August 2017
“A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.” – Henry James
It is through the efforts of our Head of School and faculty members that the vision and mission of the Mill Brook School are delivered to our students and families on a daily basis. For that reason, it is of vital importance that the Head of School and the Board of Trustees are aligned philosophically in the hiring of faculty members.
What criteria has the Board established to assist the Head in the hiring of faculty? First and foremost, in order to thrive at Mill Brook, each faculty member must recognize that his role is not simply to pass on knowledge about a particular academic subject, but rather to care for the formation of the entire person. This is at the heart of our mission. See “The Role of the Advisor” on this website for a more robust explanation.
A successful faculty member will have a deep appreciation for the importance of professional excellence in his own work and will impart this outlook to his students so that they themselves strive for excellence in all areas to the degree appropriate to their age and capacity.
Faculty members will be expected to model a natural integration of faith in God within the daily circumstances and events at the school. The Catholic ethos of the school will serve as the infrastructure to much of what we hope to accomplish with each student. But, like infrastructure, it will oftentimes lie below the surface.
Indeed, a teacher does affect eternity. For this reason, it is a very noble profession – and obviously the essential human element for the success of our mission.