September Head of School Letter: For the Love of GUS

Earlier this summer, as I was waiting to pick up dinner at the Hale Street Tavern, a boy approached me with his hand out, introduced himself, and said proudly, “I’m a student at Glen Urquhart School. You’re Mr. Liebmann. I love GUS!”  And so it began.

Since arriving on the North Shore in early July, I have had one conversation after the next about the power of a GUS education. I met three pairs of GUS alumni parents at an event in July, families whose children attended GUS decades ago. They eagerly told me about how Glen Urquhart School was the most important educational experience in their children’s lives, even compared to elite university educations.

I smiled and nodded and thought, “I wonder what alumni would say?” So in the ensuing weeks, I tracked several of them down. One, Andrew Smith, is a graduate who went on to create and later sell a company that invented a fuel efficiency product for trucking fleets. You’ll read about him in a future issue of The Tartan. Another, Nathaniel Bellows, is an author and visual artist who has published three books. Look for a profile of him in The Tartan, too. Both men, now in their forties, couldn’t help but convey their appreciation for the school.

Then I started to meet former faculty members. They maintain their enthusiasm, even zeal, for the good things GUS does for children. And I spent an hour with each current faculty and staff member, walking the nature trail and campus and talking about who they are as people and what drives them as GUS faculty members. What I heard confirmed the extraordinary dedication people have to Glen Urquhart.

As the fortieth anniversary of GUS’s founding grows closer in the 2017-18 school year, there is an opportunity for us as a community to reflect on what works well and what we can do even better. That’s the fundamental way in which excellence is achieved and sustained, and it is our profound obligation and responsibility to our current students to do so.

In the coming weeks, I look forward to getting to know your children and meeting you at the Welcome BBQ on Sunday, September 18, at grade-level parent potlucks, and at the many school events scheduled for the fall.

I am thrilled to join you as head of school and steward the vision of Glen Urquhart School.  Here’s to a fantastic year!

Trust and go forward,

David Liebmann

Head of School