A Conversation with Trustee President Amy Falls: “Student Wellbeing Is The Highest Priority For The Board”
The Board of Trustees gathered on the Andover campus this past weekend for the first Trustee Weekend of the 2025-2026 school year. In a series of meetings, the Trustees discussed a range of topics, including the student experience at Andover. Amy Falls, President of the Board of Trustees, on behalf of the board, emphasized their focus on supporting the well-being of the student body.
Falls stated the responsibility of the board in providing a well-rounded education to each Andover student. She also noted the Trustees’ goal of listening to and addressing the needs of community members.
“There’s a lot of opportunity here, and we just want to make sure that students are set up to be resilient and succeed. We, as a board, need to hear from the adults and the students. We think of it as a promise every time a family sends a young person here. We’re making a promise to give that young person an exceptional educational, emotional, social experience. And obviously, adolescence is a challenging time. Right now, there’s anxiety, which is understandable, but we want to make sure that we’re lifting up our community,” said Falls.
Falls recognized the stress that college admissions places on students, highlighting that the board hopes to promote a mindset shift on campus and a renewed confidence in the Andover experience.
“I’m a big fan of: it doesn’t matter where you go, it’s what you do. You want to go somewhere, but there’s 200 colleges that are great. As a community, there can be excess focus on 20 of those 200. What I’ve noticed with myself and my own kids is that the education you get here allows you to thrive, and that’s what matters. It’s not the bumper sticker. I don’t think you can possibly change the culture of what people want, but we can support students in knowing that, having confidence that what you’re doing here is going to set you up to be a force for good and to be successful,” said Falls.
In response to this perceived stress, Falls shared that the Trustees are discussing long-term strategies to build community. She also reflected on recent projects that she believes bring students together, such as the opening of Falls Music Center last January.
“One of the things that’s coming forward has to do with how we put kids together, and if we should rethink dorms, and whether a ninth-grade experience is a little different. There’s a lot of deep thinking on how to support students,” said Falls.
She continued, “Part of the beauty of the [Falls Music Center] is it’s giving people light and space to do stuff. Not everybody has to be going to the conservatory and getting recruited because they’re the best violinists. Some people can just go and sing in the chorus because it makes them happy. That’s where I want us to put our energy, joy [and] happiness.”
Elaborating on the priorities of the board, Falls noted conversations on student mental health that occurred over the weekend. She shared that the Trustees were updated on Andover’s partnership with the JED Foundation, a national organization focused on mental health.
“It’s important for Trustees to have humility about our expertise… Generally speaking, most people are not as qualified as the people on campus. It is important for us to listen. We did have a presentation based on the work that’s been going on with the JED Foundation, which are the real experts. Student well-being is the highest priority for the board,” said Falls.
She continued, “All schools are fighting this tide of external validation as opposed to building internal confidence. As Trustees, we are not going to change all of that, but we can try to make sure that we’re listening, we’re hearing, and we’re supporting what changes may need to be made.”
Falls commented on the importance of Andover adapting to the needs of present-day students, specifically regarding their well-being.
“This beautiful elm tree, which has been in my backyard for over 100 years, just fell down. I was talking to the [landscaper], and he said, ‘Well, the problem is with carbon. There’s more leaves now on the trees. There’s more stress on these trees. If you’ve had the same person pruning for 30 years, you can’t keep doing the same thing because the stress on the trees has changed. You have to address the new thing.’ That’s the challenge in an organization like Andover. We have deep traditions, many of which are very important, but the environment changes, too. You have to figure out what the baseline things I need to retain are because they’re foundational. And how do I have to change my execution because the world has changed?”
Trustees Discuss Tang Institute and Learning in the World
Amy Falls, President of the Board of Trustees, highlighted their discussions about the Tang Institute and the Learning in the World Program (LITW).
“We had a great review of the Tang [Institute], and how that should function, maybe changing the mechanisms to make sure that it’s revitalized. Tang was really intended to have space for faculty to innovate, and also bring other faculty from other schools. It’s like sharing the resources of Andover. We want to do that more systematically,” said Falls.
Head of School Raynard Kington detailed presentations from the Learning Steering Committee (LSC), a group of adults focused on long-term planning, as well as the LITW program.
“We had presentations from the [LSC] that is thinking about how we can support students better. We had a conversation about future directions for The Tang [Institute],” said Kington. “There were opportunities to get exposed to specific programs like [LITW]. It was a breakfast where we heard from students and the Director of the [LITW] Program.”
Sophia Tabibian ’26 attended this breakfast with Trustees at Kemper Auditorium on Saturday, where she shared her experience participating in a LITW program to Switzerland.
“The trustees were really interested in understanding how the LITW program fits into the greater context of Andover’s mission,” said Tabibian. “I know that a few of them actually went on their own [LITW] trips when they were at Andover and it was really exciting for them to see that the programs have expanded and have continued, thanks to Mr. Cutler. [The Trustees] were super excited to see that growth and to support it.”
