Keith Evans: Ten Years at Collegiate and A Plan for the Future
It was a pleasantly cool Monday afternoon in late August, and the
Collegiate campus was racing back into action.
Varsity and JV athletic teams had begun their pre-season practices earlier in the day.
Newcomers to the faculty were already well into their whirlwind first week.
School offices and classrooms were abuzz with beginning-of-the-year activity.
Physical plant folks were putting the finishing touches on the facilities.
Members of the tech staff were dashing hither and yon, instructing teachers and students about the intricacies of the new Cougar Cloud email setup and the space-age phone system that’s making its debut.
Fresh off a rejuvenating 10-day backpacking adventure through the wilderness of Wrangell-St.Elias National Park in Alaska with his sons Ronnie and Hank, Keith Evans, our head of school, was settling back into his office.
Though his schedule was tight, he sat down with me for a few minutes to reflect on the state of Collegiate and his personal journey as he begins his 11th year at the helm.
What follows, in question-and-answer format, are his typically astute observations, delivered, as always, with candor, humor, and a genuine concern for the children entrusted to us.
Varsity and JV athletic teams had begun their pre-season practices earlier in the day.
Newcomers to the faculty were already well into their whirlwind first week.
School offices and classrooms were abuzz with beginning-of-the-year activity.
Physical plant folks were putting the finishing touches on the facilities.
Members of the tech staff were dashing hither and yon, instructing teachers and students about the intricacies of the new Cougar Cloud email setup and the space-age phone system that’s making its debut.
Fresh off a rejuvenating 10-day backpacking adventure through the wilderness of Wrangell-St.Elias National Park in Alaska with his sons Ronnie and Hank, Keith Evans, our head of school, was settling back into his office.
Though his schedule was tight, he sat down with me for a few minutes to reflect on the state of Collegiate and his personal journey as he begins his 11th year at the helm.
What follows, in question-and-answer format, are his typically astute observations, delivered, as always, with candor, humor, and a genuine concern for the children entrusted to us.
When there’s an economic downturn, there has to be belt tightening. Even with our many resources, Collegiate certainly hasn’t been immune. How has the belt tightening affected us?
The effect without question is that we’re operating without a cushion. In the past, if we needed to make a change during the year, we had the money to do it, not a huge amount but enough that we could be far more responsive than we can be now.
On the other hand, I don’t think there’s any noticeable way the student experience has changed. We spent a lot of time thinking about that, figuring it out.
Even though the economy seems to have improved, where do we still have to be careful?
We’ve been pretty careful for a number of years to make sure we didn’t take our good fortune for granted. We’ve been working hard on the admission, enrollment, and re-enrollment side. On the fund raising side, there was a well-cultivated sense that our good fortune could easily disappear.
I’m not breathing a sigh of relief yet.
How have we avoided the worst-case scenario: layoffs, declining enrollment, decreased giving?
We’ve avoided it because the community has rallied around the school: faculty, parents, alums. We’ve had wonderful response from donors and terrific re-enrollment results.
Early on, we devised a very clear strategy to deal with the financial downturn and got a consensus around that strategy. The key was preserving the value of the student experience.
If folks believe that the student experience will be preserved and enhanced, they’ll want to re-enroll and make the sacrifices to re-enroll.
If donors believe that those are the things we’re devoted to, they'll want to support that through giving.
Way back before things got too bad, we lined it out, literally put it in writing. The Board and administrative team signed on to it and eventually the faculty and everyone else, and that was helpful.
What have you learned about yourself since you arrived in 1999?
In this job you have to always see yourself as a bit of an unfinished product.
Every year, every day actually, you see things you need to learn.
That’s ongoing, invigorating, motivating, and great fun…but it does require a certain amount of stamina.
How has Collegiate changed over the last decade?
More and more, and rightly so, parents look to us to help prepare their kids for the 21st century – this global world that’s moving really fast, that’s technology-rich, that will require working across cultures around the world. They look to us to really unlock some creativity in their kids.
What’s the best thing about Collegiate?
There’s not a lot original to say on this.
The connections people forge here are just remarkable.
The human side of the school is definitely its greatest strength.
-- Weldon Bradshaw
Back
The effect without question is that we’re operating without a cushion. In the past, if we needed to make a change during the year, we had the money to do it, not a huge amount but enough that we could be far more responsive than we can be now.
On the other hand, I don’t think there’s any noticeable way the student experience has changed. We spent a lot of time thinking about that, figuring it out.
Even though the economy seems to have improved, where do we still have to be careful?
We’ve been pretty careful for a number of years to make sure we didn’t take our good fortune for granted. We’ve been working hard on the admission, enrollment, and re-enrollment side. On the fund raising side, there was a well-cultivated sense that our good fortune could easily disappear.
I’m not breathing a sigh of relief yet.
How have we avoided the worst-case scenario: layoffs, declining enrollment, decreased giving?
We’ve avoided it because the community has rallied around the school: faculty, parents, alums. We’ve had wonderful response from donors and terrific re-enrollment results.
Early on, we devised a very clear strategy to deal with the financial downturn and got a consensus around that strategy. The key was preserving the value of the student experience.
If folks believe that the student experience will be preserved and enhanced, they’ll want to re-enroll and make the sacrifices to re-enroll.
If donors believe that those are the things we’re devoted to, they'll want to support that through giving.
Way back before things got too bad, we lined it out, literally put it in writing. The Board and administrative team signed on to it and eventually the faculty and everyone else, and that was helpful.
What have you learned about yourself since you arrived in 1999?
In this job you have to always see yourself as a bit of an unfinished product.
Every year, every day actually, you see things you need to learn.
That’s ongoing, invigorating, motivating, and great fun…but it does require a certain amount of stamina.
How has Collegiate changed over the last decade?
More and more, and rightly so, parents look to us to help prepare their kids for the 21st century – this global world that’s moving really fast, that’s technology-rich, that will require working across cultures around the world. They look to us to really unlock some creativity in their kids.
What’s the best thing about Collegiate?
There’s not a lot original to say on this.
The connections people forge here are just remarkable.
The human side of the school is definitely its greatest strength.
-- Weldon Bradshaw
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