About NMH The Future

Letter From Head of School Sturtevant

September 22, 2004

Dear Friends,

As I write to you about the opening of school, my heart is full of thanks for the dedication of so many in our Northfield Mount Hermon family. Over the last eight months, since our board of trustees made the courageous decision to restructure this school, I have spoken to many in the NMH community about our past, present, and future. These conversations carry one strong thread: We all love this school deeply, and we are profoundly committed to its historic mission and ongoing life.

In the 125 years of Northfield Mount Hermon’s history, the world has changed profoundly, and our curriculum and pedagogies have adapted appropriately to keep D. L. Moody’s vision fresh and powerful. While the school’s program has evolved, we have not strayed from the core conviction that educating the head, hand, and heart best prepares young people for meaningful lives. NMH today sparkles with optimism rooted in the awakened hearts of our students, as well as in the quality of our faculty and the capacity of our programs to change the direction of young people’s lives.

The first meeting of faculty and staff this year brought us together in Memorial Chapel just after the morning veil of mist lifted and revealed the vista that has inspired generations of NMH students. Sunlight streamed through the doors that open up to the valley and the Connecticut River below. We sang together Hymn 43, “For the Beauty of the Earth,” a hymn of grateful praise. In my closing remarks, I shared my conviction that the experience of joining in song—each voice contributing to the magnificent whole—serves as a metaphor for our aim to create a dynamic, gathered community. We are the singing school for a reason. I share this vignette to make the point that the school’s traditions and mission are cherished still and will remain central to our planning.

I am pleased to report on the many successes of last year, particularly as they reflect positively on our transition to one campus. Perhaps the most important success was our ninth-grade village. Owing to its structure and nurture, our ninth graders:

• improved their average effort grades and overall academic averages
• decreased visits to the infirmary significantly
• decreased discipline, with no drug and alcohol violations
• decreased attrition dramatically from the previous year
• increased participation in athletics and school activities such as the   Pie Race and community service
• took part at a rate of nearly 100 percent in a class gift for scholarships

At a broader level, the ninth-grade experience has been a live test of a one-campus version of NMH today. We have set high standards and requirements for our students, who are housed on one campus (girls in Merrill-Keep and boys in East Hall), and have provided them with exceptional faculty support. The results have been spectacular.

There are many other promising signs of our deep strengths and the strong position we are in as we plan for the future. 

• Coming into this year, we recorded the lowest attrition rate since 1992, when we first began compiling this statistic.
• For the first time in recent memory, we met our enrollment target before the summer season.
• Our students show measurable academic success. Last year’s seniors’ SAT I averages were non-TOEFL verbal 608; math 606; combined 1214. NMH students sat for AP exams in 23 subject areas, with 87 percent earning scores that may qualify for college credits.
• We exceeded our Annual Fund goals for participation and total giving and had 100 percent participation from the class of 2004.
• We met our operating budget targets for the year.
• Led by our board of trustees, our capital fundraising for the transition is on track. We received a gift of $1 million from Ann Tenenbaum ’79 and her husband, Tom Lee, in support of our future.
• We have broken ground and are on target to open two 28-student, cottage-style dormitories by the start of school next fall.
• Last summer we completed significant renovations on the Mount Hermon campus.
• Under the leadership of President Richard W. Mueller ’62, the Northfield stewardship committee is making good progress on planning for the future use of the Northfield campus.
• Our endowment has continued to grow, thanks to gifts and an investment performance that has ranked in the top one percent of like institutions for the last five- and ten-year periods. Last year our performance was in the top eight percent.
• Feeder schools, peer schools, former faculty, and our friends in education have sent affirming messages about our plans to move to one campus.
• Our students have started the year with winsome spirits and creative flair.

It gives me great pleasure to share these reflections of NMH’s vitality, particularly since I know how much this school means to all of us. The direction of Northfield Mount Hermon is very positive, and we have set achievable goals. While we know that what’s before us is challenging and will require us to be resilient and optimistic, we also see our challenges as exciting, creative, and valuable. What could be more important than to invest in our mission with all the passion and intellect and spirit that we share in the NMH community? How you answer that question, I am sure, will make a real difference to this school and its future.

I am thrilled to be a part of this school and am looking forward to getting to know the large NMH family from around Franklin County and across the world. Please stay connected to this important community. This is an exciting time for Northfield Mount Hermon, and you won’t want to miss out on the happenings on campus. I encourage you to visit the school, browse our website, contact your classmates and former teachers, and stay involved in our present and our future!

Sincerely,

Thomas K. Sturtevant
Head of School

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