This month, at Fall Family Weekend, we unveiled the results of the values initiative we have been working on behind the scenes for quite some time now. This process has been incredibly rewarding as we discover that Stevenson’s values are already ingrained in our community, they are already lived, experienced and remembered by our families, students, faculty and alumni. I engaged in many conversations over that weekend that only further reinforced these values.
These values didn’t come from any one person deciding on behalf of an entire community. They came from surveys and conversations with students, parents, guardians, alumni, faculty and staff. We asked one question: when Stevenson is at its best, who are we? Six themes kept coming back:
- Engage with Curiosity – approaching learning and the world with openness, wonder and a love of discovery.
- Lead with Kindness – treating others with dignity and care in both our words and our actions.
- Act with Integrity – taking ownership of our choices, honoring others and building trust.
- Embrace Challenge with Courage – taking healthy risks and supporting one another as we grow beyond what feels comfortable.
- Build Community – welcoming different perspectives and creating belonging and shared purpose.
- Cultivate Confidence, Unlock Potential – recognizing possibility in one another and building confidence through encouragement and opportunity.
None of this is new for Stevenson. It’s a description of what we already do, written down so it is explicit and visible – and so new students and families know what to expect.
These values create the conditions for excellence, and they are how we get there. Curiosity is what makes a student stay with a hard problem instead of giving up on it. Courage is what gets a student to take the academic or athletic risk that actually produces growth. Integrity and community are what make a team – a classroom, a locker room, a dorm – trust each other enough to perform at a high level. And confidence is what turns potential into results.
At Fall Family Weekend, five students sat on stage and talked – unscripted – about what these values actually look like in their own lives:
“Engaging with curiosity is what originally got me here at Stevenson, and I’ve loved it,” one said.
Another put kindness simply: “If you could do one thing forever, I think you should always just be kind.”
A third talked about courage as a habit, not a single moment: “I’ve been always trying to challenge myself every year, trying new things every year… no matter where I go, I should always challenge myself.”
It takes some courage to say that out loud to a room full of parents. These weren’t polished talking points. That’s just how our students talk about their time here, when you ask them directly.
Here’s what I’d ask of you this school year: notice these moments when they happen, and say something. Tell the person. Tell us, too – we want to keep collecting these stories. We are doing this in Upper Division assemblies this year with the new Praise a Pirate initiative, where students can nominate a peer in recognition of moments when they quietly demonstrate these values.
Stevenson’s motto has guided us for a long time: Suaviter in modo, fortiter in re – gentle in manner, resolute in deed. Our school prayer directs us to be loyal and loving to one another. The six values are really just another way of saying the same thing.
Dr. Dan Griffiths
President
