Issue link: https://trevordayschool.uberflip.com/i/1504410
Dear Friends, This may be the last letter I write to the entire Trevor community. I must tell you how, after 15 years of joyous headship at Bancroft (my last school), I never expected to encounter a place that I love so much, made up of people for whom I care so deeply. I came to Trevor nine years ago in a Head transition, but amidst other major changes as well. A new building on 95th Street needed completion and the historic Andrew Goodman building on 88th Street needed essential updating. And both of those construction projects represented immense geographic and psychological moves for our families. I joined a school that was thoughtfully elevating its academic program and increasingly defining its pedagogy as inquiry-based and child-centered. Figuring out how to further evolve while retaining Trevor's joy and community was paramount. In addition to those transitions unique to Trevor, I also recognized broader shifts alongside our peer schools: how to attract and retain the best faculty and staff in an increasingly expensive city, while addressing a declining population of independent school students. I also found the school's long- time commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion at a crossroads. At a time when Stop-and-Frisk and other racial justice issues were being hotly debated throughout our city and nation, I was entrusted with advancing the good work that had come before me and nurturing a safe and inclusive educational environment that affirmed all of our students for who they are and who they want to become. I had no idea that on the horizon, six years into my headship, the brutal murder of George Floyd would ignite a national movement calling out systemic racism, and that the COVID crisis would kill nearly 7 million people around the world, including 30,000 in our own New York City. We are all tired of reading the word "unprecedented," but it truly was. Throughout all of it, our mission held strong and we remained "Trevor Together." I conclude my tenure, assuming a title never before used at Trevor— Head Emeritus. I have agreed to support Daniel Feigin, our new Head of School, in any way that I can, including acting as a liaison to further connect with our alumni and assisting our Legacy Campaign for Faculty & Teaching Excellence, Signature Transitions by Scott R. Reisinger, Head of School, Emeritus 2013 78 / TREVOR MAGAZINE SUMMER 2022–2023