After only two weeks as Headmaster of University School, Headmaster Rick Bryan is already beginning to implement his vision for the school. “My role is to lead the school,” Headmaster Bryan remarked, “and I felt that the faculty had done sufficient planning, and it was now time to plant some stakes in the ground and move forward as a K-12 school.” Formulating and eventually implementing the 2020 Curricular Initiative, Headmaster Bryan is looking to advance the academic structure of US while holding true to the school’s longstanding core values.
The University School Mission states that “University School inspires boys of promise to become young men of character who lead and serve.” With the new strategic plan, US will further expand the potential of its students with a dynamic faculty and an engaging academic program. As it has for the last decade, the University School curriculum will solidify its foundation in the humanities while advancing its offerings in the innovative fields of science and math. As Headmaster Bryan explained in a recent presentation to University School parents, the new curriculum “will emphasize persuasive communication skills, inspire critical thinking, and instill habits of success.”
The 2020 Curriculum Initiative is focused on five overall themes: innovation, empowerment, intellectual risk, investment, and collaboration. Largely dependent on the teaching and administrative staff, the new curriculum looks to create a more advanced and engaging environment that cuts across grades and departments. Focused on the classroom, the teacher’s initiative promotes mentorship and innovation that will foster academic empowerment and risk. Also, the new curriculum places an increased focus on acceleration in language, math, and science classes prior to high school as well as cultural scholarship. While promoting academic rigor and adaptive and resilient traits, the new initiative will not neglect the importance of learning support outside of the classroom. Stimulating academic interactions based on these core themes will certainly prove effective in shaping the ideal contributor to society: The US boy.
Perhaps most impressive is the implementation framework that Headmaster Bryan touched upon in his presentation to the school. “We named it the 2020 Curricular Initiative to emphasize that we want to accomplish many of these ideas by the year 2020,” Headmaster Bryan explained. Generally misunderstood by the student body, this initiative has been, and will continue to be, implemented gradually and continuously. Regardless of graduation year, each US boy’s education will be impacted by the changes in curriculum. Over the past three years, leadership appointments and advancements in the math and science departments have been enacted to seamlessly incorporate the core tenants of the initiative. Students will continue to witness the seamless implementation of the initiative through the faculty and administration. From re-evaluating monetary funds for professional development to re-examining the schedule of the school day, University School leadership will seek to provide the ideal learning environment for its students.
As Headmaster Bryan eloquently articulated, “I believe that schools operate not by resting on their laurels, but continually trying to improve. Implementing these curricular ideas will be the best way we can provide a 21st century curriculum for the US boy.” As society advances, it is important to take a step back and evaluate the methods of cultivating academic scholarship. With an “uncompromising commitment to the core values in the US motto” the innovative 2020 Curriculum Initiative will look to develop young men who will thrive in the world—young men that will lead, and advance, society.
