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Bosland Takes Stock of Pandemic Year at State of the School
On March 3, nearly a year after the COVID-19 pandemic changed the school landscape, National Cathedral School Head Susan C. Bosland delivered her second and final State of the School address to the NCS Parents Association.
Bosland opened by reflecting on the upcoming anniversary of NCS’s transition to Remote Learning following the global outbreak of COVID-19. She thanked members of the community—students for their “resilience, patience, and fortitude” as they navigated Remote Learning, Blended Learning, and soon, a full return to campus; faculty and staff for their “unwavering dedication and child-centered focus,” and parents for their support in "a school year like no other.”
Bosland noted that NCS’s focus on skills-based learning prevented students from falling behind academically during the pandemic and cited examples from classes, including the comprehensive art kits sent home with students for remote weeks, creation of student blogs for physics, a new literature course on Black lives, and the recent success of the online Upper School musical, “The Theory of Relativity.”
As the landscape of COVID-19 at NCS continues to evolve, so does room for possibility. With large-scale teacher vaccinations, COVID-19 surveillance testing, the Community Covenant being followed, and the promise of warm weather, Bosland said that reopening school with both cohorts on campus together would be possible after spring break. NCS is repurposing 26 spaces into classrooms to help de-densify students across campus.
Bosland highlighted the many ways in which NCS has successfully pivoted during COVID-19, including an admissions season that has led to “enormous interest in our school,” Parents Association meetings that have been well attended, guest speakers joining classes and assemblies, successful fundraising initiatives, and alumnae gatherings—all done online.
“We have also continued the traditions that ground us,” Bosland said. Online Cathedral services, “where we take stock of what’s important in our lives,” and chapel services, “where we share insights, thoughts, and fellowship,” have remained vital in an unusual school year.
NCS’s commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion (DEI), and belonging “continues to deepen and expand,” said Bosland. She cited ongoing work toward the 10 action steps outlined in a summer letter from the administrative team. Examples of this work included students helping to draft a hate speech policy, assemblies held on microaggressions and unconscious bias, the success of Courageous Conversations in the Middle School, and more. Parents, graduates, and Governing Board members have also joined these conversations, Bosland noted, through DEI workshops with the Glasgow Group and Jessy Molina and through the formation of a Board-level DEI task force.
Collaboration with St. Albans, Beauvoir, and Washington National Cathedral remains strong, Bosland said, as she described the constant communication among the heads of school during the pandemic.
Lastly, Bosland noted that she was looking forward to welcoming Dr. Elinor Scully back to the NCS community as head of school and was helping to ensure a smooth transition.
“Thank you for the honor of being the head of school at National Cathedral School,” Bosland concluded, calling her role “the best job in the world.”
Governing Board Finance Committee Chair Mariana Fariña also presented at the State of the School meeting on the budget and finances of the school.
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Susan C. Bosland, head of National Cathedral School (Photo by Rachel Naft)
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