Oliverian is a school where we live together in community. Compare that to a family setting where teenagers are going to, 80% of the time, not even be at home. They’re at school or they’re at after-school with their friends, or they’re in their room – there’s a lot of separation – especially now, that all students are experiencing. And our kind of students, who are very sensitive, experience it very deeply. So the need, their need to connect, is even greater than usual. And the obstacles to their connecting are even greater than usual. So it makes a lot of sense that you would have to live in close community with other people to overcome some of those obstacles. Having a roommate, living in a dorm, eating meals and playing and learning with the same small group of students and faculty and those faculty members’ families concentrates the opportunities for deep connection in a way that feels safe for kids and allows them to build some connecting skills that they wouldn’t otherwise be able to get in another setting.

Will Laughlin
Head of School