Meredyth Cole: Lovett Defined

S10E7 Head of School Meredyth Cole returns to the Living Lovett podcast for the Season 10 finale. Associate Head of School Jessica Sant and Meredyth Cole reflect on the school's evolution during its Centennial year. After becoming Lovett's Head of School in 2018, Meredyth discusses the intentional work of clarifying the school's identity and strengthening its organizational systems while staying true to founder Eva Edwards Lovett's vision of whole child education. The conversation explores how Lovett has remained committed to its Episcopal roots, prioritized relationships between students and faculty, and made decisions that serve students over societal pressure. Meredyth paints a beautiful picture of how Lovett is charting its course for the next hundred years. Learn more about Lovett's Centennial celebration here: https://www.lovett100.org/ Living Lovett is the award nominated podcast hosted by Jessica Sant. Find Living Lovett on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app. Visit The Lovett School website Lovett.org for more information. Lovett is on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Questions? Comments? Episode suggestions? We'd love to hear from you! Email host Jessica Sant.

S10E6 Heads of School Week continues on the Living Lovett podcast. Billy Peebles sits down to reflect on his 15-year tenure as head of school at the Lovett School from 2003 to 2018. Billy was at the helm when Living Lovett host and Associate Head of School Jessica Sant first joined Lovett, making this conversation particularly poignant. Peebles describes inheriting a strong foundation from his predecessor and adapting his leadership style to serve a much larger institution than he had previously led. Billy discusses the importance of staying connected to teaching throughout his administrative role, particularly his ninth-grade religion elective, People of the Book, which allowed him to know students across their high school years. This conversation offers insight into the leadership philosophy and collaborative approach that shaped Lovett during a period of significant growth and transformation, and how stewardship works in practice in a community like the Lovett community. Learn more about Lovett's Centennial celebration here: https://www.lovett100.org/ Living Lovett is the award nominated podcast hosted by Jessica Sant. Find Living Lovett on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app. Visit The Lovett School website Lovett.org for more information. Lovett is on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Questions? Comments? Episode suggestions? We'd love to hear from you! Email host Jessica Sant.

S10E5 Some of the most essential experiences of Lovett started under the tenure Jim Hendrix (Head of School, 1991-2003.) The four days in the Pisgah wilderness at the end of junior year (fondly known as JOE); the distinctive American Studies program; Siempre Verde; and what's now known as the Learning Lab all had their start during these years. It's Heads of School Week on the Living Lovett podcast. Dr. Hendrix joins Jessica Sant, Associate Head of School at The Lovett School to talk about his 50 years in education, and to learn about Dr. Hendrix's experience at Lovett. Generous with credit and quick with a story, Jim reminds us that a school's best traditions often start with a bold idea and someone willing to support it. Learn more about Lovett's Centennial celebration here: https://www.lovett100.org/ Living Lovett is the award nominated podcast hosted by Jessica Sant. Find Living Lovett on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app. Visit The Lovett School website Lovett.org for more information. Lovett is on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Questions? Comments? Episode suggestions? We'd love to hear from you! Email host Jessica Sant.

S10E4 When Christina Dahabreh arrived on the riverbank as a sixth grader, she had to adjust: harder classes, new expectations, and new classmates who were not yet friends. But then, just seven years later, Christina received the Eva Edwards Lovett Founder's Medal, our highest honor for a senior. She also left behind a legacy of clubs that hadn't existed before, a class that felt like family, and a clearer path for the girls coming behind her. This season of the Living Lovett podcast is celebrating Lovett's Centennial. Christina Dahabreh, a member of the Class of 2026, joins Jessica Sant, Associate Head at The Lovett School, to talk about what life was like at Lovett, and what it means to graduate in Lovett's Centennial year. Christina has firsthand experience in the power of a whole child education, and shares her insights on resiliency, success, and creating opportunity. Today, Christina is a first-year student at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. Listen to Christina's graduation speech here: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DZp7kPni1it/ Learn more about Lovett's Centennial celebration here: https://www.lovett100.org/ Living Lovett is the award nominated podcast hosted by Jessica Sant. Find Living Lovett on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app. Visit The Lovett School website Lovett.org for more information. Lovett is on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Questions? Comments? Episode suggestions? We'd love to hear from you! Email host Jessica Sant.

S10E3 A new building is taking shape in the heart of Lovett's campus, named for one of our own. Rita Anne Rollins, the eldest child of Randall and Peggy Rollins, was a member of the Class of 1972, whose years at Lovett were cut short. Her brother and sisters, Pam, Tim, and Amy, all went on to graduate from Lovett, and through their generosity, Rita Anne's name will rest at the center of our campus in the place where generations of students will gather, learn, and grow. Lovett's Chief Advancement Officer Matt Gould joins Jessica Sant, Associate Head of School and host of Living Lovett, to discuss how a transformational gift makes Rita Anne Rollins Hall possible. Matt and Jessica also talk about what philanthropy does for a school like Lovett, and how families can get involved. Reach out to Matt Gould: [email protected] Learn more about Lovett's Centennial celebration here: https://www.lovett100.org/ Make a gift to Lovett here: https://www.lovett.org/support Living Lovett is the award nominated podcast hosted by Jessica Sant. Find Living Lovett on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app. Visit The Lovett School website Lovett.org for more information. Lovett is on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Questions? Comments? Episode suggestions? We'd love to hear from you! Email host Jessica Sant.

S10E2 Some friendships start on a playground. The Little Lovett friendship of Fontaine Draper and Alan Elsas began on a first-grade stage, with one classmate in rabbit ears and the other playing the rabbit's mother. Now, just over 70 years later, Fontaine and Alan join Associate Head of School Jessica Sant on the Living Lovett podcast to offer a tour of what Lovett was like when it was under the leadership of Eva Edwards Lovett. As Lovett celebrates 100 years, this conversation will revisit the days of the long, low white schoolhouse on West Westley; flower walks and birdwatching; strict student government meetings; and a picture of Eva Edwards Lovett from the perspective of young students. With a lifelong friendship full of warmth and affection, Fontaine and Alan are fantastic tour guides of Lovett's early days. Learn more about Lovett's Centennial celebration here: https://www.lovett100.org/ Living Lovett is the award nominated podcast hosted by Jessica Sant. Find Living Lovett on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app. Visit The Lovett School website Lovett.org for more information. Lovett is on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Questions? Comments? Episode suggestions? We'd love to hear from you! Email host Jessica Sant.

S10E1 Who is Eva Edwards Lovett? When we talk about whole child education, we are describing her approach to teaching. Every day on this campus, in classrooms, on the fields, and along the river, we live out ideas she set in motion a century ago. And yet for many of us, Eva Edwards Lovett remains a name we know far better than the woman behind it. Season 10 of Living Lovett is here, and as we celebrate the Lovett Centennial, Dr. Wade Morris (Chair, Upper School History Department) joins Associate Head of School Jessica Sant to answer the critical question, who is Eva Edwards Lovett? This episode explores Mrs. Lovett's life; her beliefs about how children learn and grow; the story of the school's founding; and the ways her influence still shapes daily life at Lovett one hundred years later. You will leave this episode with a greater understanding of our founder and our school, and with a deeper understanding of how we became distinctly Lovett. Learn more about Lovett at 100 here: https://www.lovett100.org/ Living Lovett is the award nominated podcast hosted by Jessica Sant. Find Living Lovett on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app. Visit The Lovett School website Lovett.org for more information. Lovett is on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Questions? Comments? Episode suggestions? We'd love to hear from you! Email host Jessica Sant.

S9E6 What does meaningful parent partnership look like when it's working? In the Season 9 finale of Living Lovett, host Jessica Sant sits down with Lovett Parent Association (LPA) co-presidents Alice Sheets and Malvika Jhangiani: two busy parents who will tell you that saying yes before you're ready turned out to be one of the best decisions they made. Alice and Malvika reflect on what surprised them most about leading the LPA, how CliftonStrengths gave them a common language before they'd spent a single hour working together, and how practicing difficult conversations shaped the way they showed up all year long. They talk about what it meant to put their names on Lovett's first-ever parent engagement survey, the listening sessions happening across campus this spring, and why they believe the most powerful thing a parent can do is both make their voice heard and trust the process. They also have a message for every Lovett parent who's been on the fence about getting involved but maybe thought they were too busy or weren't sure their skills could be useful. More about Lovett Parent Engagement here: https://www.lovett.org/community/parent-engagement Living Lovett is the award nominated podcast hosted by Jessica Sant. Find Living Lovett on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app. Visit The Lovett School website Lovett.org for more information. Lovett is on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Questions? Comments? Episode suggestions? We'd love to hear from you! Email host Jessica Sant.

S9E5 What would it mean for every person on a school campus—the teacher, the department chair, the custodian, the grounds crew—to end the year knowing that someone truly saw them? Not through a trinket or a mass email, but something personal, specific, and lasting. It turns out the answer might be as simple as a handwritten note—and at Lovett, a team of colleagues decided to find out. In this episode of Living Lovett, host Jessica Sant sits down with Vanessa Boone, K–5 Design and Engineering teacher in the Lower School Innovation Lab, and Dr. Lindsay Samson, Middle School Department Chair for World Languages, who together co-chair Lovett's 26-person Employee Engagement Working Team. This year, that team set out to answer a question many organizations never think to ask: How do our people actually want to be recognized? They surveyed the community, dug into the data, and built something real around what they found. You'll hear Vanessa and Lindsay unpack the meaningful difference between recognition and reward, what surprised them in the pulse survey results, and how a brainstormed idea became a schoolwide campaign connecting parents, faculty, and staff. This episode brings home how recognition and engagement help make Lovett the place that it is. Living Lovett is the award nominated podcast hosted by Jessica Sant. Find Living Lovett on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app. Visit The Lovett School website Lovett.org for more information. Lovett is on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Questions? Comments? Episode suggestions? We'd love to hear from you! Email host Jessica Sant.

S9E4 What does it look like when a leader pours herself fully into a place — and leaves it fundamentally better than she found it? In this episode of Living Lovett, Jessica Sant sits down with Associate Head of School Chelle Wabrek to celebrate seven years of growth, impact, and deep investment in The Lovett School community. Chelle reflects on what drew her to Lovett, what she learned about herself through unexpected leadership roles, and why she believes the most important thing a leader can do is slow down and have more conversations. She shares how working alongside Head of School Meredyth Cole shaped her approach to leadership, what it has meant to teach seniors in the Ethical Leadership class, and how her time here has prepared her to step into her new role as Head of School at Mary Institute and Country Day School in St. Louis. Listen to Ethical Leadership students Will and Ford on Living Lovett here: https://sites.libsyn.com/401270/site/finding-their-voices-two-lovett-seniors-on-trust-freedom-and-leading-with-integrity Living Lovett is the award nominated podcast hosted by Jessica Sant. Find Living Lovett on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app. Visit The Lovett School website Lovett.org for more information. Lovett is on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Questions? Comments? Episode suggestions? We'd love to hear from you! Email host Jessica Sant.