Head of School Letters

October 2024 - RPCS Strategic Plan: Creating Pathways to Endless Possibilities

Dear Roland Park Country School Community,

After many months of exceptional efforts and RPCS community involvement, the Board of Trustees is thrilled to share Roland Park Country School’s 2024-2029 Strategic Plan: Creating Pathways to Endless Possibilities. This Plan represents a culmination of a true collaboration and a vision for our community that builds on our considerable strengths to reach an even brighter future.

Our Strategic Plan will guide our shared sense of purpose as a community and impact RPCS in profoundly positive ways for generations to come by emphasizing our commitments over the next five years on four key priorities:

Championing teaching and learning
Maximizing student wellness and engagement
Expanding transformational leadership opportunities
Building on our strengths and investing in our future

Each of these priorities include aspirational yet actionable initiatives. Please take the time to learn more about our bold and visionary Strategic Plan and follow our progress on our Strategic Plan website and watch this video to learn more about the unique pathways RPCS students and graduates take as they follow their curiosity, pursue their passions, challenge themselves to excel in an academically rigorous environment, and commit enthusiastically to the process.

In the coming months, we will share more details about the specific action items and outcomes for each initiative outlined in the Plan, and will update our community and the Plan website regularly as we set forth on the next stage of our journey to shape the future of our students and our school.

We are deeply grateful to the entire RPCS community, including students, parents and guardians, grandparents, faculty and staff, alumnae, trustees, and friends, for your valuable input that helped shape our Strategic Plan. Thank you to everyone who participated in this robust planning process, from completing surveys and attending focus groups and brainstorming sessions, to sharing thoughtful feedback and insights, and most important, to providing your unwavering support and commitment to our school's mission and vision. We would also like to extend our special appreciation to the dedicated Institutional Strategy Committee, Strategic Design teams, and learning teams who invested many hours in this critical work.

We are excited to move forward on our Pathways to Endless Possibilities together as we strengthen our identity and create fully supported avenues for our continued growth as a school.

Sincerely,

Joan Smith, HA, GP’24
Head of School

W. Kyle Gore, P’15, P’17, P’20
President, Board of Trustees

David Clapp, P’26

Chair, Institutional Strategy Committee

August 2024 - Update From the Interim Head of School

Dear Parents and Guardians,

I hope you and your families are enjoying the summer and the change in routines and rhythms that this season brings. My routine has certainly changed since coming back to RPCS – and I’m loving it!

At RPCS, this has been a productive and lively summer. All faculty and staff are reading the book Learning to Depolarize: Helping Students and Teachers Reach Across Lines of Disagreement by Kent Lenci, the founder of Middle Ground Solutions and a former Middle School teacher and leader in New England. Kent launched a professional development series for RPCS on civil discourse this past June, which encourages us to lead for the greater good and seek and embrace diversity of thoughts and perspectives that we will honor in every area of our school. Kent is also the son of Gordon Lenci, HA, the former Head of School at RPCS, and he actually attended RPCS briefly when the Lower School was still co-ed! We are carving out time to discuss the book in our back-to-school meetings later this month and I look forward to these respectful conversations. I encourage you to learn more about this book and see the discussion guide here.

When I stepped into the Head of School role in June, I set a goal to meet with every adult on campus this summer to encourage open communication, transparency and honesty. As a team working together on behalf of our girls, it’s important for me to get to know each member of our community, especially before we head into a new school year. I’m happy to report that I’ve almost met this goal. What an incredible group of adults we have here at RPCS! I am so impressed by their dedication to their profession and their love for this school. I look forward to meeting and getting to know you, the parents and guardians, who are critical and valuable members of this incredible team. Please mark your calendars for our annual Welcome Back to School Party on Monday, August 26 from 5-7 p.m. on the front lawn. This is a wonderful opportunity to reconnect with the RPCS community and welcome new families. More details will be shared soon.

I am also hosting divisional meet and greets with parents and guardians who are new to the RPCS community this fall. Please mark your calendars and RSVP to events@rpcs.org for one of the morning coffees below to meet with me and mingle with other new members of the community.

New Lower School parents and guardians: Wednesday, September 25 at 8 a.m.
New Upper School parents and guardians: Thursday, September 26 at 7:30 a.m.
New Middle School parents and guardians: Friday, September 27 at 8 a.m.

There are still several weeks left of summer to savor, but I am eagerly anticipating the beginning of a wonderful new school year and look forward to seeing all of you soon.

Sincerely,

Joan F. Smith, HA, GP'24
Interim Head of School

August 2024 - Issuing Statements on Behalf of RPCS

Dear Parents and Guardians,

As a lifelong educator, I greatly value open communication and honesty. Before we embark on a new school year, I would like to offer some transparency around my philosophy on issuing written statements on behalf of the school in response to national and global events.

In my role as Interim Head of School, my primary focus is on the education, development and well-being of our students and employees. Every decision I make is rooted in what’s best for your children.

Our girls need us to direct our energy toward them and not toward editing statements on behalf of the school. Therefore, I will not respond externally by way of written communication to national or global events that occur throughout the school year. However, please know that we are always responding internally in incident-specific ways that have the best interests of our students and campus community at heart.

Our incredible faculty and staff show up every day ready to support students as situations arise and as our students’ response to them evolves. This is where we are intentionally focusing our efforts. In age-appropriate ways, our students are invited to join educators and counselors in meaningfully and intentionally designed spaces for conversation, processing, and support.

I hope you understand that the decision not to issue statements on national and global matters is not indicative of a lack of empathy or concern, but rather a reflection of the responsibilities and limitations of my role and the mission of our school. In the coming months, our Board of Trustees plans to consider a broader resolution about whether and how RPCS may offer written statements about events which do not directly affect our students, our campus, or our community.

Your daughters and our strong community of faculty and staff give me so much hope for this world and our future. Thank you for your support and for entrusting us with your children.

Please feel free to reach out with questions or concerns.

Warmly,

Joan F. Smith, HA, GP'24

Interim Head of School

June 2024 - Update From the Interim Head of School

Dear Parents and Guardians,

This afternoon, I am writing to you from the same office where I sat in 1993 as the new Upper School Head. There was extensive renovation being done to the Faissler Library, so my temporary office was in what is now the Head of School’s office. That renovation created what was then a state-of-the-art learning center, poised to serve Upper and Middle School students for my next 18 years and beyond. And now, thanks to the successful This is Our Moment campaign, the Faissler Library is once again state-of-the-art…2024 style.

Yesterday morning, I watched my granddaughter Violet graduate along with her 71 classmates. The roses were red, the dresses were white, and these young women stood proudly prepared to take the next steps toward taking their place as responsible members of the global community. A 14 year girl, Violet’s growth has been both steady and breathtaking. She has “walked these halls…not the first, nor the last,” achieving academic success and emotional maturity. This is what I want for your children.

And what strikes me now is what first attracted me to RPCS – tradition and innovation co-exist comfortably and effectively. In 2000, RPCS became the first Baltimore area independent school to introduce laptops for every student starting in the seventh grade. At the time, this was a bold (and to some, controversial) step into what we now call the digital age. The laptop did not replace the teacher, as some feared; instead, it enhanced the classroom and broadened the learning experience.

Along with the 100 plus years of an emphasis on academic excellence and women as leaders, the core values: build each other up, take your seat at the table, live healthy and be well, seek and embrace diversity, and lead for the greater good, capture the essence of RPCS. I believe that it is the responsibility of each and every adult at this wonderful school to work as a team to ensure the success of your child(ren).

As I introduce myself to you, I thank you for entrusting us with your children. Let’s all work together on their behalf.

I look forward to meeting you on campus. Enjoy your family and have a wonderful summer!

Sincerely,