@VTExpat, we really enjoyed our visit to Mercersburg this week. Had the opportunity to chat briefly with Doug Hale. Had no idea till your note (and subsequent Googling) that he was leaving. Apparently, the Board has known since last summer and a search committee is in place. Was struck by the number of teachers who indicated they’d been at the school for 10+ years, so a good layer of institutional knowledge is in place. I also liked how forthright M’burg seemed to be, especially with respect to data. Thought it was pretty cool of them to list college acceptances to date… even recognizing that many of the super elite colleges had yet to report. A nice list it was, too. As @ChoatieMom is fond of saying, “not a clinker in the bunch.” Had a great chat with Dr. Maurer. Robotics program is very impressive and seems enormously fun. The kids have a chance to compete in China this year - all funded by the school, should they do well in the national championships. (And they’ve qualified for the international event in each of the past six years.)
@Charger we also had a very good visit at Peddie. Such a different feel and pace. Bigger, too, of course. But we liked it a lot. Nice kids. Lot of depth to the programming, especially in the sciences. Lot of kids interested in engineering-related pursuits. Sat in on an English session with Pat Clements. Loved it (his appearance and humor put Samuel Clements in mind) Felt old school/new school in that again lots of faculty who’ve been there for ages, but programming that definitely reflects 21st Century critical learning skills, etc. Asked lots of questions re boarder life on the weekends (when the day and many local boarders) may be off campus. Got the sense kids felt fine about it. The occasional half-day Saturdays help. The energy level felt a little more revved at Peddie than at M’burg, like the kids ran a little faster, but in a good way. Impressed by the complement of activities kids manage. In the student panel they held, most kids juggled at least 5-6 and made it seem like that was the norm. I liked that. (but I tend to run like that myself.)
We visit Thacher next week and are very much looking forward to it.