Mission-Driven

Welcome to Mission-Driven, Durham Academy’s blog about everyday examples of the moral, happy, productive lives of our students, faculty/staff, families and alumni. There’s something special about the DA Experience, and we’ll share it with you here — defining who we are through our traditions, our hopes and our dreams for the future.

FEATURED

We’re committed to creating a community that fundamentally influences the character and trajectories of young lives through an exceptional academic experience that focuses on:

Morality — empathy, kindness, integrity, responsibility and courage.
Happiness — curiosity, engagement, authenticity, balance and joy.
Productivity — creativity, drive, resilience, generosity and wisdom.

How do we do it? By modeling persistence vs. perfectionism, by preparing our students for the road rather than preparing the road for our students, by helping our students be their most authentic, unique selves — guided by caring, selfless teachers who know and nurture them.

Date Range

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Celebrating Life, Humanity and ‘Sublime Beauty’ on the Appalachian Trail

Jan 24 2022

Upper School computer science teacher Julian Cochran tackles the adventure of a lifetime through Durham Academy's faculty sabbatical program.

Senior Service Project Shines Light on Value of Common Humanity

Jan 24 2022

DA partnered with the Triangle Nonprofit and Volunteer Leadership Center for the fall 2021 Senior Service Project.

With New Strategic Vision in Hand, DA is Planning for an Unscripted Future

Jan 24 2022

A flexible design-thinking process will help infuse the spirit and the practice of incremental, iterative improvement in our students, our faculty and our school.

In Fall Seminar, Students Dig into Value of Trees

Jan 13 2022

A new year can be an opportunity to make more sustainable choices and to spend more time immersed in nature. It can also be an opportunity to learn about the long-lasting environmental and societal impacts of choices made in decades past, as participants in the most recent sustainability seminar learned this fall.

Senior Service, Reinvented

Jun 23 2021

The Class of 2021 was able to take advantage of the limitations of the pandemic and worked together to learn more about the community in which they live, even though they had to do so remotely.

Putting Passions to Paper

Jun 22 2021

Seventh-graders write about something they feel passionately about using poetic devices.

Celebrating Two Decades of Music and Family with In The Pocket

Jun 21 2021

In The Pocket is inviting fans to an ITP Anniversary Celebration the weekend of Saturday, Jan. 8, 2022! There will be reunions, activities, jam sessions and rehearsals throughout the weekend, with a concert for the public at 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 8. ALL In The Pocket alumni from all 25 years are invited and encouraged to attend!

Parents’ Courage Paved the Way for Progress at DA

Feb 28 2021

Now, no one thinks twice about a Black parent on the DA board or as a president of the Parents Council. But it was courage and allyship that made this possible.