Thanks to Mr. Baldecchi,
bow ties are a popular
TLS fashion statement.
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| HEADLINES |
Charles D. Baldecchi
Head of School
NTENTS
With gratitude for a job I love (past, present, and future),
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I have so many wonderful memories of The Lexington School. I have memories of the
interview process and the energy and enthusiasm I felt for this school. TLS clicked in my heart
from the start. I remember our first Holiday Concert with Bella in my arms, Alex in Erin’s
belly, and Cade not yet a thought. I remember our last Holiday Concert and tears streaming
down my cheek as the sound of sweet voices singing “One Candle” wafted through the gym.
This year’s eighth graders were born the year we arrived at TLS, and the eighth graders I first
handed a diploma to that first Friday in June fifteen years ago are now knocking on the big 3-0.
There are so many milestones to remember over the years like moving into the Lower
School Building, Celebrating the 50th Anniversary, starting The Learning Center, and breaking
ground on the new Academic Center. While those milestones are significant, the truth is they
aren’t what I have reflected on the most these last couple of months. It’s the community. It’s the
students and their parents. It’s the faculty and administration. It’s the board of trustees and the
alumni. It’s the trust we share – that we have earned over time. The beautiful work of education
and leading a school community is that each day and each decision is different. There is no
“playbook” with the right answers, and when there is no “right” answer, trust is essential.
Humans make mistakes, especially humans who are growing into young adults. Making
mistakes is the only way a person learns, grows, matures. Adults make mistakes, too – parents,
teachers, Heads of School. If we trust one another, though, we allow room for imperfection
and, paradoxically, that leads to a “perfect” education. Like the students who have graced these
“halls of learning,” I, too, have grown up as a person, as a father, as a friend, as a leader. The
Lexington School is my home. An old African Proverb says, “It takes a village, to raise a child.”
The Lexington School has raised me; it’s my village. I share this experience with the thousands
of children who have gone to school here since 1959, and I will be forever grateful to every
member of this community – this school – for the rest of my life.
The term Alma Mater can be translated as “nourishing mother,” and the idea is your school
nourishes you – feeds your intellect, your character, your soul, your humanity. How can
someone ever say thank you for that? The good news is a mother doesn’t need a thank you. She
gives love unconditionally. Because of this, I have been “nourished” by The Lexington School,
and I love her back unconditionally!
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Photo: Michele MacDonald