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Leadership interview with John Reid, The Rosedale Day School
- Name
John Reid - Title
Head of School
John Reid, Head of School at The Rosedale Day School, shared his perspective on the school's individualized approach, research-informed practice, strong relationships, and close-knit community. He reflected on the importance of meaningful partnerships between students, teachers, and families, the school's diverse community and focus on student well-being, and the value of creating an environment where both students and parents feel a genuine sense of belonging.
Video Contents
- 1:02 - Please describe your professional journey leading up to your current role at Rosedale Day School.
- 5:08 - What have been some of the major influences on you and how you approach your work?
- 9:24 - What resonates most strongly with you about the history and mission of Rosedale Day School?
- Show Full Video Contents
Highlights from the interview
When the opportunity at the Rosedale Day School presented itself, it aligned really beautifully with my own philosophy about the attention to the individual child… And really looking to continue the great work that had been done prior to my arrival and build off of that.
The opportunity to integrate research into our practice has always been something that's important to me… That kind of research is really important as we steer these organizations towards the future, to make sure that we're doing the right thing in preparing our students for an ever-increasingly uncertain world.
I think you learn every day from the people that are around you. You're part of a learning community when you're part of a school community. In my mind, that's what we're trying to foster.
I think teaching and learning is an inherently relational sport. You can't do it right if you don't have great relationships between students and their teachers, between colleagues, and also between school and home.
- Everyone's known, and not in a peripheral way, but in a really deep way. And I think that familiarity and that rapport that exists means that there's a sense of community.
Everyone's known, and not in a peripheral way, but in a really deep way. And I think that familiarity and that rapport that exists means that there's a sense of community.
There is an extension of the community beyond the school that members of our community enjoy. It continues on into former members of our community who are now alumni parents, or alumni of the school themselves.
We've adopted, in partnership with the Future Design School, a profile of the Rosedale School graduate that really addresses many of the types of skills and competencies that are inherent in well-being.
It's interesting because we're all caretakers in our roles. We're here for a time with the objective of trying to help the organization grow and develop and leave it ultimately in a better place than we found it.
We try and approach that partnership between school and home with empathy, humility and authenticity, recognizing that I believe raising children is some of the most important and challenging work that exists.
We are a reflection of the city of Toronto and, as such, a reflection of the broader world. We have more than 20 different countries represented on campus at any given time. And that's what you would expect from an urban school in downtown Toronto, in a city as big and diverse as Toronto is.
I would say to parents, "No one knows your child better than you do." And so, it's important that you take your time and that you feel comfortable with the environment and with the people that you're meeting.
I would encourage you to have a higher standard than feeling comfortable. I would encourage you to use a higher bar around a feeling of belonging. Not just a feeling of community, but a feeling of belonging within that parent community as adults because, certainly in a Junior Kindergarten through Grade 8 circumstance, parent involvement in their children's school day is significant.
