HEAD OF SCHOOL’SMESSAGE
A school year full
of challenges and
opportunities
Head of School John R. Packard
WITH HALF THE SCHOOL YEAR BEHIND US, ucation that has made Brooks a leading ship and stewardship of Larry and Grace
I am happy to be authoring my first letter private school for more than 80 years. We Becker. This school is positioned and en-
for theBulletin.It is a privilege to lead off will also not allow these new events to ergized to move ahead boldly and confi-
this edition that pays tribute to the many change the way we think about the future dently because of the firm and deep
triumphs of Larry and Grace Becker, the of this school and the program we offer. foundation they established. My wife,
incredible success of Olympian Charlie The challenge ahead is twofold: First, we Kim ’87, and I look forward to a new
Davies ’04, and the artistic accomplish- must stop and think in some areas where chapter in our relationship with them
ments of current student Nick Letwin ’09. reflection will allow us to make more in- and rest comfortably in the knowledge
I officially became the fourth head of formed choices in the future. Second, we that Brooks School has no stronger advo-
Brooks School on July 1. In my first month will continue to move at full speed on ini- cates than the Beckers.
on the job, I enjoyed a series of great meet- tiatives that have made impressive progress To close, while this edition is reaching
ings and had lengthy opportunities to over recent years. In both cases, exciting you after the Beijing Olympics have come
think about our school’s future. Over the conversations and challenges await. and gone, the story on one of our two
months since then, our world has changed As I think about what is in store for us U.S. Olympians, Charlie Davies ’04, can-
dramatically, and in the fall, those conver- in the months and years ahead, however, not be “oversold” by the likes of me. In
sations took on a decidedly different tone I am reminded time and again of the in- the summer issue of the Bulletin, due in
and a more pronounced sense of urgency. delible mark left on Brooks by Larry and July, we will profile the second Olympian,
As the national economy faltered, we were Grace Becker. I recall underlining in our Elle Logan ’06, who left those games with
not immune. We have watched the final faculty meetings last June the pro- a gold medal in crew. Perhaps there are
school’s endowment go through its first found sense of loss we all feel through schools like ours that boasted two
protracted decline in several years, which transition — acute for all of us at Brooks Olympians last summer, but we will make
has had obvious budget implications. As in the case of these two remarkable peo- no apology for the extra bounce in our
we look ahead to next year, we are formu- ple. In that I have my own space here, I step that carried us through August.
lating a budget that takes into account the want to emphasize what is abundantly I look forward to seeing you again
real possibility that the situation could get clear to anyone observing my career from when you visit with us or when I visit your
worse before it gets better. While we have near or far — the opportunity before me part of the world. In either case, a chance I
no way of predicting how long this down- would not exist without the care and at- yearned for when applying to be the
turn will last, we can and will dedicate our- tention Larry paid to me through all of school’s fourth head will be realized — to
selves to ensuring that no matter what the my years at Brooks. Indeed, the future of know you again, to share this wonderful
impact on budget and revenue, we will this school, which is so filled with prom- school’s story with you and to seek your
continue to offer the same exceptional ed- ise, was made possible due to the leader- partnership in moving this school forward.
4 Brooks Bulletin
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