Getting to Know Head of School Mr. Bland

By ADIZA ALASA ‘19

As we all learned at this year’s Convocation, Milton’s Head of School Todd Bland is a family-oriented man. He enjoys physical activity, the occasional Netflix binge, SAGE’s Asian chicken medley, and of course, donning his signature bow-ties.

Mr. Bland’s work with children stemmed from his work as a camp counselor as well as his experience caring for his younger brother. The son and step-son of three educators, Mr. Bland used his double major in history and Spanish to teach both subjects at Belmont Hill School in the beginning of his career in education. During the course of his nine years at Belmont Hill, he began working in admissions. This role offered him the opportunity to continue teaching, advising, and coaching. As the Director of Admissions at Belmont Hill, Mr. Bland had an external role—he was a spokesperson for the school and interviewed prospective families. He said, “I loved that work, but after doing it for while, I knew I wanted to be a leader in a school that was more internally focused”. Following his time at Belmont, he moved on to graduate school and then to Cincinnati, Ohio to become the Principal, and later Interim Head of School, at the Seven Hills School. Mr. Bland said his experiences at each of these schools laid a solid foundation for his current role at Milton.

Some of Mr. Bland’s favorite things about Milton are the range of students, the culture of allowing individuals to find their voice, and the resources we have access to. “Milton students—and I think this is part of our DNA—give each other credit and status for a huge range of interests and accomplishments. It’s not narrow. You can do lots of different things, and even... one person can do a lot different things,” Mr. Bland said. He also explains,“I think the ‘Dare to be True’ motto is very real here, and for me it is an expectation that everyone works on their voice; that you determine your truth and you are active in pursuing that truth both as a part of this community and then away from Milton.”

Mr. Bland’s responsibilities with the upper, middle, and lower schools send him to different parts of campus each day. His responsibilities vary day-to-day, adding excitement to Mr. Bland’s job. Most days are packed with a variety of meetings with groups such as Human Resources or the Board of Trustees for school fundraising as well as financial aid. Mr. Bland also directs the  Administrative Council (Ad Council) that represents all divisions and departments of the School. Outside of Milton, Mr. Bland serves on the Board for the SteppingStone Foundation, a not-for-profit organization that prepares underserved elementary and middle school youth for opportunities at competitive private and exam schools in the Boston area.

The Ad Council has established areas of focus for the 2018-19 school year; it seeks to implement a Strategic Plan for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, through which the Council will develop structures to understand common language and values surrounding diversity, continue to incorporate external diversity and inclusion consultants, and launch a gender identity task force to begin implementing a plan for campus-wide gender inclusion.

The Ad Council strives to maintain the safety and security of all members of the Milton community by continuing to educate each member on crisis prevention and response. Additions for this year will include Synergy active shooter training and sexual misconduct prevention and response through RAINN, the organization that talked at the opening of school.

Fostering alumni and parent engagement, as well as the healthy use of technology, while adapting to the needs of the institution as they arise this year are also among the School’s objectives for the year.

As we begin the new school year, Mr. Bland has a few reflections: “I hope we always have a sense of humor about ourselves. We should all laugh more. We should never take ourselves too seriously. I hope to be a school that is self-aware. Hopefully we know who we are because that gives us confidence in who we want to be. I hope our confidence in ourselves never spills over into arrogance. We should be a humble institution and a confident institution. I think you can be both.”