Since coming to Moravian Academy last July I have learned so much about our school, our three campuses and our community.  And there is still so much to learn. 

I am grateful to the many members of the community who have taken time to share with me what they love about Moravian and how they believe we can do even better.  

My entrance to Moravian came at an interesting time.  We were finally coming out of the pandemic.  We were a relatively newly merged school. And the combination of these two meant that there were endless opportunities to learn and grow together. Coming together as a three-campus school required a lot of listening and valuing the multiple perspectives of a wide range of families, employees, and students.  

This week, we hosted Zoom sessions with each campus community to hear your feedback on the Insights + Implications Paper prepared for us by Crane + Peters following their campus visits and community focus group sessions.  We will be sharing recordings of the parent Zoom sessions with C + P and plan to circle back to you again to close the feedback loop, including addressing some of the questions that were raised.  One thing we have heard loud and clear from members of our community is that you would appreciate stronger communications and clarity.  We are listening.

Themes that surfaced from C + P relate to clarifying the role of religion at Moravian Academy, preserving the unique aspects of each campus, and stating a desire to further strengthen our community.  It is clear that you–our families, employees, students, and alumni–are aligned around how much you value the close-knit and welcoming community that we have at Moravian across all three campuses.  In addition, you appreciate our commitment to universal values, ethics, citizenship, inclusivity and curiosity.   While values like these are woven into the curriculum across our school, at the Downtown and Merle-Smith Campuses, the chapel program provides a consistent approach for these important lessons.  At the Swain Campus, town halls and assemblies provide the means for emphasizing these important values. 

The merger has not changed the chapel experience on the Downtown or Merle-Smith Campuses, nor the town halls and assemblies at Swain.  The connection to the Moravian faith, an inclusive religion that welcomes all regardless of political affiliation, wealth, race, education, thought, or background, traces back to 1742 when Countess Benigna Zinzendorf, a sixteen year-old girl, started the first school for girls in the American colonies–the precursor to today’s Moravian Academy.  This connection to the Moravian Church endures and is part of the fabric of the Downtown and Merle-Smith Campuses to this day.  We are committed to that continuing.  

In 1929, D. Esther Swain opened what became the Swain School, now the Swain Campus of Moravian Academy, with the philosophy "To provide ... superior educational opportunities ...which not only emphasizes knowledge and the skills of learning but also inculcates ethical values." We continue our commitment to this secular tradition on the Swain Campus.

Next week I will have the honor of accepting the charge of the Board of Trustees to serve as Moravian Academy’s seventh Head of School, leading a community that is beautiful, layered, and complex.  The Installation Ceremony will reflect my desire for an event that includes students participating from all three campuses.  Over three hundred students will be sharing their musical talents with us and even more will have participated in the event through the creation of artwork or being part of the procession.  Several university presidents and an area CEO will participate in the Installation Ceremony, reflecting my desire to strengthen the partnerships between Moravian Academy and leading institutions in the Lehigh Valley in the years ahead.  We will hold the ceremony on the Merle-Smith Campus in the Athletic and Wellness Center rather than prior Installations that were held at Central Moravian Church.  This is not a reflection of any separation or distance from the church, but rather because it is a space that can both accommodate the large number of individuals attending and feels welcoming to all members of our community. I hope you will join us for this special occasion which will include fun activities for students before and after the ceremony as well as lunch for all.  If you wish to attend and haven’t yet indicated that intention, please register prior to Monday, April 10.

It is my fervent belief that we are Stronger Together, building on shared values that respect our unique paths and traditions that brought us together and embracing a future that is shaped by the many strengths, talents, and creativity embodied by our combined community.