A small but dedicated group of alumni spent two days on campus recently as members of our Board of Visitors, a group of out-of-town alumni who help MICDS further its mission and promote the general welfare of the School. Each year, the BOV tackles a different priority, spending time reading and researching before they visit campus.
This year, our BOV alumni explored “Cultivating the Transformative Power of the Arts.” The Arts are strong at MICDS. Grown from beloved traditions at both Mary Institute and Country Day School, our Arts program offers a level of depth and breadth of artistic development that stands out among local schools.
Our visitors contemplated two questions: How do we ensure students gain the most benefit from the Arts at MICDS? Where should we direct our resources to provide cohesive programs for all levels of development, supported by spaces that best serve students across all of our campus? They considered how we invest in Arts as a core facet of the MICDS experience in a national educational landscape that is dominated by a focus on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Members were encouraged to bring their own experiences, ideas, information, and materials from other independent schools, colleges/universities, or nonprofit organizations.
As we restore normalcy post-pandemic, MICDS recognizes the power of the Arts to heal isolation and help our community reconnect. This inspired the creation of our new Arts Fest, an annual, experiential, community-wide event celebrating creativity, launched in the spring of 2023. We are currently considering how to support and nurture all our programs so they can thrive at high levels. Some areas of growth identified include needing advanced-level classes in each discipline, sufficient budget support across all programs, additional festival and travel opportunities for students, a performance venue large enough to accommodate our community, and a designated gallery with enough security to show valuable work.
As a group, the BOV explored:
- What elements of the MICDS arts spaces and programs are our strengths?
- What are the weaknesses of our arts spaces and programs that most impact students?
- As the only independent JK-12 school in St. Louis, what would you do to highlight the arts and build community?
- What would you recommend to elevate our profile in the arts?
- How do arts spaces on our campus fit into the future?
The group first gathered on Thursday, October 26, in Olson Hall for the formal start of their session. They were welcomed by Jamie Corley ’05, Chair of the Board of Visitors, before they jumped right into touring our Upper School arts spaces and visiting classrooms. Dr. Jo Nardolillo, JK-12 Arts Department Chair, led the team around the Upper School campus, stopping in Bryant Arts Center and Orthwein Theatre. They considered such questions as: How does this space support the student experience; how does this space celebrate student art; is there flexibility of space; how does this space fit into the future; is this space sustainable; is it accessible, and are our spaces equitable and adequate?
Fresh on the heels of that tour was an opportunity to hear from our student artists themselves. A group of Upper School students enjoyed lunch with the team in the Alumni Dining Hall, sharing their experiences, thoughts, and hopes in an informal, relaxed setting. After lunch, the team heard from Head of School Jay Rainey on the state of MICDS.
Then it was time to move again! Dr. Nardolillo led the group through our arts spaces and classrooms in both Lower and Middle School, keeping the questions above in mind. The BOV was divided into breakout groups, who met briefly to share their initial thoughts and reflections before rejoining the larger group to hear from our Arts faculty. A cocktail reception and dinner at a local restaurant capped the busy first day and allowed our visiting alumni to relax and refuel while getting to know each other better.
The second and final day for the BOV began bright and early as they continued touring our spaces before hearing from a student panel. The conversation was lively as our volunteer alumni had plenty of questions based on their tours and previous discussions. The breakout groups met again, distilling their observations and creating recommendations to share with MICDS leaders. After lunch, representatives from each breakout session reported back to the larger group and senior leadership what they had observed and their recommendations for the future of the arts at MICDS:
Recommendations:
- Conduct a feasibility study of existing Arts facilities as part of the Strategic Plan to see if spaces can be better used and made more accessible or if a new, stand-alone, multipurpose, accessible Arts facility could be built for all divisions to share. Such a space could also be used to invite alumni and donors to campus to view performances, thus cultivating a better relationship between alumni and the Arts on campus.
- Consider offering more didactic courses on the Arts, such as a more general, non-AP, Art History class or Music Theory class.
- Develop closer communication between College Counseling and the Arts Chair in order to better counsel students and their families about the importance of arts classes for students’ mental health and well-being.
- While it will take a culture shift, reinforce to students and their families that students do not need to take all weighted AP classes. Alternatively, offer more AP Arts classes and weight them.
- Consider allowing a sports exemption for juniors and seniors participating in the arts and/or counsel them and their families towards choosing Essential Fitness rather than a sport.
- Spotlight alumni and community members who have thrived as artists and bring them back to campus to discuss their paths and show students that you can be an artist no matter your career.
- Look for ways that creative writing, journalism, and other forms of writing arts can be combined into the studio and performing arts on campus.
“It’s clear that the arts positively impact educational outcomes, and the board endeavored to provide meaningful recommendations to MICDS leadership on ways to enhance what is an already world-class program,” said Matt Brooks ’92. “It was wonderful to be back on campus again and to have the opportunity to support our school.”
Courtney Creel Blankenship ’89 said, “Serving on the BOV for the first time opened my eyes to the wonderful sense of community occurring at MICDS and the high level of commitment from administrators, faculty, students and alumni on maintaining curricular and infrastructure excellence across campus. It was a joyful experience.”
Thank you so much to our Board of Visitors for their commitment to helping MICDS! Special thanks to those noted with an * below for attending our in-person session this year!
2023 Board of Visitors Team
- Jamie Corley ’05 – BOV In-Town Chair*
- Jon M. Austin ’77*
- Katherine (Katie) Watt Banahan ’02
- Courtney Blankenship ’89*
- Wendy Brafman ’87
- Susan (Suzie) Leydig Brickley ’90
- Matthew (Matt) R. Brooks ’92*
- Jack Burkhardt ’07
- Caroline Noel Cooper ’92
- Noah E. Croom ’83
- Marie Dennig Crouch ’80
- Andrew (Drew) A. Flanigan ’03
- Bill Guerri ’74*
- Holly Holtz ’68*
- Vishnu S. Kalugotla ’10
- Andrew (Drew) D. Lieberman ’78*
- Jay Mason ’64*
- Leslie Davis Niemoeller ’79
- Ndidiamaka (Ndidi) G. Oteh ’00*
- Kristin Collins Pate ’01
- Megan Hamilton Rabbitt ’96
- Tal Merbaum Recanati ’82
- Peter (Bo) B. Rutledge ’88
- Avinash (Avi) G. Samudrala ’98*
- Henry (Terry) J. Scherck III ’62
- George M. Stein ’78
- Michael (Mike) C. Witte ’62*