Community & Culture

From the Director of Community & Culture

As we begin a new school year, I have been thinking about a word that surfaced again and again for me as I reflected on our community last year: balance.

Balance between striving and simply being. Between achievement and curiosity. Between speaking and listening. Between conviction and openness. Between supporting the people we care about and allowing them the space to struggle, question, change their minds, and grow.

These are not easy balances to find. Perhaps they are not meant to be. But we are fortunate to have something that makes the work of seeking them possible: one another.

I believe that the extraordinary quality of the relationships within our community makes it possible for us to have meaningful conversations.

Not only the easy conversations, when we agree, but the harder ones too. Conversations in which we can ask a question without already knowing the answer. Conversations in which a student can offer an idea that is still forming. Conversations in which someone can say, “I see this differently,” without fearing that disagreement will cost them belonging.

Maybe this, too, is about balance: having the courage to speak and the willingness to listen; holding our own beliefs while remaining curious about the beliefs of others; caring deeply about belonging while making room for difference.

Last year, I wrote about the idea of the PCDS family and the love, care, trust, and loyalty that make a family meaningful. I still believe deeply in that image. But this year, I find myself thinking about what comes next.

Perhaps belonging is not simply the result of being surrounded by people who know us.

The deepest kind of belonging may come from knowing that we can bring our questions, our uncertainty, our differences, our successes, and even our mistakes into a community—and still have a place within it.

This has always been the PCDS way, but as the world gets more and more complicated we have to sharpen our intention to preserve this balance. We will continue to strengthen:

A community that strives, but also breathes.

That achieves, but remains curious.

That holds convictions, but makes room for questions.

That celebrates what connects us without requiring us to be the same.

And a community in which our relationships are strong enough to hold not only our agreements, but our differences.

I look forward to the conversations we will have together this year,and to the ways we will continue, with intention, to strengthen the kind of community we want PCDS to be.

If you have any questions or are interested in learning more, please contact Mina Bhagdev, PCDS Director of Community & Culture, at 602-955-8200 extension 2263 or mina.bhagdev@pcds.org.

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PCDS Community & Culture Mission Statement

We are committed to nurturing thoughtful, self-aware, compassionate thinkers who can learn from challenging conversations and who recognize their limitless opportunity for growth, especially when considering perspectives different from one’s own. In addition to gaining essential knowledge and skills, we see education’s ultimate role as developing the intellectual acuity to grapple with complex topics.  

Actual growth can bring discomfort. Rather than retreating from that discomfort, we will nurture and support our community through our continued evolution. We commit to working tirelessly to create an environment that fosters kindness and appreciation of multiple dimensions of culture and community.

Developed with input from a wide array of PCDS constituent groups, the Community & Culture mission statement was designed to support the School's Strategic Plan and to amplify our School's mission statement and Portrait of a Graduate.

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