By Roxanne Stansbury, Head of School, The Alexander Dawson School at Rainbow Mountain (NV)

Dawson’s school-wide throughline this year is “Level Up.” The power of a community-accepted throughline can cultivate a mindset that encourages a lifetime of improvement, growth and the joys of becoming our better selves. Read more about the intention for this year’s message in this blog.

When I was little, my parents took our family on an annual marathon road trip with all four of us kids arguing in the back of our van the entire way. My dad approached the experience as if it were his chance to win a gold medal for driving straight to our destination with the least amount of stops. Needless to say, there were no opportunities to stop and savor the journey. After exhaustive hours in the car (with no technology), my dad would pull into a Days Inn hotel with a questionable pool in the front and announce, “Get out and have fun.” It was a directive that always puzzled me, as if we could just turn on the fun meter like a light switch. 

Now, as the adult who spearheads my family’s annual road trips, I have tried to…