Christina Chambers ’16: T.J. Locke, Head of School, leads quite a multi-faceted life filled with various board meetings, alumnae functions, and of course, involvement in student life. When I first entered Locke’s office at 7:30 AM, he rose from his large, corner desk to greet me with a firm handshake and a characteristically warm smile. “Have a seat,” he suggested, so I settled myself on a blue couch behind a midsize brown coffee table with a bowl of lollipops and different EA booklets on it. The early morning light streamed in the windows and reflected off of a golden plaque upon his desk inscribed, “Dr. T.J. Locke,” that rested next to a similarly constructed wooden figure etched with the phrase “I am still learning.”
After observing for what felt like only a minute, we were off to the lower school drop off area to greet parents and children alike. During the walk over, Locke expressed his love of seeing the young students in the morning saying, “It’s the best part of the job.”
The lower school drop off area was bustling by 7:50 AM, as Locke greeted different members of the community and congratulated Whit Powell, Head Tennis Coach, and Lower School Teacher, on winning girls’ tennis Interacs the previous day. The conversation was cut short though by his daughter, Katie Locke ‘22, arriving by giving her dad a huge hug and wishing him a happy birthday. “It just happened that this was the only day that worked out,” he revealed with a modest laugh regarding my shadowing him.
Photo Courtesy of Suzanne Schaffer
But even birthdays can’t slow down a T.J. Locke work day. Next on the agenda was advisory at 8 AM, as Locke assumed a new role as a freshman advisor this year. The minute we reached homeroom, he thanked Bryan McDermott, Upper School physics teacher, for covering for him the week before in homeroom when he was away at a conference in California. As the students began arriving, he immediately began asking them how they did in their various extra curricular activities. The stragglers were just appearing when McDermott asked if Locke had any plans for his birthday. He replied, “Just the usual,” and changed the subject from himself back to the students, asking anyone if they were planning to see the halloween-esque play, “The Witches.” “It looks amazing,” he exclaimed, “and it’s already sold out!”
On the way back to the Crawford Campus Center, Locke struck up a conversation with Zach Richards, Associate Director of Enrollment Management and Athletic Liaison, and Chuck Bryant, History Department Chair, regarding the football game against Springside Chestnut Hill. “I think we can take ‘em!” he declared.
A birthday present from Ellen Milewski, Secretary to the Head of School, was waiting on Locke’s desk when we arrived back to his office. He briefly explained the different sections of the Board of Trustees to me when we arrived back to the office, so I wouldn’t be completely lost during the meeting happening in just a few minutes. We entered the conference room directly next to Locke’s office for the Facilities Committee meeting at 8:15 AM. The six members in attendance stood from the round table to introduce themselves to me, and greeted Locke with “Happy Birthdays” and smiles. Mark Notaro, Director of Facilities and Operations, began the meeting with an update on the status of EA’s sewage installment. He then shifted gears to discuss a fund that Episcopal has in place for parts of the campus that will ultimately fail at some time, better known as PPRSM. Notaro gave a five year look ahead on everything from buildings to paint to turf fields, samples of which the committee had ready to display during the meeting. The majority of the meeting was spent on discussing various types of turf that could possibly be used to replace Sonje’s Field that is used in the fall by girls’ field hockey and in the spring by boys’ lacrosse. As the committee moved on to discuss a security update, we snuck out so Locke could quickly prepare a call scheduled for 10:15 AM.
Photo Courtesy of Charlotte Weisman ’18
“The job is so much different than a principal,” he told me, “it’s more like being a CEO.” Dr. Cathy Hall, Assistant to Head of School, came in and reviewed Global Online Academy (GOA) details before the phone call and went over possible new sound and visual displays for the chapel and theater as well. The two bounced different ideas off of each other until the clock struck 10 AM.
The impending call began seventeen minutes later with Michael Nachbar, Executive Director of Global Online Academy, Delvin Dinkins, Head of Upper School, and Hall all on the phone. The four discussed the program from a staff perspective. Locke mentioned that he certainly does not want, “Staff to become increasingly overwhelmed from the courses they teach,” especially since the process to become a GOA instructor is very rigorous, including a summer program and various workshops. “Right now, it’s the great unknown,” Locke remarked, “and we’ll learn from others’ mistakes.” Dinkins left the office shortly after the call ended, nodding to Locke, Hall, and myself on the way out the door. Locke and Hall continued their previous meeting with talk of more details and proposals for their upcoming plans for the theater and chapel.
Like most of his other meetings, Locke’s meeting with Hall was left unfinished when his next appointment arrived, Adam Lavallee, Upper School Math teacher. Hall departed as Lavallee walked into the office and greeted Locke with a handshake. Locke changed positions from behind his desk, to a more comfortable chair closer to Lavallee as the two discussed EA teacher involvement in GOA further for the next half an hour.
When Lavallee left, a lull in time lasted for only a moment, as a clueless Locke was pulled outside of his office by some of his coworkers and friends for a birthday surprise. Milewski baked a special apple cake for the occasion, which I was able to indulge in as well, and a few people gathered around to talk about outside activities, rather than work. The hot topic was the game of golf Locke and Hall played while in California last week. “You can imagine, in my position, my personal and professional lives intertwine,” he told me, “But that’s just another thing I love about the job.”
Photo Courtesy of Suzanne Schaffer
At the end of the celebration, Locke and I departed campus with Suzanne Schaffer, Director of Major Gifts at EA, for Beaumont at Bryn Mawr, an independent retirement facility that houses quite a few EA alumnae. Locke stressed the importance of appearances at these senior centers, commenting that they are all, “So dedicated to EA, so we try to compensate by bringing Episcopal to those that cannot physically be on campus.” He mentioned the importance of wearing Episcopal tie because, “It’s the little things,” that mean the most to the alumnae.
Arriving at Beaumont, Locke made sure to say hello to every person he went by on the way to the dining porch. We were met by Bruce Mainwaring ‘44 and his wife at the doors, where we each received a name tag to stick to our clothing. Mainwaring is a part of The Bishop William White Society, a group of people who let EA know they are in their wills. I quietly observed the surroundings by the window as the adults formally introduced themselves to other alumnae. Locke often asked how peoples’ children and grandchildren were doing, and soon brought me into the conversations as well.
We sat down for lunch for about an hour and ate with the residents, discussing life there and at Episcopal. When dessert was served, the room sang happy birthday to not only Locke, but a member of the class of ‘33 as well, who turned one hundred years old and who I just happened to be sitting next to at lunch. Shortly after, Patsy Porter, Director of Planned Giving, said a few words of introduction for Locke before he rose to address the alumnae.
“I’m honored to be here today,” he began, and then went on to discuss Episcopal’s current status saying, “We’re in great shape academically and financially, and enrollment is the highest its ever been.” However, he spent far more time describing student achievements and other exciting programs EA has to offer like J-Term and GOA. “If I could tell you what I see every day, you’d get tears in your eyes,” he revealed. He encouraged the alumnae to continue to be, “Warm and philanthropic, because it truly makes a difference.”
Locke smoothly exited the scene, with me right behind him, thanking everyone for coming and hoping to see them again. On the way back to school, he called his wife, Lauren, to check in and see how her day went. Unfortunately, their four year old son Charlie was sick and had to come home from school with his twin brother Teddy. The birthday dinner Lauren had originally planned was not going to work out, but Locke was not phased at all, saying, “It’s alright I’ll pick dinner up later.”
We were back in Locke’s office by 2:30 PM, and I was exhausted from the day. We arrived just in time for Locke’s meeting with a parent before attending the girls’ tennis match for the Interac title. Before I left though, he assured me of a few things. “I am still learning,” he said echoing the figure on his desk, “and no day is the same.”