From shifts in leadership to constantly evolving policies and school structures, Poly Prep has seen an immense amount of change over the years.
Poly places a strong emphasis on its fostering of community and togetherness; however, it can be hard to be a school with a solid community if things are constantly changing. Interim Head of School John Rankin, a member of Poly since 1985, said “It’s hard to run a school if people don’t have some common understanding about what we all agree about, what’s good, what we all should do and what we shouldn’t do.”
According to Learning Policy Institute, a research website that researches ways to improve education and policies within places of learning, “Principals affect student learning through their influence over schools, support of staff, and work to maintain a positive culture and climate. When principals leave, teachers’ views about their school and classroom conditions, as well as their curriculum and instruction, are less favorable. This instability can result in a loss of shared purpose and trust.”
According to an email sent to the Poly community on January 24, incoming Head of School Dr. Noni Thomas López “will ensure the community continues to focus on individual students’ progress while fostering a shared learning environment that values inclusion and achievement.” While López’s arrival resembles a new era for the Poly community, she is part of a long history of leaders inciting change in Poly. As students and faculty grapple with this change, it is important to understand the history of changes within the Poly community in context of new leaders throughout the years.
Co-Education Shift
One of the first and most major changes that Poly witnessed was its shift from an all-boys school to a co-ed one. Spearheaded by Headmaster Bill Williams, Poly officially became a co-ed high school in 1977. The transition to being a co-ed school, however, was not an easy one. Discussions officially began in 1973 and didn’t come to a head until four years later when the first female student walked onto Poly’s campus.
The decision process was clearly a long one. Initial proceedings ended in a pause on the conversation as the Poly committee and Board of Trustees thought they possessed enough information to not implement co-education in the 1973-1974 school year. Transcripts and notes of their conversations, now in the archives, outline this as they stated that “while co-education was a vital issue that must be analysed and considered on a continuing basis and might well be implemented in the future, it did not rank at the top of the schools most immediate priorities.” According to the “Report on Co-Education,” a document in the Poly library archives outlining all of the decision making during the co-education shift.
Following this initial decision, there were even more proceedings related to the co-ed shift, including a series of surveys and committee meetings. Throughout the majority of the process the committee was very split and many people in the committee, the Board of Trustees, the Poly parents, and student body were not in favor of the decision to become a co-ed school.
“There were people, even people on the Board of Trustees that didn’t want to do it [become co-ed]. They felt like the school’s 150 year history at that time had all been boys and it had this reputation and this tradition. It was what they’d experienced as students themselves,” said Rankin.
Eventually, the committee made the decision to become a co-ed school beginning in the year 1977. The decision was released in a flier titled “A Historic Announcement” declaring that the first female students would enter Poly that year as incoming juniors in high school.
This change is one that marked one of the very first culture changes that Poly has come to see. According to the 2023 Polygon Article “A Look Back on When Poly Became Co-Ed” former student Beth Bonina ’79 from the first graduating class of females, reflected that “I’ll call it tempered enthusiasm… I think that we were welcomed in the school, but I think that there were so many male traditions and they weren’t quite sure what to do with it to some extent.”
“There’s still people walking around who make the argument that, in all kinds of social emotional ways,t students develop better in single-sex schools. I don’t know if I buy any of those arguments, but I do know that people still make them,” said Rankin.
The integration of female students not only created new community dynamics but also garnered a large shift in what faculty looked like from both a faculty collaboration and faculty diversity standpoint.
“The staffing shifted completely that way. I know even a couple of years before I started, there were very very few women teaching in the Upper School, just a handful. By the late eighties and early nineties, half of the teaching faculty were women, and now it’s more than half,” said Rankin.
The transition to a co-ed school was “one of the big ones” according to Coach Michael Junsch ’71. While it was a long time ago it is one of the initial headmaster-related changes that first happened at Poly that has had lasting effects on the Poly community. “We would not be sitting here today if he [Headmaster Bill Williams] didn’t make that kind of decision,” said Junsch.
The shift has paved the way for gender diversity at Poly, creating lasting effects on the student body and catalyzing a shift in faculty member diversity.
Dean System Changes
In recent years, Poly has seen an increased amount of turnover within the current dean system, as multiple departures lead to the introduction of many new deans with only a few years or so of experience in their position. The current dean system was implemented seven years ago by the previous Head of School, Audrius Barzdukas, to streamline counseling and have better support for students.
An email sent to the Poly community by Rankin on April 8, 2024 explained that the current system consists of six Upper School deans who “direct an extremely effective system of personal attention and individualized counseling to students in Grades 9-12, supported by a powerful group dynamic.”
The dean system, however, used to look very different from its current structure. Originally, the deans were assigned per grade and were not involved in the college counseling process according to Gerald Stone, Upper School Faculty since 1986..
However, when Barzdukas arrived at Poly, he adopted the dean system that he had established at his prior school, the Harvard-Westlake School in California.
“‘When Poly introduced the deans model, it got tremendous national attention,’ said Smitobol, explaining how other prep schools, both locally and nationally, soon began reaching out to Poly administrators for help in creating similar advising apparati,” according to a Polygon article titled “Two US Deans Depart Poly, Totaling Five Dean Departures in Four Years.”
While the system originally gained all of its attention, some argue that it hasn’t worked exactly in the way that it was supposed to, especially due to the amount of turnover within the deans themselves. “His goal was that you come in as a ninth grader, and have the same dean for four years. But that hasn’t happened very much. Most kids probably haven’t had that experience… I think that turnover in the dean system is a flaw that he [Barzdukas] probably didn’t anticipate,” said Stone.
The dean system is something that has proven to change a lot over the years, especially as administrations and heads of school come and go. “If you think about when this all started with Barzdukas, he came in and changed the whole dean system in his first year. Ms. Gardiner’s the only one left. But how did that really help for continuity? I can understand the why of it but I don’t know if it actually did that,” Patti Tycenski, faculty member at Poly since 1995, told the Polygon last spring.
“As a headmaster of a school you get to adopt a pedagogy or a philosophy you have about education. You couldn’t have both [old and new]. So basically it was out with the old and in with the new,” said Poly Math Teacher since 2008, Ira Feldman.
Formal Attire/Dress Code
Dress code at Poly is something that has experienced a wave of change over the past few years and is now significantly different from what it was many years ago under the leadership of Headmaster Williams. The dress code at Poly during that time was a strictly enforced code that ensured that every day people were dressed formally and politely. “I remember the men and the boys were all in jackets and ties, and if a faculty member went into the lunch and went into commons without their jacket on, he’d [Mr. Williams] walk in there and say, ‘where’s your jacket?’” said Rankin. “The one positive effect of having a very rule-governed thing was that everybody kind of knew what the policies were and what the procedures were,” continued Rankin.
The Middle and Upper School Dress Code required boys to wear collared shirts or turtlenecks (tucked in at all times), long pants (which had to have belt loops), and shoes or sneakers. All female students were required to wear dresses, skirts, or long pants, along with shoes or sneakers, according to a Polygon article titled “What is Appropriate Dress?” from 2023.
When walking around Poly Prep hallways today, this kind of outfit is one that you would only see on a dress up day which does not occur very frequently. “Things like dress code… that kind of evolved during Covid, the idea of the more relaxed dress code for both kids and faculty, it’s a big difference,” said Stone.
Not only is the actual dress of students and faculty more relaxed than before but it was also way more heavily enforced. According to the same Polygon article “Any violations of the dress code could result in a student receiving a detention, being suspended from classes and afternoon activities, or even being sent home.”
However, in an assembly last year, Head of Upper School Sarah Bates made an announcement to only the girls in chapel about the dress code, sparking even more conversations amongst students about what it would mean for the dress code to become more heavily enforced. It also drew attention to the fact that at this point in time people are unsure about what dress code even means at Poly. According to the same Polygon article, “The loosening of the policy and current wording allows room for interpretation within the student body, but leaves some students confused about what the restrictions are and administration trying to draw the ever-changing line.”
Rankin expressed slight concern that uncertainties about certain policies can have large effects on a school’s feeling as a collective unit. “I worry sometimes now in a less formal setting that people don’t have a good handle on what it is that we believe in. What is it that we’re going to stand for? That really evolved over a long time. But that is where we are today,” Rankin.
Bus System
Poly’s bus system has undergone significant expansion over the years, led by Barzdukas.. Reaching out to such a broad range of neighborhoods and communities fosters meaningful connections across students in different boroughs..
Diversity and inclusion is a clear key pillar in the culture and community of Poly as stated in the Poly Prep website, “With more than 40 bus routes that cover Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island, Poly is never far from home.”
Former student Junsch reflected on what Poly was like when he attended and remembered that the majority of Poly students used to come from the Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights areas. “When I was here the bus picked up kids in Bay Ridge and the 92nd Street subway, very few,” said Junsch.
According to Polygon article, “Updated Bus System New and Improved,” “The routes were redesigned in order to bring bus access to a larger percentage of students…The Poly bus system is as accessible and inclusive as it has ever been.”
The creation of an even more expanded bus system has altered Poly culture tremendously. “Poly sits in the center of this community because we draw from the city and we draw from all walks of life. Really, if you look at where Poly’s students come from…They literally come from all backgrounds,” said Feldman.
With changes to the bus system the Poly community has been able to expand its collaborative culture and continue towards a future with a more diverse student body.
“Now look where our community center is. We’re from totally different cultures. I think it makes us more in line with who we are as a society,” said Junsch.
Looking to the Future
Amidst other changes, Poly now looks towards the future with the appointment of new Head of School Dr. Noni Thomas López. Thomas López will be Poly’s twelfth Head of School and the first woman of color to lead the school. In an email to the Poly community, Rankin wrote that “She embodies our values of disciplined scholarship and self-reliance and will ensure the community continues to focus on individual students’ progress while fostering a shared learning environment that values inclusion and achievement.”
As the community looks towards the future, change is bound to come and now it is all about what Poly will do with it and how the culture at school may change for the better. “One of the things that I’ve been trying to emphasize is that people can see what the future looks like. So I do think we’ve been trying to… bring back a greater sense of a coherent place with a common tradition and some common values,” said Rankin.
Rankin continues to hold the title of Interim Head of School for this 2024-2025 school year. “John’s leadership has been instrumental in establishing the foundations for a successful search and his focus on academic and organizational priorities, historical relationship to the school, and fundamental academic experience has revitalized our community for Dr. Thomas López’s arrival,” according to the email sent to the Poly community on January 24.
While many are excited to see what kinds of things Thomas López will bring to the community, her arrival has larger implications:There will be even more change within the community. “There’s been a lot of change in a pretty short amount of time and I wasn’t on the committee but I think perspective will be really interesting when she first starts,” said Tycenski.
“I think a lot of people feel kind of disconnected from the head of school and usually don’t really know them, so I hope our new head can connect with the students a little more and get to know them personally,” said Junior Sylvie Dorsch. “I am also really excited to have a female head of school!”
“I am looking forward to 2025 and joining students, families, faculty, staff, trustees, and alumni in the good work of pulling forward the best of Poly’s past to envision and create an extraordinary future together,” wrote Thomas López in an email to the Poly community. Thomas López’s arrival is both a beginning to a new era at Poly and a continuation of the cycle of changes that have struck the Poly community in recent years.
