Welcome From Our Head of School

For over 100 years, our school has been unapologetically focused upon our mission of developing young men of good character. Before coming to Belmont Hill, I had never worked in a single sex institution, yet I had always been intellectually convinced that character was the primary purpose of education. Through my own transformational experiences in school, particularly outside of the classroom, I had come to appreciate the power of role modeling and culture in the realm of adolescent development. I could not be more fortunate that this enduring curiosity led me to Belmont Hill.

Rather than a traditional Head of School welcome page, I want newcomers to our school website to understand how fully and deeply we think about character at Belmont Hill for boys specifically. Like other school sites, ours will reveal plenty of information about our campus, programs, and admission process and it will highlight our traditions and our commitment to excellence. Yet what really makes us different is our mission, culture, and never-ending quest for character. My dream for Belmont Hill is that we become known as a global leader in character education for boys. This quest drives my sense of purpose as I cross the street each morning from a family filled with girls – to the joyful chance to work together with the approximately 140 faculty and staff and 465 boys of Belmont Hill.

In an increasingly fractured and polarized world, we believe our mission and culture are resonating more clearly for families with boys than ever. This school has always been fueled by extraordinary teacher-coaches who have valued building relationships with their students more than teaching grammar or the intricacies of the Pythagorean theorem. Our school celebrates what is so great about being a boy without falling into preconceived notions of what “boys being boys” might look like. For teachers, students, and parents in our school – this all makes sense, but for prospective families and teachers, I suspect a bit of skepticism is out there. What do you mean by character? How exactly do you foster it? How do you know it is working? While I may not be able to answer all of those questions perfectly, I hope to try. I should also say that humility has to be central to our conception of character. We work with adolescent boys, who are by definition far from perfect. It is the process of character development that matters to us – not always acting perfectly. 

I hope this area of our website might demonstrate the depth of our conviction and intellectual curiosity for this work. To that end, I have highlighted the ways I see our pursuit of character education unfold on campus:

• Defining Character: The Belmont Hill Sextant
• Culture: Working Together & Accountability
• Excellence: A Curriculum for Boys
• Exposure: The Co-Curriculum
• Faculty: The Relational Teacher-Coach
• Growth: Professional Development and Research
• Tradition: The Power of Ritual
• Outcomes: Alumni

Sincerely yours,