Editor’s Note: News Editor Hailey Vice spoke to incoming Head of School Robin Appleby when she visited campus. What follows is an edited transcript of Mrs. Appleby’s thoughts on her new job.
My initial observations are that [the American School in London] is a really happy place. It has a lot of positive energy and a really good vibe, and it feels as if students and faculty seem to communicate really well with each other. Between faculty there’s a lot of camaraderie, which is great.
This week touring around the school has been amazing. I mostly have been having opportunities to meet with people on the faculty and the leadership team. It’s been really nice to come into the school and feel it working on its normal work day. I joined meetings so I could actually learn about what’s happening here. When diving into those conversations it’s a really great opportunity for me to get to know the place.
I think ASL is thinking about who it is, and who the members of the community are. That has impressed me – I’ve learned about the range of academic programs and it’s such an ambitious program – the numbers of trips that are taken and the ways that students are getting to travel – there’s so many opportunities to get off campus to go learn. I am a huge proponent of all those very experiential experiences and I think I have learned a lot about that.
They say that transitions take about a year. The best use of that first year is to spend the time really truly understanding the school, the people, and its focus. There are a lot of people who have been here for a long time, who value the things that they do very deeply and have a great commitment to the school. These are students, staff members, and faculty members. When you’re a new head and you go in, one of your top goals has to be to figure out what’s important to the people who are working and living in that community. And to know what contributions that people have made to recognize them.
Transition is change, even if nothing changes next year. Because teachers, for instance, who have given huge amounts of their time and energy to the school need to feel valued. We all need to feel valued.
