From Nov. 19–20, numerous teachers from across the country came to Stevenson for full-day Site Visits. Members of the Stevenson Professional Learning Community (PLC), as well as Stevenson Ambassadors, led several sessions that showed visiting educators how Stevenson functions.
Site Visits are a two-day experience, with the first day offering general seminars and talks over the course of a full school day, while the second day focuses on one-on-one mentoring from Stevenson faculty. Seven Site Visits are offered yearly, with each visit having a $50–150 fee per attendee that is donated to the Stevenson Foundation.
“Other schools come to Stevenson to learn about how we work as a PLC, because that way of learning and collaborating and supporting our students exists across every facet of our school, and we are very practiced in it, ” Site Visits director Mara Grujanac said.
After organizing Site Visits for years, Grujanac enjoys seeing the program grow from attracting several teachers to hundreds of educators. Furthermore, site visits provide students with the opportunity to connect with teachers from different schools via the Stevenson Ambassador program. Ambassadors like Adam Kim ’25 offer visiting educators a glimpse into Stevenson student life through tours during site visits.
“We try to get to the main places where students hang around, such as the Patriot Wellness Center, which is a popular place where a lot of students go,” Kim said. “That’s where we bring our tours, so that teachers can really see what the environment is like, and maybe they can apply that to their own school.”
The facilities as well as the programs offered to Stevenson students serve as potential inspiration for visiting teachers to bring back to their own schools. Site visits are not just a one-sided exchange as Grujanac feels that the Stevenson community is also able to find benefits from the fees charged to attend these events.
“All of the money from the site visit goes to our One Family program that supports Stevenson students,” Grujanac said. “The school doesn’t get any money from it. Nobody from the school makes a dime from it. Everything goes towards the foundation.”
The One Family program, a part of the Stevenson Foundation, receives proceeds from the site visits to help provide Stevenson students that have financial needs with immediate essentials, such as groceries and seasonal necessities.
In addition to the facilities and programs, Kim also believes Stevenson’s focus on mental health resources is something that can be very informative for visiting educators who may not hold such emphasis.
“We try to focus on how Stevenson really tries to release the stress of students so that they’re not too pressured during finals week,” Kim said. “We want to have these teachers understand that our school specializes in that, and try to give off a comforting environment.”
The morning tours offered by Stevenson Ambassadors give visiting teachers a chance to gain insight into Stevenson’s student-centered environment, before sitting down for seminars to discuss. According to Grujanac, site visits are an opportunity for educators to exchange and collaborate on ideas, allowing everyone involved to benefit from the experience.
“I’ve been an educator for a very long time, and it’s one of the things that is more fulfilling to me because it’s people helping people,” Grujanac said. “It’s educators helping educators, and our students benefit from it.”