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Wells has always been welcoming.

In the early 1990s, when Wells was just establishing its elementary education program, it invited our school’s founders to move out of their location on Main Street and into what had been the dean’s cottage on the north end of campus. This location allowed Peachtown to grow and it gave Wells students the opportunity to complete field work and preservice hours without leaving campus. Peachtown provided internships and campus work study jobs, and many career paths were solidified as Wells students learned firsthand what it meant to work with children. Thirty-two years later, we are so grateful for the professional camaraderie and intellectual and social diversity that Wells has brought to Peachtown.

Wells has always been generous.

Thanks to the small size of our communities, and a generosity of spirit, we have been lucky to work closely with many campus departments. The folks in athletics have helped us by providing weekly gym space and swim lessons, and the folks in sustainability have helped us create and maintain a zero-waste program. The theater department has always been supportive and accommodating of our annual school plays, and various professors and instructors have generously shared their time and expertise with us, meeting with our students and expanding their understanding not only of the material, but also of what’s possible. Kids are often amazed to learn that people get paid to keep learning and researching the topics they love. Freely sharing their spaces, time and understanding has allowed Peachtown to exist in a bigger and broader way than we could have on our own.

Wells has always been home.

The students, faculty and staff at Wells have long felt like extended family. When Wells invited us onto its campus, a familial bond was formed. Anyone who has experienced the closeness of this community and the rituals and symbols that reflect its values will understand what it means to be a part of this special place. Hosting young children on campus feels like being a keeper of sunshine and rainbows. (Practically) everyone lights up when they see us coming and they do all they can to sweeten the connection. Campus safety checks on our building, and buildings and grounds prioritizes our needs when something stops working, many times off the clock, “for the kids." So many faculty and staff go out of their way to make our students feel included during campus-wide events and many attend our annual plays and semiannual fundraisers. Relationships with Wells students have been a really special aspect of our community. The students we’ve been lucky enough to call interns, work study employees and volunteers have typically become much more than their roles in the classroom. Many of them have been evening or weekend babysitters, a lap to sit on during storytime or a person to come to for help with bee stings, slivers, scrapes or bumps on the playground. In turn, our faculty, staff and board members have become mentors, professional references and connectors, like the aunts and uncles of a big extended family who want to see everyone thrive and grow.

As we look forward, toward the inevitable future, we are hopeful for new opportunities and mindful of the lessons we’ve learned as we have developed and grown alongside and within the Wells College community. We are on the precipice of a new era and our gratitude for the foundation we have built here is beyond what can be expressed in a single column or by a single person. To all the Wells trustees, administrators, faculty, staff and students, thank you for everything you have done to make the Wells campus an amazing place for Peachtown students to learn and grow.