THOM 14 | Fall/Winter 2020

explorers
In many ways the two mirror their schools’
leadership, former Harper principal Melvin
Hugans and Brookwood headmaster Randy
Watts, whose commitment to cross-cultural
communication sparked the initiative. Hugans
and Watts, while being interviewed together,
also fall into easy conversation, not about bugs
and basketball but about their shared vision
for education.
“An education outside the four walls of the
school,” as Hugans says. “We are not doing our
jobs educationally if we’re not giving them
those collaborative, cross-cultural experiences.
When our third graders hit the job market,
they are going to be in a pluralistic society.”
A Place to Design
Both school leaders knew that this partnership
presented an opportunity for their students
to experience students from different
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