Dear Community of the Upper School at Great Hearts Irving,

I am thrilled to introduce myself as the new Headmaster of Great Hearts Irving. As I have gotten to know people from the community, I have already been so impressed with the love and dedication of everyone towards our students. It will be a great joy to get to know you all and join you in our blessed work together.

As I return to Irving, I remember being a young man at the University of Dallas, where I began my journey as a student of the liberal arts, kindling a deep desire to know what is true, good, and beautiful. I now hope to pass on that fire to the young people of this community. 

After some time in graduate school, I further developed that love for a liberal arts education by being a teacher at a Great Hearts school in Arizona for five years. I saw then that I loved Great Hearts not only for its excellent faculty and curriculum, but for the education it enacts: preparing young people for the new, uncertain world of the future; seeing the present moment as a gift from the richness of our past; loving the souls of our students, cultivating arete, excellence in the most human things; communicating the beauty of the old verities, “the courage and honor and hope and pride and compassion and pity and sacrifice which have been the glory of [our] past.” To be entrusted with such a project is a great honor.  

Looking forward, 2020-2021 will be a landmark year in our school’s history as it will establish our first Senior class. I’ve found in my work with Senior students that something extraordinary happens over the course of the year: although the challenges are steep, they are able to rise to them, push their minds to find answers to difficult and important questions, realize their camaraderie with each other in the process, and find a deep sense of communal joy. The Senior year is a great climb to the summit of their education, from which they will be able put what they have learned into a greater context and see the world more clearly. It will be a privilege to guide them on this ennobling journey. 

While the pandemic continues to be an uncertain presence in our lives, know that I am eager to see our community return to the richness of the full school experience at dances, club meetings, sporting events, and in the sacred space of the classroom. Whatever our future holds, know that Great Hearts Irving will not only endure, but we will prevail!

Yours in Partnership,

Michael Cowan

Headmaster, Upper School

Great Hearts Irving