A Sense of Belonging

April 21, 2023

Thaden Families,

In the words of Arkansas poet and novelist, Maya Angelou, “people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Thaden aspires to be a school where a diverse community can feel a shared sense of belonging, but what are the conditions necessary to create this feeling? My conversation with a group of students last week shed new light on the question. They were planning a mural that will soon illuminate the north-facing wall of our Wheels lab. As I listened to them discuss the project with pride of collective authorship, it occurred to me that we feel a stronger sense of belonging in places that we have helped to create.

Our students are making this campus their own. We see it in the pollinator garden they planted last spring; in the sets they design and build for our theatrical productions; in the tees they sell in our student-managed school store, The Hangar; and in the recent formation of the Students of Color Union. In these and so many other ways, our students create a sense of belonging by co-creating the Thaden experience. And they carry this feeling into Northwest Arkansas as they partner with local organizations to make our home region a better place for all. Their recent efforts to improve and beautify the crossing at Eighth and Main exemplifies what is possible when our students feel the sense of agency and ownership in their community that proclaims, “we belong here!”

My colleagues are also making Thaden their own. We see it in the exquisite menu of courses and intensives they design and deliver with relish; the trips and events they plan and lead for the enrichment of our students; in the meals they prepare; and in the physical spaces and landscapes they so lovingly maintain and embellish, often through the vision and energy they inspire and empower in our students. Our professional community is devoted – heads, hearts, and hands – to the making of Thaden, a mural in which we see ourselves and discover a sense of belonging.

Together we fly!

Clayton K. Marsh
Founding Head of School