The Head of School – February 5, 2025

Flint Hill Community,

Earlier this week, Flint Hill hosted Anne-Marie Balzano, our strategic planning consultant from Mission & Data, on campus for two full days of class visits, focus groups with students, parents, and faculty, and a half-day retreat with our Board of Trustees and Senior Leadership Team members.  

This visit is part of a deep dive into our community, which has also included an outstanding response for the recent Strategic Planning Community Survey, which was sent to all families, employees, alumni parents, and alumni. All of the data from those surveys and the site visit, along with key institutional data, are incorporated, synthesized, and considered by Anne-Marie and her team, as well as our Strategic Planning Task Force, as we continue with this work. A big Husky “thank you!” to everyone who took the time to share their thoughts with the surveys, and to those who participated in the on-campus events.  

While there is much work to be done and information to consider, one of the many highlights that Anne-Marie shared during the retreat was student responses to the question, "What should never change about Flint Hill?” They included:

• “The teaching style of our teachers — they will do anything to help you.”

• “The bond we have with teachers — the relationships are strong. Most teachers are like your friend — they are always trying to help you.”

• “Our teachers encourage us to make mistakes. They want us to learn from mistakes in a safe space.”  

• “The goals of how they teach us — the Core Values.”

As we know, it is the people who make a community special — and the connections between our students, faculty, and staff are paramount in all we do at Flint Hill. We are excited at the continued work within this Strategic Planning process, and I will continue to share updates over the course of the spring.

In the meantime, I am also eager to highlight those very relationships at the center of what we do at next week’s Flint Hill Day celebration, which includes years-of-service recognition for our faculty and staff, as well as honoring this year’s recipients of the Driving Spirit Award.