Notes from the Head and the Heart

Dear Bush Community,

What a joy it was to gather with our community yesterday to launch the 2026-2027 school year! Convocation continues to be one of my favorite traditions at The Bush School and once again, the student speeches shone a bright light on the intelligence, character, courage, and resilience I have come to appreciate in our Blazers. The presence of parents, guardians, and extended community members surrounding the turf field reflected the depth and breadth of our school’s diverse and engaging community.

After a productive summer and an inspired week of faculty and staff preparation for the beginning of this new school year, the campus quite literally came to life with the return of our K-12 student body yesterday. By early August, many of us in the work of education begin to feel like the physical campus space is missing its most important element, the essential piece that makes a school a school: our students. As I walked through classrooms, hallways, the volunteer fair, retreats, and sports practices yesterday, the energy, excitement, and palpable joy which permeated throughout every corner of the campus was inspiring. I can say with confidence, we are off to an excellent start!

In the coming weeks, we will begin to roll out our recently-completed 2026-2031 strategic plan, Learning by Doing, Leading with Purpose. This plan is the result of a fifteen-month process which engaged stakeholders from across the community and invited input from every constituency in the Blazer family. It reflects the core priorities and areas we will focus on over the next five years. At events throughout the fall, we will share our five-year vision for:

I am inspired by the collective work of our Board, faculty, staff, and student community on this plan, and look forward to sharing more specifics with you in the weeks and months to come. 

If you were able to join us on campus for Convocation, you likely noticed the progress which occurred this summer on our Center Campus, Middle School, and Commons project. It has been exhilarating to see the external envelope of the building take shape, and we continue to be grateful that the project (knock on wood quickly as you read) remains both on time for a summer 2027 completion and on budget. Beginning this week, you may notice:

Our continued progress on this project is the result of thoughtful work and collaboration between our builders, architects, project managers, Board leadership, and facilities and operations team here at Bush, and no amount of praise for this group is sufficient to convey the excellence and commitment they bring each day to the project. I can’t wait to celebrate our fall 2027 Convocation in the shadow of this new building, as it will reflect a full and total community effort!

Thanks to all for your presence and participation at Convocation yesterday. Wishing all of our students, families, faculty, and staff a fantastic year ahead. What a wonderful time to be a Blazer!

With appreciation,