Parent Spotlight: Dave Darling
Dave Darling has been a Paideia parent for eight years… and counting “since once a Paideia parent, always a Paideia parent, eh?” Dave jokes. His older child Amelia ’24 started 6th grade at Paideia during the 2017-2018 school year, with his younger child, Marlow ’25, coming the following year. Dave has been an avid fan of whatever extracurriculars his kids tried. When they started running cross country, he went to every meet. When they realized their passion for Ultimate Frisbee, it took him to tournaments across the U.S., following Coach Miranda Knowles’s nationally ranked Groove from Nashville to New Jersey to Seattle, rarely missing a game. When both his kids became involved with musical theater, he attended each show, many of them twice. Spectating opened the door to volunteering as he noticed ways he could use his time and talents to help.
As a retired photojournalist, Dave brought his expertise to campus, photographing headshots and publicity stills for several musicals, as well as many Ultimate games, and shooting drone footage for Coach Miranda’s coaching purposes. He tried a little bit of everything, from Grandparents and Special Friends Day to waffle breakfast fundraisers to Pi Bites – he even designed a t-shirt for Pi Wear. But his most dedicated contribution has been to Paideia Archives. With Marlow graduating this past May, Dave reflects on his time at Paideia as he transitions from a current parent to an alumni parent – understanding that being a part of the Paideia parent community stretches beyond your child’s time here.
When did you first start volunteering on campus?
If memory serves, the first time I volunteered was spring 2018, wrangling props for the Junior High musical Amelia was in, Mary Poppins. When the kids were in High School, I served as the student-run musical’s parent chaperone four or five times. The musical theater program at Paideia is objectively spectacular.
In Ultimate, it’s common for athletes’ parents to volunteer to bring tents, tables, water coolers and lots of snacks to games. We also provide support at tournaments like chaperoning, setting up meals, etc. so I did a fair amount of that (although not as much as some parents!). Coach Miranda is an incredible leader, and I have loved having the chance to be a part of the Groove family.
By far the most time-consuming volunteering I’ve done is to help Judy Schwarz organize the archive. OMG, what a huge project! Judy assigned me to organize the student newspaper files. I’ve collected copies of each edition of The Forum we could find (we’re missing only a few), put them in date order and filled out a spreadsheet detailing all that. Now I’m scanning every edition as a searchable PDF (about 370 issues). Laborious but fun. I was a journalist before retiring, so I believe in the project. It’s so interesting to read random articles written by kids about Paideia from 10, 20, 30 or even 40 years ago. And it’s fun to hang out with Judy and the other volunteers – such nice people!
What have you enjoyed most about being a part of the Paideia community?
Being around kids again. My kids were born when I was in my mid-50s (I know, weird, right?) so it had been a long time. I had forgotten how interesting and fun kids are. Seeing kids learn and mature over time has been incredibly gratifying.
I’ve also enjoyed being around the genuinely quality people that Paideia attracts. The new (for me) experience of making friends with folks with whom I share not only being a parent, but also a Paideia parent. It’s a fairly diverse group, but with something in common: everybody is there because they know the incalculable value of the Paideia education and experience, and they want that for their kids. It’s kind of an unspoken bond. I find Paideia people – parents, faculty and kids to be kind. And generous. It’s so rewarding to know folks who do more than they have to to make our little part of the world a better place. It’s honestly amazing to realize how much time and devotion some parents contribute. It’s as if they’ve had too much caffeine and kind of can’t stop. I’m lookin’ at you, Lynda Maraia.
What do you think is the greatest benefit of having parents involved with Paideia?
Well, that’s just good for everybody. Obviously, it’s good for parents to contribute, have a sense of participation in the overall endeavor and especially to see our kids in their natural habitat. Stuff gets done, funds get raised – it makes Paideia a better, juicier place. Better overall connectivity. Parents add an extra layer of sinew, for lack of a better word, to the Paideia community.
As an alum parent, what advice would you give to new parents just getting started?
Get your (very considerable amount of) money’s worth. You don’t have to do everything, but pick something. If everybody pulls a little weight the whole deal gets off the ground that much easier. There’s no judging; trust me you will be welcomed. If you have a skill or interest or passion, apply it. It’ll be so much fun, I promise. You will be so glad you did.