The Community of Inquiry
When asked what they most value about Campbell Hall, current students along with student applicants and their families consistently describe the strong sense of community that the institution embodies. In a vast urban area, often without obvious aspects of community, one of the strongest tangible assets of the school is that it offers those seeking or longing for community a place with shared meaning and values. Consequently, it is always important at Campbell Hall to reflect upon our conversations about community as part of our planning and governance. The continuing quest to grow into our full stature as an intentional community must remain a vital commitment.
A philosophy has developed at Campbell Hall that honors the continuing need to renew and nurture the model of community which the school's various constituencies so value. Parents, faculty, and students relish the school's diversity, but also expect coherence; to paraphrase Yeats, they expect the center to hold. A model of "wholeness incorporating diversity" (John W. Gardner, "Building Community," paper prepared for the Leadership Studies Program of Independent School Sector) emerged in Strategic Plan 2000 as a central theme of the planning process and a symbol of Campbell Hall's continuing commitment to build and nurture community in a changing world.
In 2008, the school's leadership has taken advantage of ongoing research into Episcopal school identity by the National Association of Episcopal Schools to articulate an emerging central theme of Campbell Hall as a community of inquiry. The heart of our work in Episcopal schools is a sense of wonder at the mystery of God's creation. In that light, wonder, curiosity, and a trust that the truth will emerge from disciplined inquiry come prior to our differing opinions, backgrounds, beliefs, and tastes. This model of the community of inquiry allows us to find commonality in our approach to learning and problem solving as well as in our hopes and aspirations. It is precisely that sense of commonality that inspires us to be decent and loving towards each other even when our differences threaten to divide us.
By 2011, the Campbell Hall community has already taken many concrete steps to broaden understanding and agreement regarding the Community of Inquiry model (see details under the Episcopal Tradition goal), such that students, without ever hearing the term, are already realizing further opportunities for their learning to take the form of joyous inquiry rather than anxiety-driven test prep. We look forward to continuing growth and power of the model in the years ahead.
