Even though he wasn't in a classroom, Wilbraham & Monson Academy Head of School Brian Easler recently passed a meaningful test.
After giving a three-day presentation to representatives from boarding schools throughout the world at a conference in Florida in early February, Mr. Easler was already asked to come back to deliver his educated message at next year's event.
"It seemed to go well," Mr. Easler said. "They asked me to be the regular guy. They want me back so I guess I passed the test."
Mr. Easler was one of two presenters at the Winter Residential Life Workshop, which was hosted by the Association of Boarding Schools. The seminar drew school deans and directors of residential life from 22 schools in the United States, Canada and China.
"This workshop is advertised to every boarding school in the world," Mr. Easler explained. "Since it's a faculty of only two, the name Wilbraham & Monson Academy under my name would be in front of every boarding school in the world. That's good for us."
With developing a residential curriculum serving as the theme, Mr. Easler focused on his strengths as a former dean of students at the Academy.
"All of the logistical stuff that goes along with running a program, that's what I brought to it, such as safety, liability, putting plans into place, staffing and evaluation."
Mr. Easler doesn't like being away from the WMA campus while classes are in session. However, presenting at the conference was not only good for the school, but also a valuable reminder for him as he nears the end of his second year as head of school after serving so many years as the dean of students.
"I enjoyed my experience," he said. "My first year-and-a-half at the Academy as the head of school has been necessarily focused on things like school finance and administrative staffing and things that are important to set a foundation for us to move forward.
"The reason why teaching this workshop was particularly helpful was because in combination with thinking about the vision of the school and a strategic plan, this helped bring me back to why we're really here. At our heart, the essence of our school is we are a boarding school. We have boarding and day students, but the beauty of a boarding school is the fact that a boarding component makes it better for day students, too. Having that focus and that kind of environment on campus is good. And, honestly, it's what distinguishes us from most other schools in the world. It was good to bring me back to that and refocus as we start to develop a strategic plan moving forward."