The Head of School – October 21, 2026

Flint Hill Community,

As fall settles in, our admission season is heating up! Prospective students and families are visiting campus, meeting our outstanding faculty and students, and imagining their own Flint Hill journeys. Our Admission Team, alongside our student and family ambassadors, does tremendous work welcoming these visitors and showcasing our community, culture, and academic excellence.

This time of year also brings conversations about Flint Hill's reputation within the competitive DMV independent school landscape. And understandably so! Our families and alumni want Flint Hill to be recognized for the excellence happening here each day. We have plenty of reasons to be proud.

Consider just a few:

• Nearly 14% of the Class of 2027 earned recognition through the National Merit Scholarship Program, including three Semifinalists and 16 Commended Students.
• Our graduates earn millions of dollars in college merit scholarship offers, matriculate to outstanding colleges and universities, and approximately 10% continue their athletic pursuits at the NCAA level, compared to a national average of 6%.
• Our Huskies consistently shine in a myriad of academic competitions, fine arts performances, and athletics achievements, earning local, regional, and national accolades along the way.

These are impressive accomplishments. They're the products of a Flint Hill education, not its purpose. They reflect the talents, dedication, individuality, and tenacity of our students, supported by exceptional educators who challenge and inspire them to be their best.

I've often described Flint Hill as a process school. We care deeply about outcomes, but even more about the experiences that shape our students along the way. When our Huskies graduate, I'm far more interested in the people they've become than the name of the college on their sweatshirt or bumper sticker.

And we're seeing evidence of the long-term impact of that approach.

In a survey of our five most recent graduating classes, 86% of alumni reported feeling well-prepared for college academics, 87% felt confident advocating for themselves, and 87% of college-aged alumni believed they had chosen the right college or university. That underscores the confidence and care of both our Huskies, as well as the college advisors, faculty, coaches and families who supported their journeys here and beyond.

That's the long game we're playing: academic excellence, meaningful relationships, personal growth, and a community that supports our Huskies long after they leave campus. Our current families recognize that value, too, as evidenced by our 96% family retention rate between last year and this year (NAIS average for independent schools is approximately 90% annually).

Which brings me back to our admission season, and a request of our entire community.

We should want Flint Hill to be recognized as one of the finest schools in our region. But that reputation isn't something our Admission or Marketing teams can build alone, nor is it something we can simply declare. We earn it through the experiences we create for our students, and we amplify it through the stories we share with others.

That's where you come in: Our families remain our greatest source of referrals for prospective Huskies who share our Mission and Core Values. Every one of us — students, families, employees, and alumni — has a role in shaping our reputation. So, share your family's experiences, celebrate our students and teachers, and invite friends and neighbors to visit and see Flint Hill firsthand. And let's always model the integrity, respect, and compassion we expect of our Huskies, including how we speak about our school and others.

Ultimately, a great reputation isn't just something we have. It's something we earn, protect, and strengthen together. Thank you for doing your part to make Flint Hill worthy of that reputation, every day.