Mr. Polifka is not a new face at Seven Hills, but he does have a new position: Dean of Students. He’s made a few changes this year. For example, he’s created the HUB, a student and teacher information system built into Canvas. He’s also helping streamline the switch to Canvas, sending out videos to advisories, and helping students and teachers manage assignments and create their pages. This article explores what motivates our new dean – and will answer the burning question: What will he do next?
Mr. Polifka is a man of reform. Last year, he spearheaded the controversial phone ban. This year, he attempted to change senior privileges so that seniors could no longer sign out early or sign in late during the first and fourth block. His change was not popular with the students, and he reversed the change after backlash. Senior Thibaut Briquet, when asked if he felt Mr. Polifka was representing his class and making them feel seen, said, “Initially, probably not, but I think he’s trying really hard to do so.” This was likely a direct response to the senior privileges change, which Briquet said,when discussing the original change, said he “didn’t really enjoy.”
Mr. Polifka does have some big ideas for the school this year. One of his main focuses is accepting feedback and bringing students into leadership roles. Polifka said, “We have a bunch of plans kind of kicking around… [students] being an intern in the athletics department, being an intern in the communications department,” referring to leadership opportunities proposed by the Experiential Learning Department.
Mr. Polifka is also open to taking feedback. Of course, he took feedback on his senior privilege change, but he is listening in other areas too . The HUB, for example, initially launched with issues many students pointed out, mainly its confusing interface and unreadability. Since then, he’s made changes. And, Polifka said that, “I had a meeting yesterday with [sophomores] Will Stock and Saksham Vij, to talk about what Student Government is going to try to run: a message board so we can get students posting digital flyers on the hub. I’ve had a bunch of people after my announcement yesterday come up to me with ideas.” And, he plans to act on these changes, too. Of course, he’s already done things in terms of privileges and the HUB, but he’s also reimagined the Student Blast and is working on other upcoming projects.
Mr. Polifka is reimagining the school’s policy in many ways. For example, he says that, “AI continues to be something that we, as a school, need to think a lot about. I don’t know that we’ve found answers yet.” He also talks about his unique approach to discipline. Rather than sending offending students off to lunch detentions, he’s focusing on restorative discipline. He said, “Restorative approaches to discipline… says, look, we’re a community, communities are about relationships, and discipline should be about repairing the harm that is done … So much of the discipline that we grow up with in the United States is about… how do we remove people from society.” Clearly, we can’t remove Seven Hills students from the school culture, but should instead focus on restoring the damage that has been done, and also restoring the person. In short, Polifka believes that students shouldn’t be ostracized just because they’ve broken the rules. It seems that Seven Hills will soon see some big changes to discipline.
Mr. Polifka is also trying to democratize power at the school. He already said that he’s focusing on bringing students into new roles. Polifka says that, “If you were to go to other peer institutions like ours, around the country, one thing you would find is that students have more of an ownership stake in the school than they do here.” He also thinks that Seven Hills needs to build more of a community, and not build a place where students come to do work and get out. Polifka said, “People often leave really quickly at the end of the day. There’s sometimes a feeling, I think, among some people that we’re here to get in, get the thing that we’re after, and get out, right? Like it’s transactional sometimes. When we are at our best, it’s the opposite.” This was likely the focus of his senior privileges change, though it was interpreted as an attack on a senior’s central rights, rather than a restorative change that would change the culture at the school.
Overall, Mr. Polifka has big shoes to fill. Students, like Thibaut, are happy with him, as they comment on his restorative reactions to student opinion. And, Mr. Polifka is making helpful changes to the school that, over time, will become essential parts of Seven Hills, like the HUB. Mr. Polifka is a new, innovative dean of students, and he’s here to help the school grow through brave new ideas.
