A letter from Gabe Burnstein, Head of School
Akira Baruni ‘23, a tenth grade alum now at Cambridge School of Weston, sat in a familiar spot on the couch in the atrium of the Travis Middle School Building. The microphone was in her hand, just as it had been so many times before at CRS. It was late Thursday night at our Middle School Open House, and while this fifteen year-old might have been sitting in front of a large crowd of adults, she carried herself with the confidence and authenticity of a young person sitting in her living room.
What was the transition like to have formal letter grades in high school after not having formal letter grades at CRS?
Akira took an intentional pause to gather her thoughts before answering.
“I think sometimes other kids who have only known letter grades get an A, and then they think that they are done. Like, it’s over. But, for me, getting an A means there’s still more work to do. There are always ways to get better.”
She passed the microphone to Nate Newmark ‘24, a freshman at Noble and Greenough, who has somehow grown six inches in the last six months since he last sat on the swingset on the morning of his CRS graduation.
Did you feel you were academically prepared for high school?
Nate smiled as he sat next to his mom, Beth. “I was so well prepared by CRS,” Nate beamed. “Just the other week, I was in a group and we had to give a presentation. I learned to love public speaking here, and it was no big deal to me. And I was the one teaching my classmates how to make a slidedeck and how to cite our sources. Everyone didn’t learn that before high school.” Then it was Beth’s turn. “On Back to School Night, Nate’s advisor shared that he offered to have lunch with the advisees, and Nate was the first one who took him up on it. He had already had lunch with Nate twice.”
Kidder Brady ‘24, a freshman at Rivers, took a shot at the question about preparation. “After only a few weeks in high school, I decided to run for student council. A few of my new classmates were like, ‘Wow, you are getting up to speak in front of everyone in the whole school and you barely know anyone yet! You just got here.” Kidder laughed, “That hadn’t even occurred to me! I just thought, why wouldn’t I run?”
Kidder tried to pass the mic, but Elizabeth Clayton stopped Kidder in the most perfect Elizabeth Clayton way. “What were the results of the election, Kidder?”
Kidder smiled sheepishly. “I won.”
These bright-eyed graduates distilled the lessons of a CRS education better than adults ever could.
Akira demonstrated the power of internal motivation, and a love of learning that burns forever. At CRS, there’s no ceiling on academic excellence. Learning never stops. Improvement is continuous.
Nate spoke eloquently about real transferable skills – research, public speaking, collaboration, and self-advocacy. He also shows us how academic achievement multiplies infinitely when children grow up in an environment with trusting and joyful relationships with teachers. (Why wouldn’t you have lunch with your teachers?)
Kidder articulated the earned confidence of a CRS graduate. All the leadership practice, all the reps at public speaking, all the teachers who believed in her and made sure she knew they believed in her, propelled her to walk into high school with an inner voice that said, “I didn’t go to high school to wait around for someone else to lead. I can do this.”
After the event was over and the parents left, Kidder smiled and said, “I’ve missed this place. I’m so happy to be back.”
To Kidder, Nate, and Akira, we are happy to have you back too. Thank you for reflecting back to us the bountiful harvest of a CRS education so perfectly.
In partnership,
Gabe