Head of School's Message: Oct. 20
If student enrollment is a hard metric of a school’s health, then attendance at Open House is a soft measurement. On Saturday close to 250 families visited the campus, the largest number in several years. The event was scheduled to start at 9 a.m. but families were lining up on Armada Drive by 8:30 a.m. It felt like an Apple Store before a new product launch.
Once inside the gates, members of our parent body who volunteered in large numbers greeted families. We are so grateful. On a beautiful fall morning with the Kidspace Pumpkin Festival as an alternative draw and AYSO soccer games going ahead as scheduled, Chandler parents, many of them new to the school this year, spent Saturday morning talking to prospective applicants. Chandler’s mission stresses “commitment to community in students.” When our parent body models this commitment it rubs off on the kids. Thank you for walking the community service walk by spending time on a Saturday morning as an ambassador for Chandler. You made a big difference. You inspire us!
Thanks go out also to to Chandler’s Board of Trustees led by President Matt Wright ’74 CHS '78 for attending and engaging our visitors. As stewards of Chandler’s mission, our board members devote hours of their time each year behind the scenes in committee meetings working on fundraising, building projects and financial and strategic planning. It was good to see so many of our board members front and center at a community event. Their enthusiastic advocacy for Chandler sets a tone that defines our culture.
The Chandler students in attendance are the stars of the morning. The unfettered honesty of the student eye view is one of the strongest selling points to prospective families. As they left visitors commented on how articulate and poised their student guides were. “The kids I spoke to love Chandler,” said one parent of a four-year old.
During two sessions in The Ahmanson, four young alumni, now students at Poly, Harvard-Westlake, Westridge and Flintridge Prep, answered questions from parents and students looking at Middle School. The “What didn’t you like about Chandler?” question came up towards the end of the first session. Corah Forester '14, a freshman at Westridge, thought for a moment and responded that there were too many stairs in the Middle School. That’s something we can’t fix.
Next to our students, our faculty are the best advertisements for a Chandler education. At a faculty meeting last week Director of Communications Martin Voss went over survey data from last year’s admission season that showed school safety, strength of program, strength of faculty and clarity of mission as four decisive factors leading families to choose Chandler. Martin encouraged faculty to talk with visitors about Chandler’s mission being aligned with our personal values. That kind of authenticity comes naturally to Chandler teachers.
Thanks to everyone involved for making Chandler’s Open House such a successful community event.
Most sincerely,
John Finch
Head of School
