Part of Roxbury Latin’s continuity is that we are always welcoming new people to our ranks—students, faculty, and staff. This year, a record eleven new members of the faculty and staff will join RL as teachers and administrators, coaches and advisors.  

Alec Bleday joins the Alumni and Development Office as a Major Gifts Officer. A seasoned development professional, Mr. Bleday has served The Pantry, Xaverian Brothers High School, the Celebrity Series of Boston, as well as the Salvation Army in various fundraising roles, including directing annual giving and major gifts. He also founded ECH Outreach, which served through podcasts to share information about cancer research. Mr. Bleday graduated from Xaverian Brothers High school where he was a cross country and track standout. His coaches included faculty members Bryan Dunn and Chris Heaton. Mr. Bleday went on to the University of Pennsylvania from which he received a BA in Classical Studies and competed for the track and field team. He earned his MBA from Babson in 2016. In addition to his development work, Mr. Bleday will teach a section of Latin and assist with freshman soccer.

Jack Colavita ’17 had an outstanding career as a Roxbury Latin student. Elected president of both his junior and senior classes, Mr. Colavita also served as editor-in-chief of the Yearbook, as well as captain of the varsity soccer team. A superb student, he extended himself on behalf of the varsity lacrosse team as well, and earned both the publications prize and the Berenberg Prize at graduation. He was known for his talent, leadership, and ability to galvanize members of whatever community he was serving. Mr. Colavita went on to Georgetown from which he graduated in 2021 with a degree in Classics. He was a student assistant in the Classics Department, a writer for the student newspaper The Hoya, and co-founded a record label that featured two score student musicians. Over his college summers, Mr. Colavita worked at Fidelity Investments. During this past year, he worked as a lead tutor for SoFlo SAT Tutoring, helping to train fellow tutors, and expanded the training skills to several communities that might not otherwise afford such test preparation. Mr. Colavita is one of two new Penn Fellows this year—teaching, coaching, and advising while also earning a master’s in education from the University of Pennsylvania. He will teach English 7, as well as a section of Latin 1. He will also serve as head freshman soccer coach, and assist with junior varsity lacrosse.

Kristen Gibbons began her new career this summer as Assistant to the Headmaster. Mrs. Gibbons boasts similar connections to RL as her two predecessors: Both Mrs. Joan Regan, and, most recently, Mrs. Elaine Driscoll, had boys who attended the school. So, too, have Mrs. Gibbons’s boys, Brendan ’19, and Aidan ’23 been RL students. Like Mrs. Driscoll, Mrs. Gibbons is married to an RL alumnus (Paul ’86), and with her husband served as a co-president of the Parents’ Auxiliary. She knows Roxbury Latin well, and from various angles. Mrs. Gibbons is a Milton native and earned her degree in economics at Holy Cross. She had an early career with Fidelity Investments at which she served in customer service, as well as in marketing, and investment resources. Her family spent 13 years in Chicago where she was active as a school volunteer and helped as both a fundraiser and a liaison for parents. Mrs. Gibbons has worked similarly on behalf of the Dover-Sherborn School District and the Dover Education Fund. Most recently, she has run her own successful floral business.

Matthew Golden joins the faculty after a successful stint at another boys’ school, Trinity-Pawling, in downstate New York. Mr. Golden graduated from Bates College in 2020. He was a sociology major and educational studies minor. Mr. Golden was also the quarterback and captain of the varsity football team. He was named to the NESCAC All-Academic Team and received the Harward Center Award for community volunteerism and leadership. Mr. Golden was also famous as the public address announcer for various other sports. He attended Bishop Stang High School in Dartmouth, Massachusetts, and was elected by his classmates as their class president three years running. He played three varsity sports: football, basketball, and track and field. He captained the football team which was the conference champion, as well as the basketball team which won the state championship. Mr. Golden was a three-time Eastern Athletic Conference All-Star. He has had various jobs in schools and camps, and has extensive experience connecting the Lewiston Middle School with Bates students. At RL, Mr. Golden will serve as Assistant Director of Athletics, teach in the Health and Wellness program, assist with the junior varsity basketball team, and lead the football program as the head varsity coach.

A native of Pakistan, Wasib Hayat joins RL as Director of Information Services. A graduate of Lahore American School, Mr. Hayat came to Boston to study at Northeastern, from which he received his bachelor’s in computer engineering technology. That launched a career in systems, programming, and leadership in various companies, including Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Hocoma North America, and, most recently, Atos at which he was the Information Technology Manager. Mr. Hayat has capitalized on his broad experience and talent by enrolling in the Harvard Master’s in Information Systems program; he will receive his advanced degree in 2024. At RL, Mr. Hayat will supervise all technological features of our instructional and administrative programs and serve as a worthy collaborator to colleagues who will be advancing technology to enhance and to help us realize our evolving, more modern mission.

Rachel Korotkin joins RL as a teacher of visual arts and Chair of the Arts Department. A Michigan native, Ms. Korotkin earned her BFA in photography and lighting design for theater from the University of Miami; she minored in art history. Her career began with various stints working in museums as a curator and educator. She began her teaching pursuit in earnest at Hamlin School in the Chicago area, at which she taught all types of art as well as social studies. Most recently, Ms. Korotkin has served as the art teacher at one of the area’s foremost charter schools, the Match Charter School. Ms. Korotkin attended the Tufts University/Museum of Fine Arts program and earned her MAT in art education in 2017. She has worked in various settings, including camps, and has an eclectic repertoire in ceramics, drawing, glass blowing, graphic design, painting, printmaking, and sculpture. She has also worked for various theaters as chief lighting designer. Ms. Korotkin will teach art across the grades and will also serve as the chief lighting designer for our Smith Theater. She will work closely with Mr. Nelson on all productions and train a cadre of boys to design and execute theatrical lighting. In part, her new course as part of the Arts 10 electives on theater tech will launch them.

Alex Pellegrini ’10, one of the most respected and beloved members of his Roxbury Latin class, returns to Alma Mater to take on a newly created position. (He was an RL boy after all, and, therefore, taking on responsibilities that are challenging and varied is nothing new for him.)  Mr. Pellegrini will serve as Assistant Director of Admission, Assistant Director of Alumni Affairs, teach two sections of graphic design to members of Classes VI and V, coach hockey and baseball, and help as an advisor. Mr. Pellegrini comes to us most recently from a promising career as a graphic designer. He worked both in-house and as a consultant for a handful of forward-leaning companies in Boston as well as Colorado. He currently runs his own company, Grayfield LLC. Mr. Pellegrini helped us out over the past year as a teaching assistant and also coached hockey and track at Park School. A committed scholar and three sport varsity athlete (football, hockey, baseball) during his time as a student, Mr. Pellegrini also sang in the Glee Club and helped lead Tripod as its business manager. One Founder’s Day, we were serenaded into the festivities by Mr. Pellegrini playing the bagpipes—a remarkable cross-cultural achievement! He was also the inaugural member of an exchange with Scotch College in Melbourne, Australia. Mr. Pellegrini also went on school-sponsored trips to France and Peru. He graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder with a degree in creative advertising and a minor in economics. 

David Smith joins Roxbury Latin as Dean of Students, teacher of English, history, and health and wellness, and coach. A seasoned school person, Mr. Smith hails from Northern Virginia. He graduated from the College of William and Mary with a degree in religious studies; he earned high honors for his thesis. Subsequently, he earned a master’s in theological studies at the Harvard Divinity School, and has completed all the course work for a Ph.D. in American history from the University of Virginia. Mr. Smith taught for five years at Virginia’s St. Anne’s Belfield School, then headed by RL alumnus David Lourie ’89. At St. Anne’s, Mr. Smith taught all types of history courses, including American and European as well as an innovative, interdisciplinary American studies course to juniors. He was a grade level dean and served as both the assistant varsity and head jv lacrosse coach. As Dean of Students, he was responsible for designing and running various leadership programs as well as overseeing the advisor program. Over the past year, Mr. Smith taught, coached, and ran a boys’ dormitory at Virginia’s fine boys’ boarding school, Woodberry Forest School. He also helped run the outdoor program there. Building on his experience and training, Mr. Smith will serve as RL’s Dean of Students, teach English 11, offer a new semester course for seniors called Creating A Common Good, help run and teach the Health and Wellness program for younger boys, run our student leadership program, and serve as the head coach of jv lacrosse.

Geoff Theobald is a giant among Greater Boston independent school educators. For thirty years, he has held critical positions at two prominent brother schools and helped to shape the destinies of those institutions, their faculties, and their students. Mr. Theobald began his teaching career by returning to his Alma Mater, Milton Academy, where he was a “lifer,” having spent 13 years there as a student. In addition to teaching math at all levels, Mr. Theobald, at one time or other, served as Director of Admission, Dean of Students, Director of Community Service, and Academic Dean. In 2010, he became the Upper School Director at BB&N. With more than 500 students in that division, BB&N looked to Mr. Theobald to shape that program and lead the more than 100 adults who taught those students. He also taught math and was the girls’ varsity soccer coach. For six summers, he was the head of Exploration School’s senior program at Yale, serving almost 1,500 domestic and international high school students. Mr. Theobald earned his BA in history cum laude as a Morehead Scholar at the University of North Carolina, to be followed by his earning his master’s of social work, also from UNC. Mr. Theobald will teach two math courses, Math 7 and Advanced Algebra. We will look forward to his seasoned approach and valued contribution.

Eric Tran, our second Penn Fellow, will teach, coach, and advise at RL while taking courses toward a master’s degree at the University of Pennsylvania. A native of Claremont, California, Mr. Tran graduated with distinction from the local public high school at which he stood out as captain of the varsity wrestling team. On Mr. Tran went to Williams College from which he graduated this spring with a BA in Classics and math. Proficient in Vietnamese, Italian, and Spanish, Mr. Tran served as a teaching assistant for the multivariable calculus course as well as a research assistant in the chemistry department. He was a member of the math colloquium and spent this past spring in Rome as part of the Intercollegiate Center for Classical Studies. Given this dual expertise and passion, it’s no surprise that Mr. Tran will be teaching both AP Calculus and a Latin 1 section. He will also help coach soccer and wrestling.

Monika Wilkinson has known RL for many years as the mother of John ’21, Luke ’23, and Paul ’25. She has been a faithful, effective volunteer on behalf of the school, and now she joins us as an interim teacher of English. Mrs. Wilkinson will cover Mrs. Demers’s classes while she is out on maternity leave. A seasoned educator, Mrs. Wilkinson most recently worked for the past seven years at BB&N, at which she taught English and history, provided academic support, led the Writing Center, as well as served on behalf of the admission efforts and community service. Mrs. Wilkinson’s teaching experience has included stints at Westwood’s Thurston Middle School and in Sudbury’s and Palm Bay, Florida’s middle schools. In addition to being a celebrated practitioner, Mrs. Wilkinson has consistently taught fledgling teachers about the art and craft of teaching as an adjunct professor at Stonehill College, the University of Pittsburgh, and Harvard’s Graduate School of Education. She holds a bachelor’s from Florida State University, and a master’s in learning and teaching from Harvard. Mrs. Wilkinson will teach Mrs. Demers’s English 7 and English 9 classes.

Thanks to the generosity and commitment of our school community, Roxbury Latin has just concluded another record-setting year in fundraising—for the 13th year in a row—raising $4,812,306 for the Annual Fund. Financially and otherwise, you gave to Roxbury Latin so that we could continue to offer a rigorously imagined program for all our students, and to support the talented, dedicated faculty and staff who give unfailingly of themselves to know and love the boys in our care. We could not be more grateful for your unflagging support.

Today we could not open the doors—or at least not to the parade of the talented, worthy students and teachers that we do—without the infusion of resources through the Annual Fund. As always, we tried to be worthy of your trust and affection. Thank you for joining us in our distinctive mission, and for affirming our good work.

Because of you, we are able to welcome and support the most talented, interesting, aspiring, eclectic cohort of students in Greater Boston. Because of you, we can attract, develop, compensate, and retain a uniquely gifted, effective, and committed faculty. Because of you, we are able to maintain the distinctive financial model that supports our mission and allows us to offer a program both challenging and inspiring. You have made a positive difference in the lives of Roxbury Latin boys, and we are grateful for and humbled by your love and support.

This spring marked the sixth year of RL’s now-staple RL@Work program, which connects students at the end of their Class II year with professionals in a broad range of pursuits—each an example of excellence in their particular field. Led by Assistant Headmaster for Program Andy Chappell, the program provides boys with an off-campus experience of discovery and growth—through visits to places of work, encounters with professionals, facilitated group discussions, individual reflection, and engagement in hands-on design challenges and case studies. Consistent with the school’s mission, the program helps boys imagine how they might “lead and serve” in the years ahead. RL@Work offers boys exposure to various professions and types of leadership, challenging real-world problems, and solutions in-the-making, preparing them for citizenship, service, work, and the world. The program each year gives students a chance to pause and reflect; to imagine what the future might hold for them; to get a glimpse of some of the opportunities that exist in the world beyond RL; and to learn how their liberal arts education at RL intersects with that work.

Nearly 30 generous alumni, parents, former RL parents, and friends of the school—scientists, lawyers, doctors, engineers, judges, developers, investors, professors, business owners—shared their time and passions with 53 Class II boys during the final days of the school year. Students trekked throughout and around Boston, Cambridge, and Worcester over four days, some getting their first taste of the MBTA commuting experience.

The first of the program’s four days began with an orientation for the boys, in order to set clear the expectations and opportunities as they met, engaged with, and learned from the various individuals and organizations they would encounter over the following days. Afterward the group headed into Boston’s Longwood medical area to Harvard’s MEDscience Simulation Lab, where students sewed sutures and assessed vitals on high-tech practice “dummies” designed to blink, bleed, pulse, and cry as appropriate. There students also practiced assessing the symptoms of a test patient, working to diagnose the cause of the individual’s digestive complaints.  

Day two of the program began with a focus on a variety of professions and industries, ranging from investing to construction, cutting-edge research to the legal profession. Students learned from alumni and parents leading and affiliated with Bain Capital, Consigli Construction, Harvard’s Visualization Lab, the law practice of WilmerHale, and members of the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office.

In the afternoon, the group headed into Cambridge to MIT, where they experienced a range of activities and learning experiences coordinated by John Werner P’21’26. They met with impressive researchers, designers, academics, scientists, and artists at work on inspiring and life-altering research and creations in MIT’s world-class laboratories. Students agreed that a highlight of the afternoon was hearing from Vladimir Bulovic, Director of MIT’s Nano Lab. The morning of day three offered a window into the world of real estate, entrepreneurship, private equity, and robotics design, through visits to areas and offices in and around Boston. That afternoon students returned to campus, where they heard from seniors presenting on their various Independent Senior Project endeavors, and then finally undertook a mini-course in college essay writing from RL’s College Guidance office.

The culminating day found the boys first at MIT’s Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-Pal), led in part by Global Executive Director Iqbal Dhaliwal P’21. J-Pal works throughout the world to reduce poverty by ensuring that policy is informed by scientific evidence. J-Pal’s leadership and staff do this through research, policy outreach, and training. Students met with individuals at work on various initiatives around the world, focused on areas of healthcare and governance, food security and education.

On the afternoon of their final day, students and faculty chaperones headed to Worcester—first for an engaging tour of College of the Holy Cross, and then to meet with and hear from Dan Rea ’05, Executive Vice President and General Manager of the Worcester Red Sox, and Mike McElaney ’98, Vice President of Commercial Real Estate for The Menkiti Group, founded by alumnus Bo Menkiti ’95. Students learned a bit about the history of and recent development in the City of Worcester, and they received a special tour of Polar Park, home of the Worcester Red Sox. Afterward, the boys stayed with members of the faculty to watch the Worcester Red Sox take on the Syracuse Mets under sunny skies.

Over four successful days, our generous partners and hosts reinforced to the boys—by virtue of their own professional experiences—themes familiar in any successful pursuit, regardless of the profession or discipline: the importance of teamwork and communication; willingness to fail and learn from that failure; creating networks and developing relationships; being open to the unknown, and to exploring new ideas; working hard and being persistent; and understanding that the path to meaningful success isn’t always traditional or straightforward. 

We are grateful to the nearly 30 men and women who generously shared their time, talents and spaces to provide our boys an insider’s view on so many possibilities and paths toward meaningful pursuits:

Julie Joyal and Britt Lee P’22, ’23, Harvard Medical School, MEDscience Simulation Lab

J.P Chilazi ’06, Brendan Hanrahan ’09 and Robert Shaw ’14, Bain Capital

Matt Consigli P’24, President, Consigli Construction

Rus Gant, Director of Harvard Visualization Lab

Frank Kanin ’06, Masai-Maliek King, P’28, Ramon Pascual ’07, Rob Settana ’01, Ed Zabin P’23, Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office

Tim Silva ’88, P’17,’22,’24, and Arjun Jaikumar ’01, WilmerHale

Vladimir Bulovic, Director, MIT.nano

David Chang, Entrepreneur

Emilie Eldracher, MIT ’22

Ana Pantelic, Director, MIT D-LAB

Ramesh Raskar, Director of Camera Culture Group, MIT Media Lab

John Werner P’21 ’26, Link Ventures & MIT Fellow, Connection Science, MIT School Of Engineering 

Dave Grossman ’97 and Jake Grossman ’00, Co-Presidents, Grossman Companies

Pete Mahoney ’98, John M Corcoran & Co

Chris Mitchell ’89, Spectrum Equity

Jay Mitchell ’96, Audax Private Equity

Nathaniel Weinstein ’10, Boston Dynamics

Iqbal Dhaliwal P’21 Global Executive Director of MIT’s Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab

Dan Rea ’05, Executive Vice President and General Manager of the Worcester Red Sox

Mike McElaney ’98, Vice President of Commercial Real Estate for The Menkiti Group

On June 4, the 377th year of The Roxbury Latin School culminated with Closing Exercises and the graduation of the Class of 2022. For the first time in two years, the school was able to hold its traditional, intimate ceremony—which includes the seniors, their families, the faculty and trustees—in Rousmaniere Hall. Immediately after the ceremony, under bright and sunny skies, the 53 newest alumni of The Roxbury Latin School celebrated on the Senior Grass with classmates, family members, and members of the faculty. (View a gallery of images from the morning.)

Beginning with opening remarks from Headmaster Kerry Brennan—which acknowledged the challenges and triumphs of this particular group of boys, and also noted their many, worthy accomplishments—the ceremony included the singing of traditional songs America The Beautiful, Commemoration Hymn, and The Founder’s Song, as well as a performance of Come Fly With Me sung by The Latonics, with a solo by graduating senior, Eli Bailit. The ringing of the school bell, chiming 3-7-7, officially concluded the school year.

Class valedictorian, voted by his classmates, was Vishnu Emani who delivered a personal, poignant, powerful speech that drew a standing ovation from his classmates.

Vishnu’s address began with his recounting of a parable originally written by German author Heinrich Boll, about a fisherman enjoying his humble catch on a sunny beach. A businessman comes along, extolling the value of the fisherman starting a company, enlisting distributors, and making lots of money so that he can, one day, relax on a beach without a care in the world. The fisherman ultimately replies, “What do you think I’m doing right now?”

“The parable of the businessman and the fisherman underscores a crucial tension that we all inevitably experience,” explained Vishnu, “and that is the trade-off between ambition and contentment. The businessman exemplifies the mindset of ambition, because he sees every moment as an opportunity to accomplish more and grow in the future. But his hunger for success in the future comes at the expense of living in the present. Now, while it may not be obvious, the fisherman also makes some sacrifices. Although he is satisfied in his life, the fisherman has intentionally foregone opportunities to contribute to society and make a greater impact.

“This fundamental tradeoff is central to life’s most important decisions, for instance setting our work-life balance: do we spend our nights preparing presentations, or do we enjoy a home-cooked dinner with our family? Do we take the corporate promotion that would have us traveling every weekend, or do we settle down in a place we call home?… These are the sobering questions that high-achieving students like us, eager to make an impact in the world, are forced to confront… We have to ask ourselves: why are we making the decisions that we are, what is our intended goal, and what sacrifices are we willing to make to get there? So I say, let us dream big, let us take on life with vigor and passion, but, most importantly, let us keep our perspective, even as it’s so easy to get lured into the rat race that surrounds us.”

The commencement address was delivered by Ron Liebowitz, president of Brandeis University, and father to graduating senior Heshie Liebowitz.

“It would be tempting to join the legions of graduation and commencement speeches this year that have presented a variety of interpretations of the Jarvis Refectory maxim—from those to whom much has been given much will be expected,” Mr. Liebowitz began. “Such a speech would have me sharing words of wisdom that explains why your generation faces the toughest challenges ever, and, because you are so talented, to then exhort you to be bold and go out and fix all that is wrong with the world—from climate change to racial injustice to antisemitism to poverty to emerging diseases to growing mental health challenges. This has become a common mantra this year, most likely because we old folks are out of good ideas or haven’t the energy to do anything more. But I won’t go down that path.

“Having watched first-year students arrive at college for the past 38 years, I advise you—in fact, urge you—to dedicate the next four years to personal growth. My point is that the world’s great problems can wait—despite what we Boomers and Gen X’ers say—until you have done the hard and hopefully satisfying work that it will take to be in the position to make a difference. To be successful, you will first need to be deliberate, thoughtful, and even brave in how you navigate your way through college.”

At the conclusion of Mr. Liebowitz’s address, Headmaster Brennan and President of the Board of Trustees Bob O’Connor ’85 awarded diplomas to the newest alumni of The Roxbury Latin School.

Three major Class I prizes were also awarded during Closing Ceremonies:

The Richard A. Berenberg Prize, for generosity of spirit and concern for others, was presented to Alejandro Denis.

The Class of 1913 Award, for significant contributions to the life of the school, was presented to Mark Henshon.

The William Coe Collar Award, for achievements and contributions to the school that are deemed by the faculty as most deserving of recognition, was presented to Vishnu Emani.

Thank you to the hundreds of alumni and families who gathered on Roxbury Latin’s campus over the weekend to celebrate Reunion and Spring Family Day. Festivities began on Friday, May 13, with the Spring Instrumental Concert—featuring RL’s Chamber musicians, Jazz Band, and Guitar Ensemble—and with the 25th Reunion Family BBQ, honoring members of the Class of 1997.

On Saturday morning, alumni from across decades returned to the RL classroom, in lessons led by Mo Randall (English/Classics) and John Lieb (Mathematics), and heard from members of Class I in a student panel and from Headmaster Kerry Brennan, who offered a sense of Roxbury Latin today. Alumni, students, families, and faculty flocked to enjoy a BBQ lunch under the arches of the IAF and cheered on members of our Varsity Baseball, Lacrosse, and Tennis teams as they competed in athletic contests through the afternoon.

Finally, on Saturday evening, in the Gordon Fieldhouse, more than 300 guests celebrated a Reunion which honored, in particular, classes ending in 2 and 7. There guests enjoyed good food, drink, and fellowship into the evening.

View a gallery of photos from Spring Family Day.

View a gallery of photos from Reunion Weekend.

Andy Chappell, Roxbury Latin’s Assistant Head for Program, has been elected the Head of School at The Derryfield School in Manchester, New Hampshire, a role he will begin on July 1, 2022.

Founded in 1964, The Derryfield School is a day school serving 400 students in Grades 6-12. Recognized as one of the top schools in the region, Derryfield attracts boys and girls from more than 50 different communities in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Known for its ambitious academic standard and its effective outreach in the community, Derryfield represents an admirable example of aspiring independent education.

In his announcement of this news, Headmaster Kerry Brennan shared the following with the community: “Andy Chappell’s contributions to Roxbury Latin are peerless. Having come to RL in 1997 fresh out of the University of Virginia, he has gone on to fill virtually every role an adult can at Roxbury Latin. A fine teacher of Latin and Greek, Andy served a stint as an effective Chair of the Classics Department. He went on to become the Director of Admission, the Director of Studies and, for the past two years, the Assistant Head for Program. Andy has been an energetic, successful coach of baseball and soccer teams, and served as Class Dean over the years in Class V, Class III, and currently in Class II. He is a dedicated, loving advisor. Every evolutionary program we have launched over the past decade bears Andy’s distinctive fingerprints, from the junior class experience with RL@Work, to the imagining and building of the new athletic facilities, to systems for faculty assessment and curriculum development, to the expansion and deepening of our summer programs, to the establishment of RL’s Penn Fellows Program.

Andy is a bright, energetic, catalytic schoolman who has been dedicated to the realization of this old school’s distinctive mission. His leadership talent has been in evidence in all sorts of ways and in all sorts of places. He gives freely of his gifts and represents the very best combination of regard for tradition and eagerness for progress.

For me personally, Andy has been a reliable, inspiring partner eager to engage with new ideas, new projects, and new people in service to creating the finest school community we could imagine. I will miss him greatly, as all of us will. But I am convinced that he will be a brilliant head of school bringing a masterful sensibility to his new dignities and opportunities. Lucky Derryfield for having chosen Andy to lead their fine school. We have benefitted from having Andy with us for 25 years, and he and his wife, Kate, and son, Brady, have all contributed magnificently to our quality and dynamism. They and daughter Samantha will delight in moving to New Hampshire, to Derryfield, from which Kate graduated, and her father, Marcus Hurlbut, himself a former RL teacher and Dean of Students, served as Headmaster for 11 years.

Over the next several months, we will have plenty of opportunities to celebrate Andy, to thank him for all that he has meant to RL, and to wish him well. For now, though, please join me in offering him our congratulations.”

Long-time and beloved Roxbury Latin teacher Ken Conn died on Saturday, March 12. Ken taught at RL from 1973 until 2009, and though Ken principally taught French—and chaired the French Department, the inaugural holder of the Stanley Bernstein Professorship in Modern Languages—he was also an enthusiastic and iconoclastic teacher of English. During his years at the school, Ken dynamically coached varsity football and, for many years, coached our youngest boys in lacrosse. Ken was the longtime Class Dean for the junior class, and he served with good judgment and distinction as a member of the Admission Committee.

Credentials aside, Ken’s greatest contribution was to the boys of the school, whom he loved and served. Ken had a magnificent understanding of the teenage male psyche and generously offered counsel and support to everyone, but especially to those who were encountering difficult challenges, and those who were out of the mainstream. Ken’s room was a magnet for all kinds of kids and, over games of Boggle, boys came to know Ken and each other—coming to know “home” within a larger context. Ken advocated fiercely for those who deserved a second chance, and they loved him for it.

Ken represented an inspiring model of the teacher-coach and the fully invested schoolman throughout his time at RL. He was as respected by his colleagues as he was by the boys. Below is what Headmaster Kerry Brennan read to the community on the occasion of Ken’s retirement from RL in 2009:

“Great schools are the result of the work of great teachers. For some of those, their greatness is measured by brilliance, or by a consistently unreachable standard, or by the versatility of their contribution. For the greatest of the great, however, their impact is the result of doing that hard, but obvious thing well: loving the boys in their care. No one in my time at RL has so consistently and effectively loved the boys in his care as has Mr. Ken Conn. If our motto on the street is that we ‘know and love every boy,’ then Ken Conn ought to be on the poster advertising it.

Mr. Conn was hired in the spring of 1973. A graduate of Stoneham High School and Middlebury College, Mr. Conn came to RL after some seasoning as a teacher at Melrose High School and at the Lycee Albert Ier in Monaco, to which he went after a year of graduate studies at the University of Nice. Though he was principally a teacher of French, given his history degree from Middlebury and his love of literature, it was understandable that in his early years at Roxbury Latin Mr. Conn taught both history and English, as well.

Those who have been privileged to study French with Mr. Conn know well what kind of teacher he is. Utterly engaged by the language and the culture, he is gently ferocious in his insistence that all who enter his welcoming classroom become similarly excited. Under his leadership as a model teacher, supportive colleague, and attentive department head, the French program became one of the most respected in the school. During an era in which teachers of modern language have been encouraged to move away from the reading and writing emphasis that had marked the curriculum in the past to one in which communication was paramount, Mr. Conn has led the charge enabling his French students to express themselves beautifully and often to have the wherewithal not just to study French in college but to tackle other languages as well. Given his effectiveness and commitment, it was only logical that, in 2004, Mr. Conn would be named the inaugural Stanley Bernstein Professor of French. 

For the better part of his time at RL, Mr. Conn also served as the Class II master. In that capacity he guided hundreds of boys through the rough shoals of junior year with their dignity, academic standing, and emotional stability intact. A gentle, persistent advocate, Mr. Conn had the rare capacity to make every single person feel respected and cared for. On behalf of countless junior classes, he helped them to grow more cohesive, even as he was quick to celebrate the individual gifts and quirks of its members. While an affectionate mentor to many, Mr. Conn has a special devotion to those who were experiencing tough times, or those who might not be noticed as easily. Mr. Conn was an especially good listener, and, in his capacity as a loving advisor, he has provided space and time and counsel for boys to be themselves, to betray insecurities, to grow into men. When Ken Conn wraps that big paw around your arm, you know that you are safe; you know that you are cared for.

While not a lacrosse player himself, Mr. Conn helmed the junior lacrosse program for more than thirty years. While he had different coaching partners in this enterprise, Mr. Conn’s formula has always been the same: ensure that RL’s players know what they’re doing, that they try hard, that they are supportive as teammates, and that they have fun. Along the way, Mr. Conn’s lax squads consistently dominated their opponents earning him the respect and puzzlement of countless coaches on the circuit.

Mr. Conn’s most prodigious output as a coach, however, came as a result of his role for 36 years as the coach of the RL varsity football line. Everyone knows that the linemen are the workhorses of any football team—unheralded but absolutely essential. Mr. Conn’s success in motivating all those RL linemen over all those years is because he is one of them. I don’t mean that he was one of them because he did his duty on behalf of his own high school line or the ferocious forces at Middlebury. I say that because that is Mr. Conn’s approach to life. One of RL’s greatest schoolboy athletes put it this way: ‘Mr. Conn used to remind all of us linemen that the fans would always view the quarterback as the hero and star of any football team. Linemen would never get the same attention or fame that the quarterback would, even though a quarterback’s success depended wholly on his linemen’s protection and support. He encouraged us to take pride in the role that we played on our team, as it was a most important one. He never allowed us to forget how special we were, nor how little we needed any outside recognition of this fact. A true lineman did his job to the best of his ability while only seeking the satisfaction of achieving the team’s goal: a victory on the playing field. To him we were all stars.’ Like his linemen, Mr. Conn eschewed the spotlight, conceding it gracefully to others. And, like his linemen, Mr. Conn has during his time here endured a few solid hits and the occasional broken play. No one, however, in the RL of which we are so proud, has done more to support individual boys, to champion the underdog, to imagine a happier ending when all signs signaled otherwise.  

In his 36 years at RL, Ken Conn has given himself, heart and soul, to the simple mission of caring about kids and inspiring them to care about ideas, about the world, about each other, about pursuing their better, more ranging, more fulfilling selves. Mr. Conn is a great, optimistic, loving bear of a mentor who has changed the lives of hundreds and saved the lives of many. We will always be grateful for his steadfast commitment to all that is right and good about this work; for the model of his devotion to the lucky boys in his orbit; and for the friendship that he has extended so freely and selflessly to so many of us over so many years.”

Ken is survived by his wife, Peg. He was predeceased by his son Tim, Roxbury Latin Class of 1999. We will share the family’s plans for remembering Ken when we know them.