Foreword
Allen-Stevenson flourishes because of everyone’s best contribution, so it is up to each employee to put theSchool’s collective “best foot” forward. The School is fundamentally a human community, and employeesoften personify the institution. This Employee Handbook hopes to make that responsibility easier by definingour policies and procedures, along with our values and traditions and hopes. It is meant to be an educationaldocument. It tries to depict a big picture.Seeing the big picture can make work easier. As you read through this Employee Handbook, try to think of itnot just as a book of rules, but as a larger view of Allen-Stevenson and of the powerful impact it can have onthe boys in our care. Colleague John Pariseau has suggested that all rules boil down to four kinds of respect.
Respect for Self Respect for OthersRespect for PropertyRespect for Education
In a society that often shows so little, we seek to nurture respect while maintaining a positive outlook. One of my favorite stories suggests the power of one’s attitude to make work meaningful. The story goes like this:One spring day a man was walking down a street when he encountered a large constructionsite. Because he was naturally curious and had a moment to spare, he decided to see what was being built.He came upon a stonemason laying stones and asked him what he was doing. The stonemasonreplied, "I am laying stones."The man continued walking and came upon a second stonemason. He asked, "What are youdoing?" The second stonemason replied, "I am building a wall."The man continued walking and came upon a third stonemason. Again he asked, "What areyou doing?" And this third stonemason replied, "I am building a cathedral."Three men - all working at the same site, performing the same task - each had three verydifferent perspectives of what he was working toward.For all of us Allen-Stevenson really can be a cathedral, a sustaining community in which to teach and learn andwork. It is certainly now an astonishing environment for boys in their most important developmental years— school the way it
should
be for them. Why not pool our resources to make it that good for the adults, too?If you can consider these suggestions as you read through the School’s rules, you may discover what it is aboutAllen-Stevenson that makes it so extraordinary. Even though this document is long, the Handbook is the mostcurrent compilation of how the School works. So please forgive the inclusion of guidelines that may seem likecommon sense or that may be repeated in various parts. Sometimes I have risked stating the obvious, or repeating a point, for the sake of clarity and thoroughness.
Fortiter et recte!
David R.Trower
Headmaster
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