A note from the Associate Headmaster and Head of the Upper School
Last year I had the opportunity to attend the National Association of Independent Schools conference in Washington where we were challenged with the theme of “Advancing our Public Purpose.” Pat Bassett, the NAIS President, explained the role of independent schools to be the stewards of our communities. He charged school administrators to have a good answer to the question of what we, as independent schools, are doing to further the education of the entire community.
Norfolk Collegiate has had an active role in our community for years through community service efforts, including the annual “Day of Service” in the upper school. NCS has also been a community partner in education for eleven years now, working with Horizons, a program that provides summer academic enrichment to at-risk Norfolk students. Some of our own graduates have taken part in the program as teachers.
This year, I have included our 9th grade class in a private/public partnership with a local school. Each of our 9th grade homeroom advisories will travel to Crossroads Elementary School (7920 Tidewater Drive) to participate in a tutoring program with kindergarten and 1st grade students. Our 9th graders will work primarily with students whose first language at home is Spanish. There are also a handful of students at Crossroads who are here through NATO connections whose first language is French. This will provide a wonderful opportunity for our own students to practice their foreign language while helping the kindergartners and 1st graders learn to read.
I am excited for this opportunity for Norfolk Collegiate School to partner with Crossroads Elementary and for the value this experience will have for our students.
Sincerely,
Jason C. Mundy
Associate Headmaster and Head of the Upper School