Oh the places you'll go...

Each year, right around the time that the Royal Court of the Tournament of Roses is announced, I am reminded of the 80/20 rule (80% of the work is done by 20% of the workers). This certainly seems true of the seven impressive young women who survived the month-long winnowing out process which began with 900 supplicants to the throne. Our own Tracy Cresta ’13 is a case in point. Chosen to be one of the seven who will ride down Colorado Boulevard in royal splendor on January 1^st. At La Salle, Tracy is also a captain of the cross country and track and field teams and is a member of the National Honor Society, the California Scholarship Federation, Student Ambassadors and the Physical Activity Club. She will need to balance studying for tests, turning projects in on time, filling out college applications and maintaining a high degree of involvement in her chosen sports and activities while appearing at more than 150 events that is expected of a member of the Royal Court.  And, Tracy wasn’t the only Lancer ready to shoulder the burden of Tournament responsibilities. Jen Robi ‘13 and Alexandra Cross ‘13 made it to the final 25, from which the seven members of the Court were selected.

I find it fascinating that talented and involved young women like Tracy, Jen and Alex are willing to squeeze one more thing into their incredibly busy schedules. Even more remarkable is the fact that they confidently put themselves into an arena in which over 900 other teenagers were vying for the same seven slots on the Queen’s Float. While it may be true that many of the 900 contestants may not have been as serious about winning one of the seven slots which were awarded to Tracy and her companions, still, in an era in which adolescence is viewed by many as a self-centered world of drama, intrigue and wildly inaccurate gossip; these young women chose to lift themselves above the "sturm und drang" of adolescent social pressures to reach for a goal that, if achieved, meant more work, more self-discipline and less time to do the things that teenagers do.

What they may not realize, in the midst of the excitement and publicity which surrounds their selection to the Court, is that they are absorbing magnificent life lessons that will serve them well on their journey to adulthood. These are lessons that high school teachers have been trying to share with their adolescent charges for as long as schools have existed: discipline in one’s personal and professional life; cooperation with individuals one probably never met before and who may (or may not) become life-long friends, being pleasant to complete strangers (over and over again), channeling one’s energies in support of situations completely out of one’s control and, especially, smiling even when you don’t feel like it.

Tournament of Roses President Sally Bixby chose as her theme:

Oh the Places you’ll go

The great educational lesson for these young women is to be found in President Bixby’s observation that this year’s theme will have resonance in the lives of all the girls on the Royal Court.  In her words: "There is nothing you cannot do; nowhere you cannot be." I can’t think of a more important message to give young women who are about to enter the uncertain world of adulthood in which higher education and professional success are being challenged by economic turmoil. The Tournament’s world of possibility opened to these young women at the time of their 15 second interview in which they successfully distinguished themselves from the other 900 candidates.  But it didn’t stop there. This queen and her six princesses had to pass through four more rounds of interviews in which 250 candidates were reduced to 75, then 25 and finally, seven.  The stamina, commitment and drive needed to successfully negotiate this challenging process say a great deal about the Royal Court.  More importantly, it reflects their strength of character and sense of confidence so necessary later in life when they will be confronted with promoting themselves in job interviews, sustaining long hours as they build their career and balancing family and work, when the time comes.

            I asked Tracy Cresta what she has learned so far from her experience with the Tournament. Amazingly, she replied: “I’ve learned how to be more confident.”  This, from a young woman who has a full schedule of athletics and service activities at School on top of a grueling schedule with the Tournament. Oh, and by the way, she plans to attend either San Diego State University or Loyola Marymount University and hopes to become a lawyer and later, a judge.

“Oh the places you’ll go.”

You're Not Special...

I have become, of late, a reluctant devotee of YouTube. Increasingly I have found myself drawn to the Web-based video link as a result of friends and acquaintances who breathlessly urge me to view the “latest YouTube entry that has gone viral.” It took me more time than it should have to realize that the term “gone viral” was a metaphor for a rapidly expanding number of on-line viewers. The problem (for me) with YouTube is its use of an algorithm which predicts what similar types of videos might interest the viewer and then lines them up on the right side of the computer screen like obedient Londoners cueing up for the Piccadilly Circus bus. And, like a British bus cue steadily advancing to the moment of boarding, I find myself clicking on each successive link in the vain hope that I will get closer to the penultimate experience of knowing everything there is to know about the original video which brought me to the web site in the first place.


Which is why I was somewhat reluctant to access YouTube (once again, at the recommendation of a friend) to view a video entitled:”You’re Not Special,” a speech given by Wellesley High School teacher, David McCullough, Jr. to the Class of 2012. I imagined the thousands (if not millions) of graduation speeches videotaped and uploaded to YouTube, whose algorithm would park them to the right side of my computer screen. I feared that I would be unable to resist the temptation to click through these options and find myself hopelessly lost in cyberspace.

Fortunately, I was so captivated by McCullough’s talk that I successfully resisted the urge to make a long march through the cyber-world of commencement speeches. To understand why, you need to know that Wellesley High School was ranked 70th in the US News and World Report rating of public secondary schools, that 100% of its graduates go on to higher education; that it is situated within a community of 27,000 souls with no less than four colleges located within its city limits; and the median family income is north of $150,000.

So you can appreciate how intrigued I was by the concept of the “You’re not special” speech to a high school community which can be forgiven if they take for granted their privileged position within the Boston Metropolitan area. This is how McCullough frames Wellesley students’ lack of special-ness:

Across the country no fewer than 3.2 million seniors are graduating from more than 37,000 high schools. That’s 37,000 valedictorians…37,000 class presidents…92,000 harmonizing altos…340,000 swaggering jocks…

So think about this: even if you’re one in a million, on a planet of 6.8 billion that means there are nearly 7,000 people just like you.

Having set the stage for the commonality of high school graduates, he then delivers the punch line:

You see, if everyone is special, then no one is. If everyone gets a trophy, trophies become meaningless.

When thinking about others, or others’ children, we nod in agreement about the unassailable truth of his claim that, “if everyone is special, then no one is”…unless, of course, when considering ourselves and our children.
On a related note, I consider a non-issue in the current presidential election campaign, “American Exceptionalism,” to be a terrific example of this dynamic, writ large. If we are exceptional - “special” in McCullough’s nomenclature, then, America must be exceptional (special). I can’t think of a better way to derail voters’ consideration of the pressing issues confronting the country at this point in time then to take McCullough’s sardonic commentary about teenagers and apply it to a nation of 300 million people on a planet of 6.8 billion. Yet we persist in accepting this myth about ourselves, our children, and our nation. Here’s how McCullough describes this myth:

…we Americans, to our detriment, come to love accolades more than genuine achievement. We have come to see them as the point - and we’re happy to compromise standards or ignore reality, if we suspect that’s the quickest way, or only way, to have something to put on the mantelpiece, something to pose with, crow about, something with which to leverage ourselves into a better spot on the social totem pole. No longer is it how you play the game, no longer is it even whether you win or lose, or learn or grow, or enjoy yourself doing it…Now it’s “So what does this get me?” As a consequence, we cheapen worthy endeavors, and, building a Guatemalan medical clinic becomes more about the application to Bowdoin than the well-being of Guatemalans.

I’d like to claim that La Salle is immune to this dynamic of what I’ll call “teenage exceptionalism,” but the fact of the matter is we’re not. We’re human, riddled with all of the same temptations which afflict all of humanity. Parents’ hopes, dreams and fears are just as real here at La Salle as they are at Wellesley High School; and we all succumb to the desire to protect ourselves and our children from the all too frightening realities of the world which surrounds us.

I would be remiss, however, if I didn’t inject a note of hope and optimism which, I believe, characterizes the world of La Salle. Yes, like the parents, teachers and students of Wellesley High School, we aspire to be “special” here at La Salle. And, yes, as McCullough lays bare, we grasp - as any human would - onto whatever “brass ring” will give us, and our children, a “leg up” in this “dog-eat-dog” world. But I’d like to think that, at La Salle, parents, teachers and students recognize that we come together for all of the same humanity-inflected reasons that McCullough satirizes in his “You’re not special” speech; and because we believe that to be special means to be grateful; and to be grateful means to give back. This is the essence of the School’s motto:

Learn   Serve   Lead

And our motto compels us to recognize - and embrace - the fundamental point of McCullough’s “You’re not special speech”:

The sweetest joys of life come only with the recognition that you’re not special;

because everyone is.

In May we celebrated the accomplishments of La Salle’s recently graduated Class of 2012. They didn’t experience McCullough’s “You’re not special” commencement address. I’d like to think it’s because they didn’t need to.



The need to think when it's really hot...

It’s hot. I mean really hot…and not just in LA…everywhere in the continental US…even in Anchorage where it has reached historic highs for August. Every Sunday, for the past month, I’ve turned to the weather map in the Pasadena Star-News and all I saw was red (and a little bit of orange) from coast to coast. Here on the West Coast, for example, we had virtually no “June Gloom” to speak of and August temperatures in July and September temperatures in August. Now, relax, climate change enthusiasts (pro and con), this is not about global warming (though it could be about continental warming). This is about the things we take for granted - until some external condition forces us to re-examine our casual assumptions about how the world works.


During the three-year drought that recently ended in the LA Basin, homeowners in Pasadena, for example, recognized this dynamic every time they opened their PWP bill and found they were paying higher and higher rates to irrigate their lawn. We all painfully learned (myself, included) to irrigate our lawns once a week during the Fall and Winter and twice a week in Spring and Summer. Now that the drought is officially over; I am (and other homeowners are) tempted to return to our formerly profligate irrigation habits. I try to stick to the drought-based routines, but I miss my brilliantly green lawn and the Hostas in my back garden are parched and practically begging me to douse them with an extra round of irrigation (especially since termites destroyed the hackberry tree that protected them from the afternoon sun). For the better part of the last ten years I took for granted that, between the Colorado River and the State Water Project, I could happily douse my gardens with as much water as I liked. Then the drought hit and I had to learn new behaviors - which are now being put to the test by the unseasonable heat we have been experiencing for the lion’s share of the summer now ending.

All of which has caused me to reflect about how the arrival of a new school year and a new Principal (external conditions) will cause the members of the La Salle family (myself, included) to re-examine our casual assumptions about the way our School community works. As I write this, the Class of 2016 finished a day of orientation here on campus and their parents have arrived for their orientation this evening. I’ve asked a few parents how the morning session went for their son or daughter and the response has been remarkably consistent: “He/she loved the day and is excited about starting school tomorrow.” As far as I am concerned, that is about as good as it gets for a 13 year-old on the first day of school. For adults, however, the start of school produces hopes and fears (and not just among parents, by the way)…will the year be a good one…will (my) students/ (my)teachers like me? Will the new principal be like (or not) Pat Bonacci, AFSC? Will Dr. Gray ask me for more money? (That’s just to see if you read this far…if you did, let me know!)

In short, the arrival of a new principal and a new school year must result in the re-examination of casual assumptions about how La Salle works. And - quite frankly - that’s a good thing. The Class of 2016 brings its own opportunities and challenges to La Salle and Brother Christopher comes with more questions than answers as he attempts to make sense of the school culture we all take for granted. The one thing about schools that a climate change metaphor can’t explain is this simple proposition: when students, their parents, teachers and their administrators are brought together over a sustained period of time, anything can happen - and most of it will be good - especially if we let go of our casual assumptions about how our world ought to work.



Happy New Year!

On the ethic of care and service

Recently, I was asked to serve on a Dissertation Defense Committee at the Rossier School of Education at USC. A “Dissertation Defense Committee” is the final step before a graduate student is awarded a doctorate in her chosen field of study. Different universities have different requirements for the membership of a Dissertation Defense Committee. At USC’s Rossier School of Education, the Committee is composed of faculty directly involved with the graduate student’s research and a representative of the field of inquiry which is the focus of the dissertation. I was honored to be asked to serve on this particular committee because the focus of research was the “effective leadership practices of Catholic high school principals.” While it’s been a long time since I have had the opportunity to serve as a principal of a Catholic high school, I have been privileged to spend the last 12 years working along side one of the most caring and dedicated Catholic high school principals I have ever known. So, the opportunity to step back into the halls of the “academy” and to revisit the time-honored (and sweat-producing) journey from graduate student to doctoral candidate not only caused me to reflect on my own experience of this challenging reminder of my passage through this gateway (it involved a red-eye flight from California and spilled coffee on my pants moments before the Dissertation Defense Committee began its deliberations); but it also reminded me of the importance of studying schools, teachers, students and their parents with respect to how education brings “value-added” to the 12-year journey we call pre-collegiate education.

At schools like La Salle, it is all too easy to assign “value-added” (particularly given the outstanding college-prep options which exist here in the San Gabriel Valley) to the penultimate outcome of a student’s four-year journey to the college of his choice. I claim that this trajectory is “easy” (though most parents would argue that it is anything but) because that journey is only 50% of the goal which justifies La Salle’s existence. The other 50% is precisely linked to the focus of the dissertation that I was asked to evaluate - specifically how the leadership of Catholic High School principals impacts student achievement. A substantial portion of Chapter 2 of the dissertation (there are 5 chapters in the entire study) was devoted to the question: “how do the leadership strategies of successful Catholic high school principals impact teacher behavior and student learning?” Earlier I referenced the “penultimate” outcome of Catholic, college-prep high schools. College destination for schools like La Salle is the “penultimate” outcome because I have said in this space and elsewhere that the Mission of La Salle is to produce good students (college-prep) and good people (values-orientation).

Reading this dissertation reminded me of how critical the second aspect of a La Salle education is to the reason for our existence. Given the robust options for college-prep schools here in the San Gabriel Valley, it is understandable when families choose other highly-valued schools over La Salle. However, when that decision is made through the lens of moral, ethical and religious values, we expect parents to consider La Salle because of its substantial emphasis on the education of the whole person: academically, athletically, artistically and - most importantly - spiritually.

This reflection has been triggered by a wonderful component of the dissertation I have been asked to evaluate. The study makes the claim (with which I agree) that successful Catholic high school principals embrace the concept of “servant leadership” in their day-to-day behavior. In other words, the authority of Catholic high school principals is rooted in the “ethic of care and the ethic of service” which typifies their day-to-day practice.

As we transition from the leadership of one outstanding - and well known - “servant leader” (Pat Bonacci, AFSC) to another, less well-known, but well-regarded “servant leader” (Brother Chris Brady, FSC), I take comfort in this theory-based comment in the dissertation I have been asked to review:

“Having situational awareness entails being able to predict what might occur and being aware of issues that may not have arisen but could possibly create strife.”

We are all well-aware of Pat Bonacci’s outstanding ability to pay attention to “issues that may not have arisen but could possibly create strife. “ Having had the privilege of working with Brother Christopher for the better part of the last six weeks, I am reasonably confident that he will bring his particular skills to the world of La Salle which were described in the dissertation I have been asked to review.

On August 22nd, formally welcome the families of the Class of 2016. I am confident that they will be as comfortable with the leadership of Brother Christopher as the last fifteen years of graduates have been with Pat Bonacci. AFSC.

Happy New Year!

What Thomas Merton can tell us about Saints

I’ve been reading a wonderful book called My Life with the Saints by James Martin, SJ. It is a memoir of his life as a Jesuit as interpreted through a variety of heroic people (Catholics call them “Saints”) whose life stories enhanced his own understanding of his relationship to God and to the people he encounters on a daily basis.

His chapter on Thomas Merton, a Trappist Monk, who died in 1968, was a particularly compelling read for me. Almost 20 years ago I had read Merton’s journal, The Sign of Jonas. It described his life in the monastery over the course of five years as he prepared to be ordained a priest. Like any journal or diary, The Sign of Jonas entailed wading though more than a few entries detailing the mind-numbing quotidian of life in a monastery in which silence throughout the day is the norm rather than the exception. But, because Merton was recording his journey to the priesthood, there were more than a few nuggets of insight made by a brilliant young man who was convinced of his priestly calling, but who also wrestled with the demons of self-doubt and insecurity.

Here is how James Martin, SJ describes the impact Thomas Merton had on him:

Thomas Merton:

“struggled with some of the same things I did - pride, ambition, selfishness. And he was struggling with the same questions I was wondering about: What are we made for? Who is God? What is the purpose of our lives?”

At some point - however brief or extended - we all wrestle with these questions. Even the modern saint - Mother Teresa of Calcutta - stared at the abyss of self-doubt for significant periods. So, it seems, Merton’s struggles can be viewed as a natural part of the process leading to religious or spiritual maturity. Martin confirms this point by noting that:

”To me, Merton’s contradictions…revealed his deep humanity.”

Does that mean the unfolding challenges of the human condition can be compared to the lives of the Saints? Here’s what Merton had to say about that:

“For me, being a Saint means being myself”

For many of us, our piety precludes comparing ourselves to Saints; and yet, the human condition leads to an ongoing effort to be and to do good (sometimes successful, sometimes not)…and that’s as good a definition of sainthood as I can articulate. It is with this definition of sainthood in mind that we celebrate 27 years of devoted service by our beloved Principal Pat Bonacci, AFSC. And it is also with this definition in mind that we prepare to welcome Brother Christopher Brady, FSC as La Salle’s next principal. We have learned from Pat how to stay focused on the end-game: the central purpose of La Salle’s Mission to produce good students and good people. We have seen him model the virtues of dedication, commitment, patience and trust in others. We know what he stands for and the care and attention he brings to each individual encounter. We’ve seen him angry (rarely) and capable of self-doubt. In short, we’ve learned to respect, admire and have deep affection for a delightfully human principal.

In a like manner, we will learn - over time - the human and holy characteristics that make Brother Christopher a saint. We will discover his strengths and forgive his weaknesses. We will look to him - as we did to Pat - for guidance on how to become more saint-like. And he will look to us for guidance on how to encourage the students entrusted to our care to become more saint-like.

When I finished The Sign of Jonas, I remember being filled with hope that the human condition - while always a work in progress - is capable of producing saints on a regular basis. James Martin had this delightful way to describe the sanctity of Thomas Merton:

“Seeing that someone so human could be so holy gives me great hope.”

I agree.

At La Salle, we encounter more than a few examples of “saints-in-the-making…students, alums and teachers…all negotiating the same quotidian of daily living that challenged Thomas Merton to be his best self.

Public dialogue without the sound bites

On April 18th of this year a Vatican agency, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) issued a statement calling for a “Doctrinal Assessment of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR).” LCWR is a Vatican-recognized umbrella organization representing the issues and concerns of the 57,000 Sisters (women religious) living and working in the United States. This Vatican initiative is intended to assess the degree to which LCWR is fulfilling its role as an authentic representative of US nuns and sisters as they relate to the American Bishops and the authorities in Rome.

I won’t bore you with the details of this situation - other than to note that for Roman Catholics knowledgeable about the relationship between the Church here in the US and the Vatican, this is an extraordinarily controversial initiative that is quickly drawing sides between “traditional” Catholics who support the authority of the Vatican to engage in activities like the Doctrinal Assessment and “progressive” Catholics who argue for greater flexibility in how the Church functions at the local level.

I want to focus on this challenging situation because of the parallels that can be drawn between the current controversies raging around Health-care Reform (a.k.a. “Obamacare”). No sooner was the ink dry on the President’s signature of the Congressional legislation than right-of-center political groups immediately began calling for its repeal and targeting politicians who had supported the initiative. Here’s an example from recent Florida news Blog:

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce announced Wednesday it is pumping big bucks into Florida with its first multimillion-dollar ad blitz of the 2012 cycle, aimed at (Senator Bill) Nelson and a pair of Democrats running for the U.S. House: former Rep. Alan Grayson and longtime state and local politician Lois Frankel.

The complaint: each had voted in favor of Health-care Reform. Now, don’t get me wrong, I am a firm supporter of elections representing the will of the voters; and if a majority of voters are opposed to Health-care Reform, than their will should he heard and implemented. My issue with the Chamber of Commerce is that it is targeting three politicians over a single-issue. While the media may convince us that the only issue is Health-care Reform, we know that every federal, state and local politician must address myriad issues of concern to their constituents. Targeting politicians for a single vote suggests that political orthodoxy - not the complexity of issues and, certainly not the need to compromise in order to balance competing interests - forms the basis of the electoral system. Any High School Junior studying James Madison’s The Federalist Papers will be able cite his famous warning against the development of a “party spirit” in opposition to this approach.

How does this relate to the controversy swirling around the Vatican’s handling of LCWR? Well for starters, the organization refused to make a public comment regarding the April announcement and only this week (three months later) announced that its leadership team will travel to Rome to “discuss their concerns” with respect to the Vatican initiative. Then they will return to the US and conduct regional meetings to confer with their membership. In August, the annual meeting of the LCWR membership will convene to discuss a response to Rome.

I recognize that it is quixotic to expect the rough and tumble nature of American politics to pursue a similar, measured approach; but the LCWR’s cautious response to this controversy raises important concerns about how toxic debate in the public square has become here in the US. Consider this public statement by Franciscan Friars living in the United States:

The rancor and incivility of public conversation in the United States at this time make the possibility of productive dialogue more difficult to achieve. We pray that the future conversation between LCWR and CDF might provide an example to the larger world of respectful, civil dialog. Such dialog will require a degree of mutuality, trust and honesty that is absent from much of our world.

As a Catholic educator, I worry about the negative impact polarized politics is having on the students entrusted to our care. I worry about their ability to take advantage of the intellectual tools we have encouraged them to use when weighing opposing positions on the important issues of our time. I worry that they will be swayed by strident talking heads whose arguments are framed in “ad hominem” ways in order to encourage snap judgments on very complicated issues that rarely admit of easy solutions, much less ones that lend themselves to compromise.

As has been the case for the over 200 years in which religious nuns and sisters have toiled in schools throughout the United States, we are being given an excellent example of how to engage in public dialogue without resorting to “sound bites” and slick slogans to persuade those who don’t agree. Reflecting their female counter-parts’ carefully constructed “big picture” response to the challenge posed by CDF, the Conference of Major Superiors of Men reinforced the importance of listening carefully to both sides of an issue:

As the church and society face tumultuous times, the board (CMSM) believes it is imperative that these matters be addressed by the entire church community in an atmosphere of openness, honesty, and integrity.

I have no idea how things will end with the controversy swirling around Health-care Reform; nor do I have a glimmer of insight as to what will happen to LCWR as it engages in dialogue with the Vatican. I do know that we can learn a lot from their approach that would go a long way towards dialing down the stridency that is poisoning political conversation here in the US.

On the Value of Volunteers

Between meetings at the Christian Brothers’ Provincial Headquarters in Napa and Alumni gatherings in Northern California, Portland and Seattle, I spend a fair amount of time flying Southwest Airlines. So, it shouldn’t have been a surprise (it was) to read in their in-flight magazine that April is National Volunteer Month. I knew, for example, that February is National Black History Month and March is National Women’s History Month. I even knew that National Hispanic Heritage Month was - oddly -situated between two months (September and October) in order to commemorate eight Latin and Central American countries who declared independence in the last two weeks of September. But - and this is the point - for someone who has spent over thirty years in Catholic education - and, therefore, heavily reliant upon the enthusiasm of volunteers - I did not know that April is National Volunteer Month. Nor did I know that it began as National Volunteer Week with a declaration by President Nixon in 1974.

As a member of the Baby Boom Generation, I can safely assert that we did not grow up in a world that promoted altruistic volunteerism. Political and Church-based volunteerism was the norm for anyone whose adolescent years traversed the Sixties and Seventies. Even as a young teacher in the Seventies and Eighties, I did not observe a societal emphasis on community service - other than that required by most Catholic high schools in order for students to be eligible for graduation. The last twenty years, however, have witnessed a spectacular growth in altruistic volunteerism. In fact, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 64 million people volunteered at least once between September 2010 and September 2011; and that doesn’t include teenagers who must volunteer as part of a school-based community service requirement. Since 1989, the number of adults who volunteer has increased by 60 percent.

It’s anybody’s guess as to what explains this phenomenon. I’d like to think that the increasingly toxic political conversations taking place at the macro level in the public square has, in some measure, motivated individuals to try to make a difference at the micro level of their local community. Certainly, we see that here at La Salle. The School couldn’t function if it weren’t for the thousands of hours put in by parents to ensure that a bewildering array of events on and off campus is successfully launched. By the time you read this, the Crystal Ball will have come and gone; its success completely dependent upon the legion of volunteers, headed by Tess Crabtree, P ’12, ‘14 who spent the last 12 months making sure that every “T” was crossed and “I” dotted. PALS (Parents at La Salle) ensure that parents of incoming students have an experienced parent who is available to address their concerns and provide guidance and access to school administrators who can answer their questions. Unique among Catholic high schools, La Salle not only has a formal Parent Association, but four parent booster groups (Academics, Arts, Athletics, Student Life) as well. Student Life elections also took place recently. A record number of students stood for election, including Sophomore, Jamie Kwong, who sought the Commissioner of Service position. It occurs to me that something special is happening in a school where Sophomores are inspired to run for an office that promotes community service as a normative part of the student experience. Perhaps the most relevant example of how embedded service is in the culture of La Salle is that every student is expected to do service; but isn’t expected to count a minimum number of hours in pursuit of that expectation. This dynamic is effectively captured by two slogans that regularly pop up in the day-to-day lived experience of La Salle:

Enter to Learn - Leave to Serve

Learn - Serve - Lead

I am fond of asserting in this space, and elsewhere, that our Mission can be summarized rather succinctly in this way:

La Salle produces good students and good people

Now that I am aware of the fact that April is National Volunteer Month, I plan on becoming more forthcoming in my gratitude to parents, administrators, teachers and students who embrace service as an essential component of their lived experience of what I like to call The La Salle Difference.