When I came to Pierrepont School in 2002 after being at Saint Ann’s School for twenty-six years, people asked me how I felt about leaving a place that had provided such a vibrant intellectual life for me and my family. At the time, I replied that I was not leaving, I was bringing the best of Saint Ann’s to Connecticut. Far from burning bridges, I was building them. But now I know different. Nothing needed to be transplanted; the origin, already here, born of a deep commitment to the life of the mind, simply needed to grow. In its short life, Pierrepont School has become its own entity, inspired by what happens at Saint Ann’s, but developing in response to our unique situation. To be part of such a community is a great honor and joy.

I am a believer. In the deepest and most elemental sense, I am committed to the philosophy and the reality of this young school. I am convinced that what happens here should happen everywhere; that is, that children should be asked to think for themselves, be encouraged to pursue their passions, and be made to believe that what they have to say is worth hearing.

I know firsthand that there is no deeper joy or more sacred trust than being a parent to a child. As head of this growing school, I recognize the leap of faith needed for any parent to entrust a child into our care, but as a long-time parent and teacher, I know that education happens as an organic, dynamic interchange between thinking people, and not by virtue of elaborate facilities or long-established formula. I believe that such an education begins by surrounding children with people who meet them where they are and can take them where they have never been, who respect their intelligence and honor their innocence, who embrace the life of the mind and reject the constraints of conformity. Good education is messy. It does not come in straight rows accompanied by neat handwriting and docile, quiet attention. It requires recognition of each child’s gift, and an unwavering support for their explorations of the world, however halting or bold. It happens by means of paint dripped on the floor and test tubes broken. It celebrates rather than circumscribes life.

I left a school that opened doors for my children into poetry and language, into dance and theater, into math and science, and beyond. I am now helping to build here another place where I would have been happy to send my own children.

Barbara O’Rourke