By Serena Lin ’19, News & Blog Editor and Andrew Rowan ’19, Editor-in-Chief

“I think we would be misled if we thought a new Head of School comes in and just shapes and changes the culture,” said incoming head of school Julia de la Torre. “I think it happens as a collaborative effort.”

Some might say that Moorestown Friends is coming off a tumultuous 2017-2018 school year. There was vandalization of the middle school bathroom, offensive messages written in goodbye cards, money stolen from student organizations’ cash boxes, and the departure of a large number of faculty members.

While some would like her to come in and address a variety of issues, de la Torre said she’s not rushing into anything just yet. Moorestown Friends is a school that she “deeply believes in,” but she emphasized taking time to become familiar with students and faculty. She sees the need to acknowledge that the previous school year “did not end in a way that felt good to people.”

de la Torre believes that “students are the ones who create culture.” She hopes that students, in collaboration with faculty, will be able to “figure out how to move the school positively forward.”

Her intention is to come in as “an eager learner… a ready participant… [and] a sensitive and empathizing listener.”

The incoming head of school plans to get to know the community by simply talking with them. de la Torre has met with 40 of MFS’s 155 faculty members in one-on-one meetings. She plans to finish all of the individual conferences by December.

Additionally, she and her husband have hosted a pool party and cookout at their on-campus home for faculties and their families, just one of the way she has begun to integrate into the community.

Of course, it isn’t until September that campus truly fills up. de la Torre anticipates getting a “sense for the pace of the school year and figuring out where people gather.” While she hopes that she can be “visible and accessible to people,” she recognizes that it may not be possible for everyone to speak openly to her.

Disconnect from the school administration has been a student issue in the past and de la Torre sees the need to “be where [the students] are.”

Previous head of school Larry Van Meter made himself accessible by hosting a hoagies with the head lunch with incoming students as well as graduating fourth, eighth, and twelfth graders. de la Torre plans to continue Mr. Van Meter’s tradition of having hoagies with the head for fourth and eighth graders, but plans to put her own twist on Mr. Van Meter’s senior meetings.

As seen in her July 26 Adobe Spark post, de la Torre sees food as a way to connect with others. She plans to invite seniors to the Head’s house and cook something with her. There is the practical benefit to cooking—“I would like to teach you something that you can take with you.”

  These recipes would be both for normal recipes that can be made for families and mug recipes for in the dorm. She spoke of perhaps compiling a cookbook at the end of the year for the graduating seniors to bring with them when they leave MFS. She also wants to take pictures and “capture this year for [the seniors].”

de la Torre hopes that speaking to students while cooking can remove some of the pressure of speaking to someone in a position of authority. She wants to maintain an old tradition and try a new one.

She hopes that she can break down “perceived barriers that keep people from really sharing that they want to share.”

de la Torre also intends to use the Head’s office to create a welcoming atmosphere. Her office was designed with this in mind. She is aware that “space influences everything” and that it “reflects who [she is].”

With the blinds open and the cabinets painted white, the Head’s office is a bright space. There are colorful accents throughout the office. She points out the intentionally multicultural and international themes of her office. de la Torre has displayed photos that she has taken on her travels, which represent “different parts of [de la Torre’s] identity.”

de la Torre’s new position at Head of School has also given her husband an opportunity to open a furniture company, a dream of his.

Her husband made the centerpiece of her office: a long, natural wood table. de la Torre intends it to be symbolic of children in a school: “Every child is unique, every child has a story to tell. So having a unique table in the office is meant to reflect that every child in the school… is special to the community.”

de la Torre believes that “good learning and… good leading happens when people feel comfortable.” This is reflected in the coffee and tea station in her office. Additionally, she has created a kid’s corner, which includes children’s toys and books. de la Torre has had puzzles custom made from pictures of MFS.

Having highlighted the inclusivity of her office, she said, “Your head of school represents you, so you should feel welcome in here.”

de la Torre is the ninth Head of School in what is considered the “modern era” of the school (post-1920, after the school reconsolidated on one property), but she is the first female to hold the position.

It’s something that de la Torre said she hadn’t really thought about because she’s been surrounded by female leaders all her life. Because her mother was a “trailblazer” in the field of medicine, de la Torre grew up “thinking that women broke barriers.” 

“I’m still in a place of trying to figure out what this means to the community versus what this means for me,” said de la Torre.

For her personally, she said the position to lead a school she “deeply believes in” and “engage with a community you want your own child to be a part of” is something she has worked for her whole life.

She’ll consider the year to be a good one if the community has a sense for who she is and she has a sense of who the community is.

For the community, de la Torre said she recognizes the excitement over the hiring of a female head of school. This is evident in the number of people who have stopped her on her way into work over the summer to speak to her about it. She said instances like those let her know that for some people this will be a “really important moment.”

Only one-third of independent schools are led by women, and she thinks it is great that children in the community will grow up seeing both female and male leaders at Moorestown Friends. “We are really lucky in this school to have an administrative team of people who are inspirational, capable, smart, thoughtful leaders,” said de la Torre.

While division directors Kelly Banik, Kimberly Clarkson, and Meredith Godley are all women, de la Torre said she thinks it is great that Moorestown Friends picked the best people for the job. Regardless of gender, the head of school said that what she wants most is for students to find a trusted adult they can go to for inspiration, consultation, and support.

Many students needed that support following many national news events during the 2017-2018 school year, including the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Following the tragedy, MFS students planned and organized a walk-out as part of a national movement against gun violence.

de la Torre said she is a supporter of student activism because helping students find their voice in a way that will move the community forward is the “the point of education.”

“What’s so great about a Friends school environment is that it is about individual growth but also about contributing towards a forward movement of a community,” she said.

Regarding the political tension during Meeting for Worship, de la Torre said she would like to see the culture, but hopes to maintain different spaces and mediums where students feel comfortable sharing their views.

The Parkland massacre also surfaced questions about school security around the country. Moorestown Friends has hired an outside security firm, which is currently working on a security audit expected to be completed later this month. de la Torre said she looks forward to reviewing their findings, in addition to seeing the way people move around the school. She also has been discovering what the conversation about security at MFS has been like before her arrival.

She said while every head in the National Association of Independent Schools has a slightly different view on school security, the goal is for students not to have fear.

de la Torre said she would like to see the culture, but hopes to maintain different spaces and mediums where students feel comfortable sharing their views.

In ten months, when the new head of school finishes her first year in the position, she said she’ll consider the year to be a good one if the community has a sense of who she is and she has a sense of who the community is. de la Torre admits it’s an intangible measurement, but said if there’s trust between her and the community, any topic can be tackled.

de la Torre said it’s important to her that students feel like their head of school cares about them and they don’t view her as just a position they never see. For the senior class, she said she would feel really good if she had something to say about each student as she hands them their diploma on graduation day.

“My real goal this year is to just feel known and for you to feel like you are known by me at every grade.”

This article originally appeared in a September 7, 2018 print edition.