Recently a CWA parent told me about an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal entitled “Weighing the Value of That College Diploma.” While much of the article is unsurprising, the last paragraph contains an interesting twist worth noting!

(Unless the WSJ changes the link, the article can be found here)

Since my first blog post about the H1N1 virus we have conducted a second H1N1 vaccination clinic.  We were able to provide second vaccinations to students under 10 who received their first vaccinations at our first clinic, to vaccinate seniors (who were not able to be vaccinated last time due to a shortage of doses) as well as provide vaccinations to some students who missed the opportunity the first time around due to illness. Read the rest of this entry »

The initial news last spring about the H1N1 virus was not good. Early reports from Mexico suggested that the disease caused by the virus was far more virulent than the seasonal flu, and seemed to hit younger folk particularly hard. I had read about a private school in New York which was hit hard after students returned from a trip to Mexico. The anxiety level was increasing rapidly as the media reported breathlessly about this potential threat to public health. At that point, we made what seemed at the time to be a pretty routine decision that turned out to be quite fortunate in terms of what it allowed the school to do. Read the rest of this entry »

Shortly — very shortly — after I had written one of the larger checks of my life to the college my daughter had just entered, my wife and I received a solicitation from the annual fund of that college. I have to admit, my first thought was, “Are you kidding? I just wrote a huge tuition check and then they ask for a donation on top of that?” Then, of course, I remembered that I have been the Headmaster of a school for 20 years now, and I really do understand why an Annual Fund is vital to the success of private schools at all levels. Read the rest of this entry »

For a number of years now I have marked the opening of school by standing just inside the campus entrance gate to wave at parents and students as they arrive for the first days of school.  The smiling faces of those I haven’t seen for a couple of months starts the rapid transformation of CWA from it’s summer form of “a bunch of buildings and a few staff” to a vibrant community. Read the rest of this entry »

Sometime during the evening of Monday, January 19, Sam Brown breathed his last breath and joined his beloved wife Nathalie, who passed away just over two years before. With the passing of the school’s founders, Sam and Nathalie Brown, an era in the life of the school has also passed. Read the rest of this entry »

When someone asks the question “exactly who is it that makes the decisions at CWA about inclement weather closings or late openings,” the most appropriate response is “although there is a team of CWA staff involved in collecting the information necessary to make the best decision possible, ultimately the Headmaster makes the final call.” Read the rest of this entry »

The economy has been on the mind of nearly everyone lately.  It seems that nearly every week some bad news hits the headlines.  I’ve been asked by a number of people how the turmoil around us may affect Charles Wright.  I recently sent a letter to parents on this topic….Please click on the link to read it.

Ever since moving with my family to the Northwest in 1996, our Thanksgiving ritual has been the same: the drive, often in the rain, through Seattle to the Mukilteo ferry and across to Whidbey Island. My younger brother and sister-in-law moved to Whidbey in 1993, and when my family came to the area, it marked the first time that my brother and I lived near each other in over 20 years. My brother had moved out west, and I stayed east, and we did not see each other very often. Read the rest of this entry »

One of my favorite things to do is to visit the first grade to watch an “Authors’ Tea” in action.  Several times a year the first grade classes write their own stories, based on the theme they’ve been studying, and then read the stories out loud to each other and to the “assembled multitude” of parents and grandparents who proudly look on. Read the rest of this entry »