RE Log - Spring 2016

SPRINg 2016 Ransom Everglades LOG 3 We salute our campus legend and these extraordinary women. Mr. Bowden did not allow his students to get complacent, and he doesn’t tolerate that from the school that’s been his home. As Advisor to the Head of School, he challenges me every day to find ways to enhance the broad-based education Ransom Everglades is proud to offer, teaching our students to exert themselves academically, in the arts, on our playing fields and through community service. He pushes us to learn more, un- derstand more, do more to ensure that RE graduates continue to possess the tools to navigate the world, and – in the tradition of Paul C. Ransom – leave it a better place than they found it. To that end, we announced this spring a new language program designed to produce graduates proficient in three languages, Spanish, English and Chinese or French – or another language added down the line. Starting with the incoming sixth-grade class, we will require three years of Spanish-language in- struction in the Middle School, in the hope that many native speakers will take the Advanced Placement Language exami- nation after the eighth grade. All students will be encouraged to broaden their language experiences in the Upper School, starting a new course of study in French or Chinese. Others may build on their Spanish with social studies and other classes taught entirely in Spanish. We hope this program will allow us to build a closer connection to the vibrant community around us while better preparing our students as they step into their futures. We also continue our work on initiatives designed to extend RE’s century-old tradition of excellence. We aim to enhance the curriculum to create the perfect blend of cutting-edge pro- grams, the experiential study of science, and a classic liberal- arts education. We want to continue to hire, train and retain an eminent faculty, identifying stellar teachers in the tradition of Mr. Bowden. We seek to more fully integrate technology to en- sure that we keep producing Janet Lustgartens. We also aspire to improve facilities and spaces, building strategically on the Ransom Campus to expand our programs and create academic centers of excellence so we can entice even more students like Ashleigh Johnson. As we grow, we want to provide more opportunities to students who otherwise could not afford an RE education. We have of- fered $730,000 in financial aid or remission to 29 of the 185 students (16 percent) granted admission to Ransom Everglades in the fall. Our efforts are bolstered by our resourceful and dedi- cated parents, who through REPA fundraisers like February’s annual auction expect to contribute more than $250,000 to the school this year alone. We continue to attract some of the top students in Miami-Dade County. Yet despite an extremely competitive admissions pro- cess, the 150-plus students offered admission to the sixth grade this year came from no fewer than 41 schools, 23 of which were public. Those numbers testify to the quality of our students, the richness of our diversity and our commitment to welcoming students from a broad range of backgrounds. They also say something about our outstanding reputation, which I am committed to enhancing and extending for at least another century or two. That reputation, which annually brings us excellent candidates for admission from all corners of the county and beyond, we owe in large part to the man pictured on the cover of this magazine. Thank you, Mr. Bowden. We are grateful for every one of those 60 years. “Mr. Bowden pushes us to learn more, understand more, do more to ensure that RE graduates continue to possess the tools to navigate the world, and – in the tradition of Paul C. Ransom – leave it a better place than they found it.”