FWCD Then/Now/Future Swing into Spring Panel  

Energy was high, laughter was abundant, and smiles were shared in the Moncrief Library on Saturday, April 23, during the FWCD Then/Now/Future panel discussion. Panelists were Dan Bloch H’06, Sharon Foster H’05, Claire-Lise Knecht H’06, Alison Robinson, Joe Breedlove ’78, and Eric Lombardi.

Taking on “Then” topics were beloved former faculty members Dan Bloch H’06, Sharon Foster H’05, and Claire-Lise Knecht H’06. All three shared stories about becoming members of the FWCD faculty family. Knecht gave a hilarious recap of how she was recruited well before the School was built by an unlikely trio: Founding Trustee family member Nancy Lee Bass, retired TCU Professor and husband Jean Knecht, and founding Headmaster Peter Schwartz H’98. “Little did I know what a great time it would be,” she laughed. “Although I was hired only knowing travel phrases in English, I taught 35 years. … And I’m STILL here, subbing, archiving, and just as happy as can be.”

Foster reminisced about how much she loved teaching, especially at Country Day. Hired from an outlying public school, she started at FWCD teaching Middle School seventh- and eighth-graders. With a sparkle in her eye, she shared that could keep this quirky age group focused by calling out disruptive behaviors that were ‘immature,’ adding, “Of course, no kids that age are willing to be considered immature, so … it worked.”

Bloch touched on how much everyone invested themselves in the School to make it successful for the students. “I taught class. I coached. I cleaned my classroom and the bathrooms,” he shared, stating there was only one maintenance person and one athletic person. “When Peter Schwartz hired me, I asked about my contract, and he replied, ‘We don’t do contracts. You do what we ask you to do, and we give you what we can give you. But I promise it will be better than what you’re doing now.’ He was right, and our own investments made us into a close, tight-knit community.”

Representing the “Now” topics were Upper School Modern and Classical Languages Chair and Spanish Teacher Alison Robinson and Breakthrough Executive Director and Boys’ Basketball Program Director Joe Breedlove ’78. Robinson mentioned that she was hired at FWCD after answering a newspaper ad – “Remember those?” she asked. “I began in the Geoff Butler [H’98] era. The School gave me an opportunity to teach with no teaching experience, and I found what I love to do.” 

Robinson cited Laura Bonnell Alexander ’88, former Math Teacher and later FWCD Board of Trustees President, as being a significant influence on her early teaching days. Through Alexander’s mentorship, Robinson learned to relate better to the students and became a better teacher because of it. 

“Through 29 years, the most profound impact I have seen is that you can learn something from the students every day,” Robinson noted. “I think what we learn from them is just as important as what they learn from us.”

Breedlove agreed. “Students do teach us a lot. In the moment, they don’t realize that we are teaching them to be good citizens, and we don’t realize that our own citizenship is growing through that work, too.”

Remarking on his personal school journey, Breedlove opened up: “I was a bright-eyed student at O.D. Wyatt High School when my dad was encouraged by a client and friend to consider Country Day for me and my brother, Stephon [Breedlove ’79]. I attended 10th through 12th grade here, went on to Texas Christian University as a business school major, and did well there because my professors reminded me of teachers I had here. One of my finance professors suggested I consider teaching when a physical education spot opened here. I thought I would do that for a year and move on. Now, 37 years later, I can say that there are all kinds of opportunities here and that’s because education and learning change all the time.

“One of the best ‘changes’ that happened to me was Breakthrough,” Breedlove continued. “I found a whole new opportunity to reach students and to bridge what we have here to their communities. That has been transforming for me, for all of us.”

With the conversation flowing to transformative impacts, Head of School Eric Lombardi represented “Future” topics. Praising the phenomenal range of teaching talent and alumni dedication in the room, he also touched on his FWCD start seven years ago and his first impressions of FWCD’s purposeful and inspiring growth from a three-building school engulfed by pastures to the flourishing 104-acre campus it is today. 

“When I came on board, Shannon Young Ray [’80] was Board President,” he shared. “She made sure I understood that FWCD had invested Board members, that creating a comprehensive strategic plan was vital, and that the existing plans were supposed to remove the Round Gym and build a new Lower School.

“Over those years, we’ve had a chance to think through and plan for FWCD’s long-term future needs,” Lombardi continued. “After formalizing our strategic plan as ‘A School of Significance,’ the Board talked with a few [architecture] groups, got their take on the School, and chose to work with Lake|Flato for the physical goals of the campus master plan. Recognizing FWCD’s commitment to excellence, Lake|Flato came up with a 20-25 year plan that values our foundation, respects our current resources, and aligns to our forward momentum.” That plan preserves the iconic Round Gym. 

Giving the group a sneak peek at the long-term overview, Lombardi shared a slide show and outlined the campus master plan’s full scope, which is divided into three phases. Phase I focuses on academic facilities for Upper School and Lower School. Phase II focuses on improving gym resources that advance students’ athletic experiences and competitions. Phase III supports the School’s fine arts facilities.

“You do not start thinking through the next 50 years without building on the 50 terrific years before,” Lombardi said. “Then, now and future, we are standing on the shoulders of giants.” 

#FWCDPointsOfPride