A Message from the Head of School

Welcome to Tatnall!

Choosing a school is an act of hope.  It is an expression of what you believe childhood should be and who you believe your child might become.  Long before you compare programs, schedules, or college lists, you are asking much more personal questions: Will this be a place where my child is fully known?  Will they be challenged?  Will they be happy?  At Tatnall, we see those questions as centrally important, and we commit ourselves to answering each with a resounding yes.

Nearly one hundred years ago, Frances Tatnall opened a school for girls on the first floor of her home.  Her husband supported her efforts, overseeing the renovation and taking care of bookkeeping, all while their family, including their ten children, lived through the noise and dust of construction from their rooms upstairs.  In the truest sense, the founding of Mrs. Tatnall’s school was a family affair.  But when, years later, she began referring to Tatnall as “the family school,” she meant something far more profound.  With those words, she set into motion a vision that still lives on in our classrooms, our studios, our stages, and our sports fields every single day.  

I invite you to think about the love that exists within a family.  What does a parent do for their child?  You dream on their behalf.  You encourage, challenge, and support them.  You hold sky-high expectations for both achievement and character while remaining ever attentive to their emotional well-being, their confidence, and their sense of self.  You seek opportunities, build community, and move mountains to help them become the fullest version of themselves.  There is no limit to the energy you will put into your children.  Why wouldn’t a school take its inspiration from something so elemental and enduring as the love that exists within a family?

Our motto, Omnia in Caritate—"All Things in Love"—charges us to see love not as sentimentality, but as an educational philosophy.  Just as a parent recognizes the unique talents, motivations, and passions of each of their children, we know that the pursuit of knowing every student deeply and truly is essential. We build our Tatnall family through connection and a profound sense of belonging, but it is our commitment to love that gives us permission to expect greatness.

Most importantly at Tatnall though, that journey to greatness comes with an important promise.  Our mission, to inspire the joyful pursuit of excellence, reflects our conviction that achievement and happiness should coexist. We eschew transactional success or accomplishment through emotional sacrifice. All things in love, especially crossing the finish line.

We value curiosity because it is through asking questions that we find passion in the mundane, that we uncover new truths in unlikely places.  We foster perseverance because meaningful growth requires challenge, resilience, and courage.  We cultivate citizenship because achievement, while important, is never enough on its own.  Excellence must always be accompanied by compassion, empathy, integrity, and heart.  We believe children should be stretched academically, artistically, and athletically, but never at the expense of their joy.  Rather, joy is the environment in which excellence flourishes.

As Head of School, and as a proud Tatnall parent myself, I have the privilege of experiencing this community from both perspectives.  I know the trust families place in us, and I know the extraordinary care with which our faculty and staff honor that trust.  I hope you'll visit our campus and experience for yourself the remarkable power of this community.  To understand not only what we mean by the joyful pursuit of excellence, but why generations of alumni continue to speak of Tatnall with such unbridled affection.  They remember remarkable teachers, lifelong friendships, and the confidence they found here.  More than anything, they remember how it felt to belong.

Mrs. Tatnall called this “The Family School” nearly a century ago, and that continues to be the kind of school we aspire to be every day.  

Warmly, 

Dr. Alli Williams, P ’37, ‘42
Head of School