Building Connections
New Upper School Principal Rachel Stone considers the challenges—from AI to emotional health—confronting today’s students.
Rachel Stone joined Milton as the Upper School principal on July 1. A dedicated educator with more than 30 years of experience in independent boarding schools, Stone was most recently head at the Canterbury School in Connecticut, following two decades at Blair Academy in New Jersey, where she held several faculty and administrative roles, including assistant head of school, dean of faculty, and science and math teacher.
Stone earned her bachelor’s degree in biology from Yale and a master’s degree in public health from Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. Her master’s thesis focused on how independent schools could identify students’ key health and social challenges and use them to drive the guiding principles for creating a new health curriculum.
Milton Magazine interviewed Stone before the start of this school year.
What excites and inspires you about working with young people?
I was a biology major in college and was planning to go to medical school. But in my senior year at Yale, I just wasn’t 100 percent sure. I had worked and done some teaching in summer camps, and I had a roommate who went to a boarding school, so I knew about the environment. I took a job teaching science at an independent school right out of college, thinking it was a one-year stint. But working in a boarding school is so immersive, and I realized that teenagers are fun, and they’re quirky, and they’re inspiring, and every day is different. In this profession, you’re never bored. I was so surprised, that very first fall, that I loved going from the classroom to a practice to the dorm. Working with adolescents stuck. Whatever your job is in a school environment, working with students is a remarkable privilege.
The way these communities work best is when you take into account the perspectives of others. I think that’s true of most industries, but independent school communities especially are built on relationships and a common mission and values. Certainly a big part of this year will be developing a rapport with both students and colleagues so that they know that I’m happy to listen and work on things collaboratively.
Technology, such as the emergence and evolution of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools, is expanding at a rapid pace. How can Milton teach and use these tools while retaining its excellent, time-tested academic standards?
I’m still learning what Milton is doing, but I think, generally speaking, good schools are taking the time to first give adults a chance to learn and experiment with some of these tools. Before we can make good decisions, we need to be educated ourselves. I think we have a responsibility, as a school, to give the adults some time. We also have the responsibility to acknowledge this is part of our students’ lives. It will be in college and it will be in the workforce, so ignoring or banning it is not an option; as educators, we must decide what the skills and outcomes are that we want to protect. What are the skills that we want to make sure students have, independent of technology?
And then, how do we teach them to use AI and other tools that are going to help them and complement or supplement their own skill sets?
Teen mental health has been in the headlines for several years. How can Milton maintain its students’ well-being in such an academically rigorous and busy social environment?
As I interviewed for this position, the theme of academic excellence permeated several questions, and it’s clear that Milton’s academic rigor is a source of enormous pride.
Something I bring to Milton is a background in public health. The research that’s coming out around teenagers and mental health is some- thing I pay attention to, and one of the things that the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has highlighted is that students who feel engaged at school also feel a greater sense of emotional well-being, so community is paramount. It’s not an antidote, but building connections is one of the skills that helps young people manage their mental health and seek resources when they need them. At independent schools, we work hard to know our students individually. Classes are smaller, students participate outside the classroom, they socialize on campus, and students here have a good opportunity to better understand emotional health. An- other piece of good news is that families and schools are now so much better equipped to understand and explore mental health.
I also think some of the bump in diagnoses of anxiety and depression comes from a better understanding of mental health; adults are working together to help young people identify and address problems when they come up. We know it’s not a quick fix, and it’s OK to talk about it. This acceptance and social norming is very important to students; they’re seeing it discussed in professional sports, they’re seeing it in media, they’re learning that help is available. Students are also learning that they can self-advocate; you can be one of the top students or get the highest SAT scores and also be able to say, “I need to go to bed early tonight,” or “I need to talk to a friend.”
What do you think is in store for independent schools like Milton in the near future?
The pandemic showed us that there is nothing better than in-person learning. I want to acknowledge that not everybody can access independent schools, but generally speaking, this is an environment that allows for great connection and collaboration.
Milton is in an excellent position as we consider where we’re going. We have the opportunity to graduate students who have a broader perspective on the world, partly because they’re living and learning with other students whose experiences have been different from those of the kids they grew up with. When they head off to college and work, they’ve had this incredible experience. They’re self-aware, appreciative of collaboration, and appreciative of diverse thinking. We bear a responsibility to help our students go on and be of ser- vice in the world. The bottom line? Milton is wonderfully positioned to continue serving as a leader among independent schools for our commitment to academics, inclusion, and community.
“Dare to be true” is not just a motto for Milton, it’s a huge part of the culture. How do you think Milton can advance this idea in the school and beyond?
This generation of teenagers has been through a lot, considering the pandemic, social injustice, racial reckoning, and the isolation of re- mote learning during COVID. At the same time—in part as a response to these challenges—and because the world is becoming more empathetic and able to celebrate and acknowledge differences, this is also a generation of teenagers who have grown up in a world where diverse identities are discussed and appreciated. I’m not sure there’s ever been a better time in the history of our country for teenagers to be true to who they are. My first reaction has been that the motto highlights the culture in the Milton community.
“Dare to be true” is human and honest. I think it’s aspirational, and my sense is that Milton wants it for all members of the community. The work is hard, but it’s worth it, and it’s a challenge to all of us to show up with integrity, to build relationships, and to step up—both formally and informally—to lead.