Donald M.Austin - Newark Academy

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with a greater willingness to
adapt to changing times.There
is an understated pride and selfconfidence
about the school that
comes from its maturity and from
having persevered and prevailed
in hard times.As the French would
say, Newark Academy is “bien dans
sa peau,” happy in its own skin.
Another fundamental trait of the
Academy is the loyalty it inspires.
Countless people have expressed
to me their great affection for the
school in the form of spontaneous
e-mails, notes, and conversations.
One senior faculty member
confided to me that the NA
community is so exceptional that
it is addictive.The bonds that tie
alumni, faculty, parents and friends
to this school are very strong.
That level of attachment and
support bears witness to the
success of our past and the great
promise of our future.
There is, in fact, as many of you
know, widespread recognition that
Newark Academy has recently
enjoyed a particularly successful
period in its history, thanks to strong leadership by my two predecessors,
Allan Strand and Penney Riegelman, astute work by the board, and the
quality of the faculty and students.The school has arrived at an enviable
position of strength.
From that position of strength Newark Academy turns toward the future
with confidence. Keeping in mind the school’s history and its recent success,
I wish to describe briefly several priorities as I see them for the future.
They fall into three overlapping categories: maintaining what we do well,
seizing new opportunities provided by technology, and enhancing the
global elements of our program.
We must conserve and cultivate what we are already doing very well. A
rigorous academic program, with constant attention to the best pedagogy
and most appropriate content, must be at the heart of our work together.
Newark Academy successfully teaches skills and content in the core disciplines
and must continue to do so. Learning the basic skills is a prerequisite for all
that follows.Through an exciting curriculum, we must instill in our students
intellectual curiosity, integrity, a passion for learning, and teamwork.These
“habits of mind” focus not only on learning course content but also on
learning how to learn and how to work effectively with others, two traits
that will serve our students long after the end of their formal education.A
second key element to preserve is the healthy balance among arts, athletics
and extracurricular activities at Newark Academy because their happy
equilibrium distinguishes this school and assures that our students have a
multi-dimensional, liberal education. And finally, we must strive to build
and reinforce the wonderful community that binds us. In good times or
in bad, the connections between teachers and students, the enduring ties
among our loyal constituencies of parents, alumni, trustees and friends,
must be nurtured.These are our greatest resource, which we must never
take for granted.
In addition to preserving our current strengths, we must assure the excellence
of our educational program by carefully anticipating the future needs of our
students. In particular, I would like to consider how technology and global
Success, as I define it, however,
will not be about me personally
but about our skillful stewardship
of Newark Academy.