With minor adjustments since 1995, the concept of Family Weekend has remained the same. Mr. Charles Frankenbach, head of the English department, has been around for Parents’ Weekend since 1989. He loves “meeting the parents and families of my students, especially lately when some of those parents are former students themselves! There’s a cool circularity to that aspect that I enjoy.”
1953-1967 Initially, the school held space for Father’s Day in 1953. During this day, only fathers could visit campus to accompany their sons to class and attend other events. In the afternoons, both parents could attend athletic games.
1967-1994 In 1967, Fathers’ Day evolved into Parents’ Day and the school invited mothers to join for the first time. Much like before, athletic games took place with the parents as spectators, eager to catch a glimpse of their children’s day-to-day life at Hotchkiss.
1995-Now Since then, Parents’ Weekend has not had major changes except with a name change to Family Weekend in an effort to be more inclusive. It remains a weekend-long affair, with a few days’ break to allow students to spend time with their families and/or to stay on campus without the hustle of classes.
Co-directed by Dr. Lisanne Norman ’94 and Dr. Thomas Fisher, instructors in humanities and social sciences, the John Hersey Scholars Program provide...
