TRINITY-PAWLING AND ITS INDEPENDENCE

Trinity-Pawling Head of School Bill Taylor

Trinity-Pawling is a proud member of the New York Association of Independent Schools, an organization that supports the independence of approximately 190 schools in New York State. Much of Trinity-Pawling’s proud identity centers on its 112-year history as a preparatory school and, for most of these years, a boys’ boarding and day school. None of this identity would exist, however, if it were not for the fact that Trinity-Pawling is an independent school, which is to say that it is a non-public school.

Independent schools are distinctive by design. Each independent school is guided by its own mission and philosophy toward education. It is their mission and philosophy that will ultimately attract families, students, teachers, administrators, and headmasters. This means that there is often a special energy that is created in an independent school, a generative force that exists because there is a commonality of purpose and presence.

Trinity-Pawling’s Episcopal heritage and identity stems from the fact that we are an independent school. That we can gather for chapel services and speak of time-honored values revolves around the fact that we are an independent school. The fact that our seniors do not have to sit for state-mandated Regents Exams and, more importantly, do not have to be taught the prescribed curriculum to be prepared for these tests stems from the fact that we are an independent school.

Because we are accredited by rigorous standards created by the New York Association of Independent Schools, Trinity-Pawling is free to shape its own curriculum. Furthermore, we are able to hire teachers who are prepared academically in the disciplines they will teach. We are free from the mandates that restrict hiring to those who have teaching certificates, and like most independent schools, prefer to hire teachers who are steeped in the discipline they will be teaching. Trinity-Pawling provides professional development to prepare young teachers for the demands of the classroom. Importantly, teachers in independent schools are given greater autonomy to create their own lesson plans, rather than having to teach to a prescribed curriculum, which attracts many ambitious, academically-minded young teachers to the profession of education.

Independent schools are also distinguished by the depth of relationships that develop between the students and teachers and between the school and the home. Because the classes tend to be small, teachers at independent schools have the ability to develop relationships with their students that are meaningful and rich. As a result, they have a keen insight into their students’ learning and potential, inside and outside of the classroom, and teachers often become life mentors for students. Such a distinction has been a long-standing attribute of a Trinity-Pawling education.

Those who invest in an independent education for their children are selecting to make an investment in their future. It is an investment that reflects an understanding that there is a value-added proposition inherent in a school’s mission and philosophy and that this value will have a life-long impact on their child.

This spring, we will welcome new families to the Trinity-Pawling family, families who believe that Trinity-Pawling to be a valuable investment in their sons’ future. We are humbled by this investment and motivated to deliver the best experience that we can for their son. This type of institutional motivation stems from both pride and from the independence that has always invigorated people, institutions, and nations.

by William W. Taylor