Mark Stehle
The 2019 SCH graduation ceremony at Springside Chestnut Hill Academy in Philadelphia Saturday, June 8, 2019. (©2019 Mark Stehle Photography)
The Outside the Inn column is meant to cover and catch up on what Alumni or former members of the SCH Community have been doing in their time away. By now, you have probably heard that Dr. Stephen Druggan will be returning to the Head of School position starting in the 2025-26 school year. For the last three years, he’s been furthering his reputation abroad as the superintendent of the American School of Dubai. In this iteration of “Outside the Inn,” we’ll get a closer look at Dr. Druggan’s experiences and takeaways from the past three years as he prepares to return to SCH.
ASD and SCH share some similarities, like being independent Pre-K through 12th grade schools, but as would be expected from a school across the world, there are many differences. What’s different about ASD is that rather than 160 years of tradition deeply rooted in a historic town, it’s a 60 year old school older than the nation it’s in. Though not to be seen as a negative, this was definitely something that Dr. Druggan missed about SCH. “When you sit in the Inn or just go through the Henry Library, you just know there’s a long arc of humanity that you’re a part of. We have traditions, but they’re ten years old. There’s no Blue and Blue day there.” He says. Dr. Druggan also noted that while SCH is able to highlight 90 different student zipcodes, ASD hosts an impressive 84 varying passports from across the globe.
Dr. Druggan is excited to bring this attitude and way of thinking to SCH, as he believes hearing all perspectives more fully will help our community grow and solve problems more effectively. In September, Druggan plans to begin feeling out what needs to continue and what needs to change or be adapted at our school.
We’re beyond proud to be welcoming Dr. Druggan back beginning in the 2025-26 school year!
A Special thanks from the whole team at The Campus Lantern, to Dr. Dinkins. Without your support and encouragement, the massive undertaking of reviving The Lantern would never have been possible! We wish you and your family nothing but the best in your futures!