Our Wildwood, Volume 54

DEAR FRIENDS A Letter from Landis

Mind and Heart—and the K-12 integration of the two, the Portrait of a Lifelong Learner, with which our current Wildwood students engage. Those of us who work in schools have long had cause to be hopeful for the future. Not just optimistic, which suggests a more passive stance, but truly hopeful. That’s especially the case when I listen to students like Reiland and his peers reflect on how they take what they learned from their parents, people who—wisely, I believe—chose Wildwood for its focus on teaching them the very skills that they’ll need to navigate and lead us all, with hope and confidence, into the future. I met Rachel Hedgepath ’13, a colleague who’s written a beautiful profile about her mother on page 42, at the start of my tenure when she was in middle school. We were on a panel together and someone asked when we’d know that the work of DEIB was finished, that we’d arrived at the perfect future state we envisioned. The eloquent, 13-year-old Rachel leaned forward and confidently said, “I’ll take this one..,” proceeding to explain that progress doesn’t conclude, that the work of our school and our world is simply never done. It was a moment I’ll always remember, one infused with pragmatism, confidence, determination, and hope. That’s the case with all we do at Wildwood, from evolving pedagogies that structure our academic program to the equity and inclusion work that promotes a sense of belonging and ownership of every member of the community. It’s been a privilege to be here these 19 years, which will have marked the most significant chapter in my career. Thank you. Wildwood School will always be a part of who I am, and I am grateful for the opportunity of having contributed something of myself.

Earlier this year I shared a passage from a piece by Sian Leah Beilock, president of Dartmouth College. It read, “The goal of a college or university is to impart, and allow the opportunity to practice, the deeply human power skills—critical thinking, emotional intelligence, ethical discernment, collaborative leadership—that are required to successfully and happily move into adulthood. But those skills need practice. And right now, students are getting fewer and fewer opportunities to develop them.” Wildwood School students have been practicing Dr. Beilock’s “power skills” since 1971. And for 25 years, they’ve been preparing for college practicing those very skills straight through 12th grade. As I bring my time at Wildwood to a close, I’m reflecting on all that’s changed in these last two decades, as well as all that’s held constant. Certainly, Dr. Beilock’s power skills—critical thinking, emotional intelligence, ethical discernment, collaborative leadership—are central to the ways in which our students continue to be taught to “use their minds well”, as our founding K-12 team articulated it. What’s also true is that my colleagues and I have continued to iterate and evolve, based on experience, research, and—this is important—feedback from alumni, to ensure that they have all the skills they’ll need, power and otherwise. Our graduates’ strengths were on full display at this year’s State of the School, the focus of which was a panel of recent graduates reflecting on what they gained at Wildwood and how it’s informing their work and lives now. If you want a good dose of pride and hope, take a look via the QR code on page 46. Of the many moments that made my heart sing, one was Reiland Bruskotter ‘24, Washington University in St. Louis ‘28, taking the lead in responding to a question about navigating life outside the “bubble” of Wildwood. He quickly dismissed the idea that current Wildwood students don’t have to navigate the real world beyond the walls of Wildwood. Then he and his fellow panelists—in response to that question and others—proceeded to provide all sorts of evidence of the power of Life Skills, Habits of

With warmest regards and much gratitude,

Landis Green Head of School

OWW SPRING 2026

1