TaborTalk Blog

The head of another independent boarding school once said to me, “I suspect you have very wise parents.” It was such a humbling compliment because I truly do. My parents are wise, kind, well-educated, and fun. In my line of work, I often hear from parents, “Oh, I love my child too much to send them to boarding school!” Some parents even have a strong physical reaction, reaching out to grab their child or pull them closer. Comments like that used to make me sad, because I went to boarding school and my parents loved me very much (Still do!). Now those comments just fuel my creative juices for new blog posts.

Education rights activist Malala Yousafzai tells us that, “One child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world.” School is a fundamental aspect of a child’s life, and each child’s life holds the undeniable potential to impact the world. Most parents approach high school without realizing there is a choice when considering how to maximize their child’s potential. It is the recognition of this innate potential that drives the school choice movement. Before the “choice” is made, an objective school search should be undertaken. That search might include boarding schools, day schools, parochial schools, charter schools as well as taking a critical look at your hometown public school. In this post, we offer an outline and our words of wisdom on how to approach the process in hopes that it may feel more accessible.

There is nothing more rewarding for language students than connecting with peers across linguistic and national borders. This year, Tabor’s French 4 students had the opportunity to experience this by partnering with a class at the Institut d’éducation motrice in Couzeix, a small town in central France. We first met their instructor Madame Stenger via an online forum. At the time we both had thirteen students eager to participate. Our primary goal was to communicate with francophone students in French. Most groups mostly want to practice English, which makes finding a good match challenging. Madame Stenger’s interest was cultural. She wanted her students to learn about America in their own language. It was a great fit. 

It’s 10:20 p.m. on a Wednesday night in Baxter House.  Dorm meeting is over, a yellow sheet cake with vanilla frosting and sprinkles has been devoured, and six girls sit on the floor of the Common Room playing Bananagrams.  With midyear assessments behind them, the girls are more relaxed and cheerful -- back to their old selves.

The "R word" campaign to me is all about bringing awareness to our community here at Tabor. I hear the "R word" very often and never thought much of it. Now that I have been working with young athletes with intellectual impairments once a week, I see how capable they really are. The children improve on their skills every week, whether its shooting hoops or kicking a soccer ball they put their best effort into everything they do. Using the "R word" with a negative demeanor is hurtful. After seeing many "R word" campaigns online I thought it would be effective to make one here at Tabor. It truly was, hearing some of the personal stories was amazing and really helped to make the video more personal. I have already seen a huge impact in our Tabor community.

I graduated from Tabor in 2002, and this past summer, my husband and I moved to Marion. We purchased the Oliver Cobb House at 460 Front Street and opened the Silvershell Inn. Moving to Marion wasn’t an earth-shattering idea: I graduated from Tabor, my husband and I met at the Buzzard’s Bay Regatta in 2010, we got engaged on the dock at BYC, and we were married at St. Gabriel’s Church. But, the decision to buy a 216-year-old house was a leap into the deep end. We thought ourselves well-equipped—I was a technical theatre major and my husband worked construction during his summers in college.

There is no better reflection of the health of a school than the health of its student culture. What are Tabor students like when adults aren’t around? Do students feel safe to be themselves? What do students tolerate from one another and where do they draw the line? What are those unwritten student codes that guide decision-making on a daily basis on campus? What kinds of things are met with, “We don’t do that here.”? 

Everyone knows that Tabor’s winter musical is one of the largest drama productions of the year. But what goes into making such a large-scale production work by the time the first note is sung on opening night? Having gotten the chance to experience first hand what goes into the making of the musical let me tell you there’s a lot more than meets the eye.

Again this year, Early Decision and Early Action college admissions were popular choices for the Senior class. Between Early Decision Round I and the various Early Action options, 82% of the Class of 2016 (113 out of 137 students) filed one or more applications. With additional students applying Early Decision Round 2, about 85 % of the class will have applied under one or more early program.

After 27 years of teaching at Tabor Academy, I had the good fortune to receive and enjoy a fall semester sabbatical, which I have dubbed my “Seabbatical.” My Seabbatical has provided me the time and space to travel, write, volunteer, collaborate and spend time with my daughter. I’ve been asked countless times, “What have you been doing on your sabbatical?” My typical reply is, “ALL of the things that I wouldn’t have time for when I am working:”    

This article originally appeared in Tabor's student newspaper, The Log.

Following Alexis Jones’ talk on campus, one of Tabor Academy's newest faculty members Emily Kaplan joined a group of students living in Baxter in a discussion about the feminism talk. Beginning with their feelings on the speech, the conversation quickly turned into much more. Topics such as gender, sexuality, feminism, race and diversity were brought to the table and, when it was time for everyone to go to study hall, the participants begged Ms. Kaplan to continue these talks.

by Anika Walker Johnson, Dean of Multicultural Education and Community Life

“If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him...We need not wait to see what others do.” (Mahatma Ghandi)

 In 2013, Tabor Academy hired educational consultant, Christine Savini of Diversity Directions to conduct a school-wide diversity and inclusion climate assessment to enhance diversity at Tabor. The purpose of this assessment was to help us as a school community to identify areas of both weakness and strength. We continue to be a work in progress as we grow toward becoming “a community where all members have voice, are given respect and see their identities reflected and affirmed in the curriculum, co-curriculum, physical and virtual environments of the school”. Though growth can be unsettling and not as fast as we would like at times, we are leaning into that discomfort to effect the changes that we know are necessary.