January 2005
Dear Friends of Chatham Hall:
Missy and I returned today from Florida. In my suitcase was a three-ring binder with the title “A Survey of Molecular Techniques with an Emphasis on Sub-cloning.” Taped to the cover is the handwritten message, “Dr. Fountain, Could you please take this to Ms. Miller for me? Thank you, Dani.” I went to Sarasota with a future (for at least the next five to ten years) for Chatham Hall in my mind. I returned with it in Dani’s binder.
Dani (that is, Danielle Thomas ’04) had left the binder at home, where her mother, Dora
(a trustee), and Julia Kashkashian ’75, President of the Alumnae Council, were hosting a luncheon for alumnae, past parents, and others in the Chatham Hall family to discuss plans for the future of the School. The discussion was lively—passionate, actually. But Dani’s binder said more about the future of Chatham Hall than any of us could.
It contains notes, questions, observations, and research from the Discovery Challenge project that Dani undertook during her senior year at Chatham Hall. Here is evidence of a young woman who discovered her passion, her voice, at Chatham Hall and followed it to an advanced level. No wonder the University of Virginia School of Engineering had accepted her for early admission. It was delightfully appropriate to return the binder to the teacher who had inspired Dani, chair of the Science Department, Maureen Miller.
The binder confirms what I have learned from recent surveys. What is the #1 reason our current students cite for attending Chatham Hall? Academic quality. What do young alumnae say was most meaningful about their Chatham Hall experience? Caring teachers.
When I think of Dani, I see her sprinting on the field hockey field, jumping a fence on her horse, and striding down the aisle as Crucifer. When we were stymied about the School mascot, she came up with a fair process for the community to determine its preference. Academics, leadership, athleticism, spirituality. That blend distinguishes Chatham Hall.
What else distinguishes Chatham Hall? Consider how Chatham Hall compares to schools nationwide in a survey by The Association of Boarding Schools:
96% of our current students said that Chatham Hall is academically challenging, compared to 91% from other boarding schools, 70% from day schools, and 50% from public schools
96% of our current students said that their peers are motivated, compared to 75% from other boarding schools, 71% from day schools, and 49% from public schools
95% of our young alumnae said that they were well prepared academically for college, compared to 87% from boarding schools, 71% from day schools, and 39% from public schools
How is Chatham Hall doing it right? Again, the numbers tell the story: each week, students spend, on average, more than 14 hours on homework, 7 hours in sports or exercising, 5 hours in creative activities, and fewer than 2 hours watching television.
Other numbers tell the individual stories of Chatham Hall’s dynamic students:
- freshman April Hile (Stuart, FL) is in one of the 3 faculty-student study groups preparing for the visit of Jane Goodall (see enclosed flier)
- sophomore Leandra Lambert (Brooklyn, NY) and 6 other girls will study in Peru this spring
- senior Samantha Franklin (Amissville, VA) is among 5 riders competing on the new varsity riding team with her horse Blue Suede Shoes (a.k.a. Elvis)
- junior Michelle McKee (Seven Springs, NC) will be among 5 students spending a week with alumnae in Washington, DC, in our new Destinations internship
- senior Sarah Lannom (Dyersburg, TN; accepted early-decision to Swarthmore) is pursuing a yearlong Discovery Challenge study of novels by Hermann Hesse
- seven other seniors received early-decision acceptances from colleges including Duke, Johns Hopkins, Wellesley, U.Va., Rhodes, and Sewanee
- sophomore Caroline Finke (Winnetka, IL) is one of 10 students who will spend a week of her spring vacation on our Appalachian Service Project
- junior Schay Goss (Greenwich, CT) and more than 30 other students have spent over 200 cumulative hours working on a Habitat for Humanity house
- sophomore Gifty Amposen (Upper Marlboro, MD) is one of 15 students in a distance-learning course with Dr. Holly Davidson ’70, a professor at Brandeis University, titled Exploring the Islamic World through Film
- junior Courtney Atkinson (Java, VA) will spend 2 weeks this summer in Russia with English teacher, Dr. Ann Beal, studying the locations of the novels of Tolstoy and Dostoevsky, thanks to the new Hallam Hurt Travel Fellowship
What does this say about Chatham Hall? Chatham Hall is at once traditional and cutting-edge. It is a small, traditional school in southern Virginia that is in vital interaction with the issues of the world. How do we increase recognition of Chatham Hall, build financial support for tried and true programs, and also keep ahead of the educational curve? How do we continue to attract the Dani Thomases and the Maureen Millers?
- Academics To achieve greater national recognition, Chatham Hall’s academic program must be comparable to or better than that of the nation’s best independent schools. It must help produce engaged and informed citizens of the world.
- Human Resources To maintain its strong program, Chatham Hall must employ talented and dedicated faculty, staff, and administrators. To attract and retain people with a diverse array of gifts and experiences, Chatham Hall must provide salary, housing, and benefits that compare favorably with those provided by competitor schools.
- Community To attract and retain the best students, faculty, and staff, Chatham Hall must be an open, diverse, and inclusive school that welcomes people from a broad range of geographic, racial, social, economic, religious, and ethnic backgrounds.
- Residential Life To continue to strengthen a strong residential curriculum that stresses individuality and community, Chatham Hall must affirm and expand its emphasis on integrity of action, spirituality, and responsibility. It must prepare its students to be active, responsible citizens through the School’s involvement in the local, national, and international communities.
- Enrollment To utilize fully the institution’s resources, Chatham Hall must increase its enrollment. Additional students will enhance campus dialogue, increase competitiveness in our athletic teams, strengthen the college list, and increase the impact Chatham Hall has through community service.
- Marketing To achieve widespread name-recognition, Chatham Hall must increase its visibility in the education marketplace and improve its reputation among existing audiences. Chatham Hall must undertake a new marketing initiative that focuses on the distinctive qualities of a Chatham Hall education.
- Facilities To preserve a campus of uncommon beauty, dormitories that are among the best at all-girls schools, a new science building comparable to that of a small liberal arts college, and an indoor riding arena singular in size and caliber, Chatham Hall must maintain and enhance a physical plant essential for the recruitment of students and the educational identity of the School.
- Finances To provide an educational program among the best in independent schools, to attract the best students and faculty, to offer innovative programs, to preserve a stunning campus, and to secure the School’s financial future, Chatham Hall must have a larger endowment.
We have developed a Strategic Plan to realize this vision, and I have included a copy of the goals. In the next Chat, you will hear from the people who are directing our progress toward them.
One important final statistic: 100% of our young alumnae answered “Yes” to the question, “If you had it to do all over again, would you go to Chatham Hall?” However, colleges and universities are changing. The world is changing. We must keep up with them—or lead the way.
All best wishes,
Gary
P.S. You will be receiving an invitation to a special luncheon on May 12 at noon at the Georgetown Club in Washington D.C.---our way of saying “thank you” for your generosity to Chatham Hall. I hope to see you there and at the Annual Meeting at Mount Vernon Estate and Gardens later that same day. -GF
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October 13, 2008
Day Student Open House
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November 9-10, 2008
Open House
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December 1. 2008
Early Decision Applications Due
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December 7-8
Open House
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December 15
Notification for Early Decision Applicants
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January 10
Reply Date - Contracts and deposits due for students admitted Early Decision
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January 18-19
Open House
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February 10
Applications and Financial Aid materials Due
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February 15-16
Open House
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March 10
Notification for Applicants
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April 4-5
Revisit Weekend for admitted students and their families
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April 10
Reply Date - Contracts due for admitted students