Head of School Opportunity Statement

A Boys School

Landon believes in and is inspired by the vast human potential inherent in boys. We believe it is a moral imperative to help boys become the very best version of themselves and recognize an all-boys setting is uniquely effective for delivering on this purpose.

We believe in the importance of providing a rigorous program where every aspect is designed to help boys thrive. We strive to be expert in understanding how boys learn and in using that knowledge to their benefit, whether in the structure of our day, the set-up of our classrooms, the use of our campus, the content of our curriculum, or the instructional methods and pedagogy of our teachers. Our faculty provide a program and experience that works best for boys. They understand that boys are relational learners and that their caring and support allow students to take risks, to accept challenges, to fall and get back up, to accept themselves, and to grow with courage and character.

At Landon, boys develop connections that last for life with their classmates and with their teachers and coaches. Our goal is for our students and alumni to experience their classmates as an enduring source of friendship through both joys and hardships. Their experience is ultimately that much broader for the exposure to students, faculty, parents, and alumni who provide support, counsel, and a close sense of community. Whatever path a Landon graduate chooses, he will have the support of Bears everywhere because they trust the intellect and integrity that stem from this shared experience.

Challenging, Robust Program

Landon is dedicated to developing its students into well-rounded young men who are prepared academically and personally to play their part in an ever-changing world.

We believe in providing an educational experience that is at once challenging, dynamic, inclusive, broad-based, and balanced – one that offers each boy the chance to engage his potential in the classroom, in athletics, and in the arts. Our program is as multifaceted as boys are multi-dimensional, stimulating intellectual and aesthetic understanding and appreciation, promoting high standards of effort and performance, building the capacity and confidence for individual and informed critical thinking, fostering curiosity and responsibility, and emphasizing fundamental and foundational skills.

In addition to their rigorous study, Landon boys participate in a variety of co-curricular and extracurricular activities, in which they learn to push themselves as individuals, to collaborate with peers, to accept success and failure with grace, and to lead in many and different ways. They develop their creativity and an appreciation for artistic expression through a course of study in both the visual and performing arts. And they develop teamwork, sportsmanship, and personal wellness through daily participation in athletics.

Character Education

Landon holds firmly to the conviction that character matters.  Our greatest single purpose is to help shape Landon boys into men who act virtuously, uphold and model an essential and timeless set of core values, impact positively their local and broader communities, and actively look to serve the broader good with care and purpose.  We are dedicated to education of the heart and conscience and to instilling in our boys a commitment to living by and acting on fundamental ethical principles such as respect and honor.

We see character education is central to everything we do. Our Character Pledge calls the boys and our faculty and staff to the highest standards of respect and honesty, standing as a model for daily ethical conduct. Our Ethics, Service, and Leadership programming engages boys in questions and situations related to our core values, challenging them to stretch in matters central to the development of personal character and teaching them to assume social responsibility through a program of service to others, both on and off campus. Even our school motto, Virtute et Non Vi – “By Virtue, Not by Force” – emphasizes that character has long been central to all aspects of the Landon experience, inspiring and demanding our boys not just to do well but to do – and be – good.

Diversity and Community

Landon regards a deeply held and active respect for others as a foundational part of character. Respecting others means appreciating and celebrating differences, and Landon fully embraces the importance of diversity and equity in our community as we seek to be a place where all feel included and welcomed. We know that in our differences we find strength as well as a vibrancy to our community.  In our culture and curriculum, and throughout our broader program, Landon is committed to providing an experience built on supportive inclusivity as well as an exposure to, and understanding of, varied voices and perspectives.

Our desire is that all students feel seen and valued at Landon – that they see this place as their home. As such, we are committed to ensuring not only that Landon is comprised of multiple views and backgrounds, but also that all of the people who make up the community here experience it as a place where they feel a sense of belonging, connection, and an appreciation for who they are. Within this diverse community, students share common experiences that help promote the bonds of brotherhood as well as an understanding of their shared humanity.

More broadly, Landon endeavors to develop in students the skills and perspectives needed to interact productively with others by acknowledging, understanding, and respecting differences, by speaking and acting with integrity and empathy, and by committing to an intellectually respectful worldview.  Landon boys learn to identify, understand, and address the needs of others, preparing and energizing them to take on inequities in a multicultural and evolving broader world.

Teacher-Coach-Mentors

Central to the Landon experience is the teacher-coach-mentor model, which reflects our commitment to shaping boys’ holistic and multidimensional selves. This is a student-centered institution, and our teachers are dedicated to the students above all else.  At its simplest, we believe that boys need and deserve to be in a place where adults care about them and that our world needs boys who have been afforded such an opportunity.

We recognize that boys learn best through positive relationships with faculty who are not just expert in their content areas, but also understand boys’ development and seek to foster personal growth, ethical thinking, and full engagement in all elements of a boy’s school experience. We know those relationships are best forged in small group settings by educators who regard their work as a vocation, serving as engaging teachers, caring coaches in athletics and the arts, wise mentors, and inspiring role models.

Landon believes we best support our boys – and their engagement in their own learning – by treating them with care and showing a deep appreciation for them.  We see supporting the social and emotional development of boys as a central part of this work. Landon surrounds boys with talented, committed faculty who do just that – who inspire and challenge them ethically, intellectually, socially, physically, and creatively – who believe in growth, support vulnerability, and foster courage, and who intentionally model long-held Landon core values.

The Landon Mission and Philosophy Statements make clear that character development is central to all we do. Our ability to advance this goal is dependent on the willingness of individual community members to agree to and embrace the principles of good character that are outlined in this Character Pledge. We therefore ask and expect all Landon students, teachers, and staff to read, sign, and abide by this Character Pledge, which serves as an overarching standard for daily ethical conduct.  It includes three parts: an Honor Code, a Civility Code, and an articulation of institutional Core Values.

Honor Code

We regard personal integrity and honor as central to character and to the Landon experience. Our Honor Code was proposed and adopted by students in 1963 and has continued to be stewarded by the student body ever since. Extending beyond academic work to all facets of Landon life, it has since its inception provided a framework for honest living. 

I will not lie, cheat, steal, or tolerate others doing so.

Civility Code

We also regard civil behavior as central to character and to the Landon experience. The Landon Civility Code dates to 2002, when it was developed by School leadership. Through it, Landon community members agree to regard and treat all people with respect and dignity, and to treat their relationships, school, surroundings, and themselves similarly. In so doing, they further agree not to tolerate others’ behaviors that run counter to these principles.

I will regard and treat all people – whether in word or deed – with respect and dignity. I will treat my relationships, school, surroundings, and myself similarly. I will not tolerate behaviors by others that run counter to the principles of respectful behavior and decency.

Core Values

There are foundational Core Values at Landon – virtues that our program and experience embrace, teach, and promote. We regard these as central to good character and to personal development. The Landon Core Values have evolved over the School’s history and are formally articulated here as part of efforts by faculty and the Board of Trustees to deliver on the goals of the 2018 Strategic Plan. Landon community members agree to strive to live out the Core Values as part of both who they seek to be and who the institution asks them to be as persons of good character.

• Respect. We define this as acting with civility and decency -- as treating all people according to their dignity as human beings and as showing appreciation for one’s environment.
• Honesty. We define this as taking care that one’s words are true and that one’s actions consistently reflect a commitment to personal integrity and honor.
• Teamwork. We define this as working together towards a common goal, and in so doing recognizing and appreciating the diverse gifts, perspectives, and contributions that others bring to the table.
• Responsibility. We define this as doing what is right to do as an individual and as a member of a group – knowing and following through on obligations and on the next right thing.
• Perseverance. We define this as drawing on inner strength or determination to persist despite challenge and difficulty – as carrying on with a belief in the capacity of oneself, of others, and of the community.
• Kindness. We define this as showing compassion and empathy towards others – as considering and demonstrating an awareness of the emotional and practical needs of others, especially over the needs of oneself.
• Inclusivity. We define this as fully appreciating the need of everyone in our community to fully experience a sense of belonging and working proactively to further that goal. This includes affirmatively valuing diversity and individual differences.
• Courage. We define this as being aware of and acting on ethical principles rather than personal fear or concern for consequences.
• Gratitude. We define this as noticing and appreciating what is good in our lives.
• Humility. We define this as maintaining a balanced attitude about oneself, especially regarding one’s successes, and consciously grounding them in an appreciation for the gifts, contributions, and help of others on which those successes depend – as making one’s focus less on the self and more about others.
• Service. We define this as being aware of the needs of others and acting on that awareness – as serving a communal good greater than the self without a desire for attention and with only altruistic intention. 

Each year all Landon students, teachers, and staff are asked to read and sign a document pledging themselves to these principles.

Landon students are offered a unique experience.  Our goal is that they will do something with it, that they will make a positive difference in their communities and the larger world, in ways big and small. Our goal is that they will become virtuous and well-rounded men who contribute and give back to the common good out of both a sense of personal responsibility and an awareness that much has been given to them. With this in mind, our ambition is that Landon graduates might be described individually and collectively – and throughout their lives – as persons who:

Act Ethically
Landon graduates’ identities are formed by the character principles in which they have been immersed over their time at the school. Boys leave Landon with years of practice grounding their actions in ethical principles and exploring what makes an honorable life.

Respect Others
Landon graduates have been held to a high standard of respect over their time at the school. They have been taught what it means to treat others with the dignity they deserve as fellow human beings, especially across categories of identity and difference, and with the foundational skills of empathy and civility that ready them to serve and contribute to the communities they encounter beyond Landon.

Live Responsibly
Landon graduates have been taught the meaning of responsibility and how to engage with their communities, knowing both how to build up and how to draw on the capacities of those communities in productive ways. Boys leave Landon having experienced over their time here increasing degrees of independence and initiative as well as accountability for their own learning and behaviors.

Serve Selflessly
Landon graduates have been provided with an educational experience that not only provides them with the foundations to live a full and meaningful life, but also one that teaches them that they are part of something greater than themselves and that they have a responsibility to that larger whole. Boys leave Landon with an ethical framework that tells them that one of the most important ways to lead is to set aside the self and to be of service to others, to the community, and to the greater good.

Think Deeply
Landon graduates have experienced a program that intentionally seeks to develop scholarship, creativity, and critical thinking in ways that build their problem-solving capabilities. Boys leave Landon ready to use these skills, and just as importantly, to continue to develop them so that they might face and address in thoughtful, examined, and informed ways the new and evolving challenges life will bring to them.

Communicate Clearly
Landon graduates have been challenged to write and speak with clarity and purpose, to present, to listen, and to seek understanding across all elements of the program. Boys leave Landon with an awareness of the tools they will need to engage effectively in a world where the ability to communicate is essential both to healthy relationships and to personal and professional well-being.

Embrace Challenge
Landon graduates experienced a school that asks a lot of them – that is at once demanding and supportive and that expects them to learn from mistakes, to try new and challenging things, and to stretch themselves towards difficult goals. Boys leave Landon with the resilience, courage, and confidence necessary not only to persevere through the obstacles that they will inevitably face but also to continue growing through and because of them.

In the end, the time that boys spend at Landon is but a stop on their personal journeys.  We know that; we know they leave Landon as persons still evolving into who they will ultimately become.  But we also know that the time they spend at Landon is a period of great growth and personal development, an impressionable time.  And it is with that in mind that we work to ensure that their experience here is a foundational one that puts them on the path towards a full and meaningful life in all the ways listed above – that is, towards a life well-lived.