By Lindsay Simmons
Sun contributor
Labor Day weekend is upon us, which means it’s back-to-school time for students at The Leelanau School, the private boarding school just north of Glen Arbor, Michigan. Whether they’re returning from vacation or brand new to the campus, students and faculty are guaranteed to see fresh faces.
One addition to Leelanau will be especially busy learning names and adopting the traditions of the school’s close-knit community. New headmaster Matt Ralston joined the Leelanau and Glen Arbor communities this July. After moving into their new home, nestled between the pine trees on campus, Matt and his wife, Mary Beth, have not only found a beautiful setting, but an atmosphere that is welcoming and brimming with encouragement.
The Ralstons know the back-to-school ritual very well. Matt has been working in schools since 1980. For the past 17 years, he worked for The Hill School in Pottstown, Penn.; 14 of those years were spent living and working in the dorms with the students while he and Mary Beth raised their sons Zach and Kyle. At Hill, Matt primarily taught math and served as the Chair of the Math Department. His colleagues recognized great leadership qualities and a dedication to the students, influencing Matt to serve as Director of Studies and Dean of Faculty.
With both of their sons away at college, the Ralstons started looking for opportunities at schools outside of Pottstown. “I knew I was going to go back to teaching or look for a place to be head,” Matt says. Leelanau’s former headmaster Rich O’Dell recently relocated and the school needed to fill the top position by this summer. When Matt saw the ad for an opening at Leelanau, he jumped at the chance and interviewed last October. “I liked the mission of the school,” Matt says. He was especially keen on the school’s enforcement of strength-based learning.
The community at Hill was supportive but also sad to see the Ralstons go. In an e-mail to the community, Hill’s headmaster David Dougherty wrote, “I am proud of Mr. Ralston both for his appointment and for his commitment to the mission of Leelanau, but I am sorry that he will leave The Hill after 17 years of outstanding service and friendship to us all.” Dougherty described Matt as being “in every sense a master teacher and school man.”
Headmaster Ralston is excited to interact with the Leelanau students. “I have loved coaching, teaching and living in the dorm,” he says. Although he is the school’s top executive — a position that requires fundraising as well as running day-to-day activities — Matt has no doubt that he and Mary Beth will spend plenty of time with the students.
The student body of Leelanau ranges from 50 to 100 students, a big difference from Hill’s typical 500-student count. The smaller class sizes, one-on-one mentoring and the “family away from home” mentality are aspects of Leelanau that Matt appreciates. “The way the school is programmed is great for everybody, and it’s especially beneficial to some kids,” he says.
Similarly, the small size of Glen Arbor, Michigan is a significant change from the urban setting of Pottstown. The Ralstons are adamant that they won’t miss the city life: they are simply adjusting. “I like that very little here is moving at 100 miles per hour,” Matt says. “The pace of life here is good.”
Matt is a runner and he is eager to explore the multitude of trails in Leelanau County. He enjoys touring on his motorcycle as well, and even though Mary Beth has only ridden it twice, Matt is already planning the next trip on his bike.
The new headmaster has plenty to be thankful for in his new Leelanau home. However now that the Ralstons are settled, work begins to meet his goals for the school. “I would like our reputation to be equal to the programming and work that happens here,” Matt says. “It’s a challenge for boarding schools in the Midwest because they’re not as common. It’s a challenge, but we can meet it.”
He saw student enrollment soar at boarding schools on the East Coast, and although there is a difference in tradition between regions of the country, Matt believes the benefits of Leelanau are too great to allow the number of students to dwindle. “The decision to send your child away to school is a hard one,” he says. But the remarkable faculty and hands-on learning on the shore of Lake Michigan are too incredible to brush aside.
Headmaster Ralston invites locals, visitors, Midwesterners and beyond, to stop by the campus at Leelanau or visit the school online at www.Leelanau.org. Ask questions, explore the academic buildings or stroll the shady paths that lead to the beach. Leelanau is a community unto itself, but it’s also a community for everyone who is interested in the lives that are being shaped there every day.
And nobody mentions the millions of dollars of debt that Leelanau has or that 11 staff just got fired and that the board is still raking in the cash…
Hi Matt: We have never met but I served on the board for 12 years during the hectic times with Bob Kuris. I was a strong supporter of the camps and as one of the investors in Timber Shores camp location.
I attended early bird camp in 1946 &7. Truly a great time before the Homestead swallowed up the surrounding property.
I have a suggestion for the school to consider. There is a entity Wolverine Camps owned by John Zimmerle which has thrived on providing a place for groups to visit during the year, He has a low overhead as the group bring their own chaperons,coaches,etc. But he gets the band camps ski schools etc. because he serves the need at very reasonable costs.
I have been fortunate to serve on the University Liggett board for 6 years in Grosse Pointe and found the school had to have a critical mass of students to provide the total school experience. They have k-12. I tell you this for background info. to support my recommendation. I served with Bob McNutt and Mike Dow two of the greatest people one could work with on the Leelanau board. I think the site lends itself to a place for other schools to study the ecology and wild life before it is gone. It has a good observatory and the campus can be used year round. During my tenure we planned for a minimum of 150 students minimum, but never reached it. Since retiring from the board I have been receiving mailings and kept up casually with the operations. When I learned that Bob McNutt had been called back to help with fund raising, I felt he was doing it for the love of the school memories he had as a student. The salvation is to have someone give the school 100 million to endow it and make the tuition affordable for the masses. Until that happens, I recommend the school be mothballed, you and your wife create a program to study the ecology like Chuck Olson offered during my tenure for students and other schools to study the ecology. There may be a time where Leelanau can be a special place for college students to study the ecology also and the universities around the country.
Thanks for reading this. I have a special place in my heart for Leelanau and the good people that have supported it over the years.Keep in mind, the first Leelanau School grew out of the summer camp run by Skipper Beals. Regards Don Chamberlin
Dear Anonymous: This article wasn’t meant to plunge into any criticisms or rumors about the school. It is simply an introduction for the Ralston family because they have become a part of Glen Arbor. Speaking from experience, Leelanau is a sacred place and an incredible school, regardless of inevitable politics.