have plenty more resources to share should they be of interest to you – send me a note and I’ll be happy to pass them along. 

Poetry Corner
On Friday, February 14, I shared a student poem at Bement’s All-School meeting.  This week’s contribution came from a 6th grade student, and her poem was an imitative exercise based on George Ella Lyon’s poem “I Am From.”  It is reproduced below:

I am from the smooth stones,
From the winding river,
That feeds into the pike filled water,
The sunlight catching the flip of a white tail,
Soaring far above me.
I am from the beaten Trail,
Following the ridgeline.
Dressed in the warm hues of fall
With fog drifting from the river.

I am from the valley,
With its fertile land, surrounded by mountains.
The rolling hills and stretching blue sky
That fills with stars, scattered amongst the night.
I am from pine trees holding the burden of snow.
I am from snowballs flying,
The black and white dog streaking after,
His paws kicking up snow,
disappointed that he can never find it.

I am from the farm fields,
The sharp cornstalk leaves scratching my face,
As I run through them,
A thousand paper cuts left unnoticed.
I am from the faded red paint, once bright now worn.
Beady-eyed pigeons sit on the rafters, sunlight streaming in.
I am from the crisp, freshly cut hay, bales pilling up
The smooth, black coat of a newborn calf
Nibbling my gloves, bottle in hand.