Academy Insider

We hope you are enjoying the long weekend that the Columbus Day holiday has provided to our Academy community. Thank you to everyone who came out last Friday evening to support our athletics department at the annual Charlie David Dinner. Photos and video from throughout the day’s festivities will be shared on the school’s social media channels in the coming days.

In addition to updates on construction and other issues that arise on our campus, one thing we hope to do with this blog is give you access to individuals who play important roles within our community. One person who certainly fits that description is Kevin Reeves, who is in his first year as President of Columbus Academy’s Board of Trustees. To learn more about our Board and to see a complete list of current Trustees, just go to www.columbusacademy.org/board.

Here is a recent Q&A with Board President Kevin Reeves:

Q: How long have you been serving on Academy’s Board of Trustees and what has been the biggest difference this year?

A: This is my sixth year on the Board. As Board President, you work more closely with the Head of School than you do when you’re one of 25 Board members, so that’s probably the biggest difference. I have bi-weekly meetings with Melissa, but she and I speak several times a week just regarding things that are going on with the school that she thinks I should be aware of. Additionally, there are things I become aware of that are happening within the community that I think would be useful for her to be aware of as well. I definitely find myself on campus a lot more frequently in my current role, so I’m very thankful that I live just a few minutes away.

Q: From your perspective, how is this school year going so far?

A: I think the year is off to an excellent start. I’ve been very pleased with the patience and forbearance of the community as a whole with the obstructions that are an inevitable part of undergoing such a major construction project. So my hat is off to the entire community – parents, faculty, staff and students – for their patience and flexibility in terms of dealing with the disruption that a major construction project like this causes.

Q: How is the overall project progressing?

A: It’s going very well. I think we benefitted from a spate of good weather, which helped us stay on schedule. To the best of my knowledge, we are on track to be ready to go by the start of the next academic year. So far, so good but we’ll certainly keep our fingers crossed that we have a relatively mild winter that allows us to keep our timeline.

Q: What has been the most beneficial aspect of being on the Board and now serving as Board President?

A: I probably have a much better understanding having been involved with the Board of what it’s like to be a student at Columbus Academy, and maybe that makes me a better parent. I also have a better understanding due to my role on the Board of what it’s like to be a faculty and staff member. So I think I kind of understand the full range of impacts of what it takes to deliver a Columbus Academy education far better than I would have had I not been a part of the Board these past six years. The delivery of a Columbus Academy education is a remarkable thing in a lot of ways. There are many things that come together each and every day to make that possible, but I think I have a much better understanding of it now than I did previously.

Q: What initially attracted you to Columbus Academy and bringing your children here?

A: Both my wife and I have been beneficiaries of excellent educations, so I think we realized very early as parents that we wanted to put our children in the best possible position to achieve whatever goals they might have for themselves down the line. Regardless of what they decide to do with their lives, the fundamental building block of being able to have those types of choices in life is a high-quality education. When we started thinking about educational choices for our children and investigating potential options, it was very clear to us that Columbus Academy stood out as a really impressive institution and one that we would be very fortunate to send our children to.

Q: How has your perception of the school been changed or fortified since then?

A: My perception of the school in many ways remains the same. There are always things that can be improved – and I think the school is aware of that and is always striving to put out a better product – but on balance, both of our children have had high-quality experiences with Academy and we as parents continue to be very pleased that our children attend Columbus Academy.

Q: What do you see as the biggest challenges for the Board and the school overall?

A: There are several challenges facing the Board and the school, but I’ll give you two examples. A Columbus Academy education is not cheap, so there are questions of affordability. Who will be able to benefit from a Columbus Academy education going forward if tuition continues to increase in the coming years as it has historically? We will price ourselves out of the market in terms of the vast majority of people who can afford a Columbus Academy education. So affordability is one of the big long-term challenges that the school will have to embrace. The other challenge is that the world is changing. What is being taught and the manner in which it is being taught will be fundamentally different 10 or 15 years from now. The school will have to continue to adapt, evolve and innovate. While the Board does not get involved in the day-to-day operational details of the school, I think it is a concern of the Board going forward that a Columbus Academy education remains on the forefront of cutting-edge educational practice.

Q: What is the one aspect of Academy that you most often share with others who may not know about the school?

A: The thing I talk about to others most frequently about Columbus Academy is how well the faculty and staff know the students. Their level of involvement goes far beyond just teaching from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. There’s a relationship that extends to after-school programs, sports, club activities and those sorts of things where there’s just a deeper bond between faculty and students that develops over time.

Q: What message would you most like to share with the Academy community?

A: Columbus Academy has been, is, and will continue to be a strong school and a well-run school. Academy today is the beneficiary of far-sighted decisions that were made years and years ago. I would like to think that the current Board is putting policies in place that will benefit parents, students, faculty and staff years and years down the road. This is an institution that’s built to last, and I think the Board members are very much aware that their role and responsibility is to hold the school in trust for future generations. It’s a responsibility that we all take very seriously.