From the Head of School

During last Tuesday’s upper school assembly, two speech and debate students, Claudia Colina ’25 and Lucas Sanchez ’27, stood in the center of the Lewis Family Auditorium stage and shared a performative piece examining the historical plight of Mexican-Americans. The pair had no props or costumes, and each played several characters. When they finished, their peers rose to their feet. It started with the seniors, and soon the entire student body was standing, applauding and cheering the moving performance. The ovation lasted nearly a minute. A colleague leaned over to me and whispered: “I’ve never seen anything like this.”

We were proud and thrilled to learn that Ransom Everglades was recently named one of the top 10 schools in North America – and top 100 schools in the world – in the Spear’s 2024 Schools Index. An honor and distinction, it reflects the work of our entire community. Yet there is no question that one group is particularly deserving of recognition: Our extraordinary faculty.

One hundred and twenty members of the Class of 2024 – about three-fourths of the class – returned to Ransom Everglades in August to say final goodbyes before departing for college. They clearly treasure the relationships they have formed over the years. No longer RE students, they remain firmly – and eternally – connected to the RE community, no matter how far away their journeys take them.

Spring celebrations at RE offer special opportunities to honor alumni who live out the mission of Ransom Everglades School and reflect the values of our founders. By presenting our most prestigious alumni awards during our traditional student ceremonies, we allow our students an up-close look at the powerful impact of lives built on service. It was a privilege this spring to honor two influential servant leaders from Ransom Everglades: Joshua Williams ’18 received the Founders’ Award for Distinguished Service to the Community at commencement on May 24, and Rudy Prio Touzet ’76 received the Head of School’s Award for Distinguished Service to the School at the upper school awards ceremony on April 30.

There are many things we are doing as a school to contribute to environmental sustainability, from increasing our reliance on solar panels and electric tools/implements to investing in composting and recycling. We know that our actions as an institution matter. We also know that our students’ actions matter even more – they are the ones who have the power to change the world. That is why the annual Ransom Everglades Climate Symposium, a truly extraordinary student research event in its eighth year, is so imperative and encouraging. This year’s symposium took place on April 30 to conclude Earth Month.

When RE’s board of trustees unveiled our core values (The RE Way) last year, it served as a reminder that Ransom Everglades is more than a school. The values – support and community, diversity and inclusion, honor and excellence, service and outreach, and joy and wellbeing – have little to do with achieving an A on a test or in a course. Although our students exemplify excellence, we aren’t a factory churning out excellent students. We are an important institution in our city that strives to send out academically prepared, capable and empathetic citizens ready for life’s challenges. That aspiration was the driving force behind the recent creation of the Life After RE Seminar Series for members of the Class of 2024.

As winter break came to a close last week, I found myself thinking about a New Year’s resolution for our great school. What should RE resolve to do in 2024? My mind kept returning to our core values, all of which serve as guideposts and are critical to our students’ growth and the school’s identity. Yet as we prepare students to enter a world that is increasingly divisive and fractured, and which can offer quick rewards at a great ethical cost, the core value that seems particularly worthy of renewed commitment is Honor and Excellence.