Meet the Head of School

What literally drew me to Belmont Day School first was being on an AISNE accreditation team in 2013. I knew of Belmont Day, of course, while teaching at two different peer schools in the Boston area, but I didn’t really know the school. I didn’t know its community, its strengths, or what made it unique and so very special. I’m very happy to say that I learned very quickly during my work on that accreditation team that Belmont Day School truly lives its core values–responsibility, excellence, respect, honesty, caring, and joy. That’s what struck me most profoundly about Belmont Day, and it’s what drew me back to the school as a very enthusiastic candidate for the role of head of school. 

Belmont Day went through the AISNE accreditation process again just two years ago. While it’s never an easy process, and you are rightfully challenged as an institution in so many ways, it provides an opportunity for invaluable reflection. For me, that reflection brought an incredible sense of pride in and commitment to how we are furthering our core values. That’s what keeps me here, knowing that this community of educators, students, and families will always put those values first with every step we take into the future.

I am extremely proud of how our school responded to the COVID-19 pandemic. Across our entire community, and I truly mean everyone, responded not only with their expertise and hard work, but also with a huge measure of selflessness that allowed the community to center on safety and the continuation of our students’ education and the excellence they deserve. I think the greatest test of that time may have been for parents. When not in a worldwide pandemic, we welcome parents every day into our classrooms, auditorium, and gyms. But during those challenging months, parents needed to connect with us in other ways and trust our teachers and administrators. I feel we earned that trust, and our community has been stronger for it since.

First, let me say that it is hard to believe for both my wife, Saré, and me that all three of our children are already in or about to enter college. Beyond the cliché, time, especially as it relates to our children, absolutely does fly right by us. And I guess that’s where my advice for new parents at Belmont Day lands. Whether your child is entering Belmont Day as a pre-kindergartner or a sixth grader, or at any grade, their journey at this school will feel so quick. One moment, your child will be nervously speaking for 30 seconds at the third grade State Fair, and the next they’ll be owning the room for 30 minutes during their eighth grade Capstone presentation. 

The pace of change in our world is truly staggering. It’s our responsibility as parents to slow things down as best we can. How can we give our children (and ourselves!) the room and the time to enjoy and deeply experience the learning and the changes and challenges they are facing? Slowing down does not mean falling behind. Just the opposite: it’s giving our children the care they need through a whirlwind time to succeed … and have fun doing it.

Ah, Shakespeare! Why does Mr. Largay jump into our classroom with such joy for this centuries-dead playwright with his antiquated language and hidden meanings? Haha! That’s exactly why I teach Shakespeare! The challenge of Shakespeare reveals the beauty and power of not only his writing but also the process of reading and learning from it. As a middle school teacher, I know that students this age LOVE a challenge. It’s the same with reading Shakespeare as it is solving problem sets across the Kiva in Ms. Pikcilingis’ math class. When the students start to “solve” Shakespeare, they come alive in understanding and feeling its drama, its comedy, its romance, its life, and how it relates to their lives today from across those many centuries.

What a special gift it is to be a part of Belmont Day School’s history as we prepare to celebrate this important milestone. I feel incredibly fortunate to be here as our head of school at this moment. We’re planning to mark the occasion by bringing our community of alumni, current parents, alumni parents, faculty, past and present, together to celebrate the past and look to the future. Our vision for the future is being formed as we speak, through an engaging and comprehensive strategic planning process. I only wish that the founders of our school, a group of brave and committed local parents, could have seen across time to know that at the center of that strategic planning process are the core values they instilled from that very first day of classes in 1927. As we head into our second century, we are building on those values with a rigorous education that ensures the care every child needs to excel.