June 9, 2016
Five Hundred Twenty-Five Thousand, 
Six Hundred Minutes. How do you measure a year? In daylights, in sunsets? In midnights, in cups of coffee? In inches, in miles? In laughter, in strife? How about love? Measure in love.
Do those lyrics sound familiar? If not, they belong to the Tony and Pulitzer Prize winning musical, Rent. Even though there is a great amount of publicity these days about the brilliance of Hamilton, Rent remains a classic, due in part to the depth of thought and feeling conveyed in both prose and music. As I was searching for a metaphor for this last edition of Panther Post, I was struck by the beauty and simplicity of the lyrics of “Seasons of Love.” I believe it is a perfect lens to evaluate what I think has been an incredibly successful academic year.
How do we measure school success? At MPA, we hold a trust to educate the whole child—mind, body, social, and emotional. Students, parents, donors, and the larger community have a right to hold the school accountable for this mission. Accountability invites members of the community to share in the process of assessing success, verifying “we are who we say we are.” Accountability is essential to earning and maintaining trust.
What measurements or metrics mean the most? Assessment is a means of measuring performance. It illustrates how well we are accomplishing our stated mission, goals, and objectives to educate the whole child through an integrated system of standards and of multiple forms of evaluation. These areas are assessed by both subjective and objective measures that provide information for continuous improvement toward achieving the mission.
Over the course of the year, I’ve been working with the Board of Trustees to develop a “dashboard” of information as a means of accountability toward meeting the mission of the school. Together, we have formulated a series of six questions, with various metrics for each, that provide a means to foster accountability. The questions include:
- Are We Advancing Our Mission?
- Are We Inspiring Joyful Learning?
- Are We Modeling Intellectual Ambition?
- Are We Laying the Groundwork for Success?
- Are We Fostering the Joy in Teaching?
- Are We Ensuring Institutional Vitality?
Test scores, grades, ACT and ASPIRE scores, college acceptances, enrollment, attrition, fundraising data and financial markers are all important ways to assess the overall health of a school. Such data is communicated to stakeholders in multiple ways. Report cards, the annual report, parent communications, Panther Post articles, a third-party financial audit, reports to the Board of Trustees, and Town Hall meetings are all methods utilized by the school to communicate key accountability measurements.
While it is important to have solid, quantifiable data to measure school success, it is also important to look to qualitative data. How do you adequately measure joy? Is it possible to count the number of smiles in one day? The look of wonder? The aha moments? Can one truly quantify the beauty of a piece of art or a choral performance? Is there a way to quantify the respect and admiration our younger students have for their older mentors?
I was incredibly touched two weeks ago when I encountered an incident that I did not know was a standing tradition. Imagine my surprise and delight when I saw our seniors, on their last day of school, singing the school song with our kindergarten students (watch it here). Granted I am, by nature, an emotional person, but it struck me as an explicit manifestation of what we hope for in a school with grades PreK-12 all under one roof.
As the school year draws to a close, I want to thank you for entrusting your children to us. I also want to thank you for investing your expertise, volunteering your time, and contributing your financial resources to the school. I am continually in awe of the generosity of the MPA community and grateful for the positive relationship between parents/guardians and the school. It is hard to let go of our seniors and other students and families who are moving on. However, I am grateful for their impact and contributions to our school community.
As all of us part ways for a few months, I extend my warm wishes for a restful and relaxing summer. I hope you will enjoy time with family and loved ones and look forward to coming together again in August.
