Head’s Lines: Exploring Park’s Hidden Potential

Though I grew up in a city, I know that many of the most powerful, formative experiences of my childhood took place outdoors – exploring woods and fields, rocks and coastlines.

There was something about being able to range freely in an unstructured, natural environment that inspired curiosity, creativity, and discovery in ways that more structured learning and play environments could not do. Even now, when time allows, nothing appeals to me more than the chance to get out into the woods, and I love sharing the wonder and discovery I find there with my children.

Many aspects of The Park School appealed to me when I considered joining the community seven years ago — the proximity to Boston, the School’s commitment to academic excellence, the whole child, and the diversity of the community — and I knew the opportunities Park offered aligned with my core values and intellectual ambitions. The work of the last several years has proved this to be true, focused on strategic work to enhance Park’s academic program, the delivery of social-emotional learning, and the emphasis on diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging.

It wasn’t until recently, however, that I understood how powerfully Park’s potential also connects to the love of the outdoors rooted in my childhood, and how excited I am by the opportunity we have to give all Park’s students the chance to enjoy that wonder and discovery right here at 171 Goddard. 

In recent weeks, I’ve spent time walking our campus in the company of trustees, colleagues, parents, and guardians, enjoying the opportunity to see Park with new eyes and from new perspectives.  Most of the time, when we look around campus, our focus centers on the buildings, but these explorations open up entirely new views that reveal the extraordinary resource that is Park’s campus.

There was something about being able to range freely in an unstructured, natural environment that inspired curiosity, creativity, and discovery in ways that more structured learning and play environments could not do.

On a recent morning, I walked with a dozen community members across the back roadway and stood on the driveway to my home at 133 Goddard. Looking off to the north, someone asked, “How far does the property go?” I explained, “See over there, in the distance, where you see daylight again? That’s where the School’s property ends.” You need to cross a lot of woodland to get there. It’s a lot of space.  

The topography is dramatic, dotted with puddingstone outcroppings, trees, a pond and a creek. Peering into the six or seven acres of wooded space, you can’t help but imagine children scampering through the leaves in unstructured play or climbing on new play structures, while others gather in outdoor classrooms. Once we see the possibilities, it’s clear that we have a responsibility to make these resources accessible to our students. As we walked, folks on the tour fed off each other’s enthusiasm and vision, chiming in with ideas. The enthusiasm is infectious.

Our walk brought us through the woods, past the pond that supports all of Park’s campus irrigation, around our fields, along our cross-country trails, and to a view very few ever experience as members of the Park community. From a vantage point at the northwest corner of the North Field, the panorama stretches from the PreK playground to the turf field and ropes course, the white house at 235 Goddard, the view up Larz Anderson, across the main field, and back across the North Fields. Expansive, vast, so much already offered and untapped potential. 

As we walked past the PreK playground, it occurred to me that this space is a microcosm of all our campus offers. The climbing structure and swings are manufactured play features. The sandbox is nature-built. And beyond those is a nature play area. So many ways to play, so many ways to engage with friends and invent – so much discovery encompassed in that safe and welcoming environment created for our youngest students.  

Here, a stone’s throw from the Boston city line, I believe we have a responsibility to use the opportunities this amazing resource, this campus, offers for students to immerse themselves in nature's beauty.

Then, when you stand in the middle of the turf field, you experience the power of that potential on a much larger scale – from the high ropes course to the playing fields and playgrounds and the woods beyond. The diversity and opportunity this campus encompasses is, simply, astounding.

Imagine standing there on a golden, sun-lit fall day, and you might just begin to feel my excitement. Here, a stone’s throw from the Boston city line, I believe we have a responsibility to use the opportunities this amazing resource, this campus, offers for students to immerse themselves in nature's beauty. Sure, we could just leave it there, undiscovered. But we are a school, and it’s our job to make sure that all our resources are put to maximum use to benefit our students.

I’m grateful to all the families who took the time to take this walk, and wish everyone could have the opportunity to enjoy this campus on a beautiful fall morning as we did, to feel the pride that comes with knowing that “this is our school,” a place where you can walk and revel in nature, and have a moment of simple and sincere appreciation.

By Scott Young, Head of School

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