It’s About Community

By Geordie Mitchell, assistant head of school for enrollment management and outreach
The assistant head of school for enrollment management and outreach shares his perspective on life at an independent school.
I am new at La Jolla Country Day School, but I am hardly new to independent schools. I am from a family of educators and grew up on the campus of an independent school. I began teaching right after college and never left the independent school world. This is the 39th year of my career, and during that tenure, I have taught, coached, advised and overseen philanthropy, admission/enrollment and communications. My three children are also graduates of independent schools, so I have multiple perspectives.

Because most of my career has been in admission, I have had a lot of time to think about and communicate to families why they should consider independent schools. Our schools have high caliber facilities and excellent, dedicated teachers. These are compelling reasons to consider an independent school education, but for me, I keep coming back to the community. 

I tell parents that the biggest value-added for their tuition is a peer group for their child—their child will join other students from families who value education; they will belong to a community where it is cool to be smart and the expectation is to be kind; and it is where students have the opportunity and are encouraged to try new things. Parents will find like-minded adults who share their values and agree on the importance of an excellent and holistic education for their children. When I talk about fit with parents, I encourage them to look for fit for their children and themselves. The desired outcome of fit is success and happiness—and they usually go hand in hand. 

Perhaps it is because I grew up on a campus eating meals with the boarding students and babysitting for my teachers’ children, but as idealistic and perhaps cliché as it sounds, I think the best school communities should feel like a family. To be clear, this does not mean perfect. We will disagree from time to time, and we need to learn to do so respectfully. And because that seems more difficult in this country, now more than ever, there is no time more important to have the space to disagree and to lean into the discomfort. We can only do that when we genuinely care about each other. As with all families, we will disagree, but we will also celebrate our members' victories and accomplishments, mourn with them and support them during loss, and help them when they stumble.

Sure, I love our incredible facilities and the weather in San Diego, but I came to La Jolla Country Day School for the people and the community. I have found the family I was looking for, and I hope you have, too.
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