Foote Blog

By Elliot Dickson
Head of Middle School

At Foote, we recognize that igniting joy and engagement is crucial to the learning process in order to set and maintain high expectations. We offer moments in class and throughout our schedule to celebrate and engage in their childhood while also challenging them to learn the skills we know they need as they grow older. 

By Cara Hames
Head of Lower School

Our black-box theater now features a Broadway-inspired Mood Meter, created by one of our drama teachers using images of actors to represent different emotions. The Mood Meter is a RULER tool that helps children recognize and name their emotions by considering how pleasant they feel and how much energy they have. 

By Elliot Dickson
Head of Middle School

Adolescent development often gets a bad reputation; yet, adolescence is also a wonderful stage of increasing empathy, discovering life-long passions, and finding confidence in their beliefs, opinions, and personality quirks. 

By Aléwa Cooper
Head of School

We enter the 2026–2027 school year with real momentum. Our kindergarten classes are full, we have an exciting line-up of new educators and administrators who will round out our robust admissions, development, and educational teams, and a new Board President at the helm. We have so much that we're excited about this year. 

There have been moments this year when I’ve questioned why I just didn’t stay in the comfort zone of my classroom. ... So when I was feeling low, or I wanted to give up, I thought of what we ask you to do each day, and realized that what I was feeling was the discomfort of learning that comes with change and is necessary for growth. 

By Kayô Smith-Souza
Ninth Grade Class President

This year has been a whirlwind of emotions, but at the end of the day I'm glad to be here. I have some words of advice to the next generation of ninth-graders, but this really applies to everyone who stays here as well.