New Momentum and a Quarter Century of Teaching Students to Be Well in the World

A quarter century ago, we had just survived Y2K, had a student body wearing baggy pants, hoodies, and not a cell phone in sight. In this pre-9/11 world, veteran faculty member Terry Stoecker and young faculty member Megan Hardie saw very real stressors entering the lives of our students and partnered to design a well-being curriculum for Proctor’s youngest students called G.R.O.W.T.H. 

At the time, this commitment to holistic student well-being was novel as G.R.O.W.T.H introduced an integrated approach to “health” class for ninth-grade students in which Terry and Megan sought to help students understand themselves, the stressors in their lives, and healthy ways to navigate the whitewaters of adolescence. Over time, G.R.O.W.T.H evolved beyond the ninth-grade class to both Freshman and Sophomore Seminar courses, with the curriculum constantly evolving with the influx of technology, social media, new addictive substances targeting teenagers, and a global pandemic. Freshman Seminar ensures all new ninth graders learn about the intersection of nutrition, sleep, and basic self-care as the foundation of their well-being, while Sophomore Seminar builds on the foundation of the freshman year curriculum through further exploration of the role of social media, substance, body image, mental health, and personal care. For each of the last 25 years, Megan has been the steady hand leading this evolution alongside her seminar teaching colleagues. Her work ensures that every student who enters Proctor is equipped with a toolkit for life at, and beyond, Proctor. 

Like so many initiatives at Proctor, our commitment to well-being was not siloed in the seminar courses; instead, it was enhanced by individual faculty sharing their passions with the whole community. Whether it was Terry ensuring we had moments of quiet gratitude and reflection in assembly, English faculty Tom Morgan designing and teaching a mindfulness course for students during his free time, Learning Skills faculty Kayden Will offering regular yoga for the community, Lead Counselor Kara Hayes providing similar yoga opportunities for students and faculty, alike, or the other talented seminar teachers like Kelly Griffin-Brown, Katelyn Churchill, Drew Donaldson, Erica Wheeler, Maggie Kennedy, and others over the last two decades, our faculty model a holistic approach to well-being education simply through their actions in the classroom. 

The summer of 2025 saw the hiring of Dr. Nancy Turkington as Proctor’s first Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Turkington’s work to research, design, and build a comprehensive well-being program at Proctor builds on the incredibly strong foundation already in existence at Proctor. In a time when schools (independent schools and colleges and universities) are scrambling to respond to a very real mental health crisis impacting today’s adolescents and young adults, we enter this work with the confidence that much of Proctor’s educational program consistently asks young people to understand themselves, take on appropriate challenge, gain independence, and learn how to be well in the world. 

Proctor is intentional in our launching of new students into their Proctor experience with a five-day, technology-free backpacking trip alongside faculty. Our schedule ensures our students are active every afternoon, known and seen by the adults in the community, and understand the powerful relationship between the natural world and mental health. Our off-campus programs teach independence and agency unlike any other opportunity in high school, and we have invested in an $8M new Health and Well-Being Center. When these built-in experiences and infrastructure investments join forces with the well-being curriculum designed and stewarded by Megan and our Seminar Instructors, our Dean’s Team, and Dr. Turkington’s evolving research and leadership, we can hardly contain our excitement for the impact Proctor’s approach to student well-being will have not only on our students, but on our professional community, as well as other schools looking for guidance and leadership in this critical space. 

Learn more about Student Health and Well-Being at Proctor!