October Letter from Upper School Director

Some inspire purpose and help build resilience, like our College Counseling and Student Success Department’s after-school Appy Hours, designed to support and build community around seniors deep in their application process. Another example is last week’s Friday Morning Meeting Speaker, Megan Kennedy. Megan is the director of the University of Washington’s Resilience Lab, and she engaged Upper School students on the importance of community as a key driver of resilience and well-being. 

 

I’ve been taking my own journey through these related topics by studying “mattering” over recent months in conjunction with a colleague at Charles Wright Academy in Tacoma. We’ve been excited to find a lot of common ground—myself as Upper School Director and Rixa Evershed as Beginning School Director—as we explored Jennifer B. Wallace’s 2026 book, Mattering, along with her work in partnership with Harvard through their 2025 Mattering Initiative, and the Center for the Developing Child’s working paper titled, “Mattering in Early Childhood: Building a Strong Foundation for Life.” Wallace defines “mattering” simply as feeling valued and feeling that we add value for others. Her work resonated with us because it encompassed and wove together many of these other key aspects of well-being and thriving in schools. In Wallace’s words, mattering is a “‘meta-need’ or ‘umbrella term’ because part of its power lies in how it encompasses familiar concepts including feelings of connection, belonging, and purpose under a simple intuitive concept. In fact, what makes it particularly powerful is that it transcends these individual concepts.”

Rixa and I presented on “mattering” earlier this month at the Northwest Association of Independent Schools’ (NWAIS) Fall Educators Conference. Our partnership came about as we got to know each other through NWAIS’s Pathways to Leadership Program in recent months. We focused on how aspects of mattering are core to learning outcomes and wellness across the student experience, as well as how mattering can be prioritized for adults in schools. 

Mattering as a core aspect of what we build in schools resonated deeply with me in part because I see it everywhere at The Bush School. In addition to the community events I described earlier, it happens every day across the student experience. Students are known by their teachers, advisors, and coaches who take care to check in, connect, and communicate whether things are going well or extra support is needed. Students are seen and valued by our counselors and learning specialists, and they build community for each other through student-run initiatives like our peer-to-peer Centers program and the new Blazer Blueprint, Ninth Grade mentoring program.

At the end of the month, I look forward to seeing you all – parents, guardians, and caregivers – at school for one of the most special community events – Parent and Guardian-Teacher Conferences on Wednesday, October 28 and Thursday, October 29. This is an excellent opportunity to connect with teachers one-on-one in support of your student(s) as we reach mid-semester. It is a chance to assess, adapt (if needed), and celebrate progress in all of your students’ classes, as well as to see each other and continue to build community and a culture of mattering together. 

 

Warmly,

 

Ingrid Gustavson

Upper School Director