A First Look at Graded: New Community Members Share Their First Impressions

 

Every year, Graded opens its doors to new faces from around the world. Some walk through the gates for their first day of school; others step into new teaching roles, leadership positions, or professional chapters. While their pathways vary, they share a single milestone: discovering Graded for the first time.

This year, 182 new students joined the Graded community, alongside 22 new faculty and administrators from countries including Brazil, Colombia, Thailand, Germany, and the United States. For many, their first impressions began with something hard to quantify but easy to feel: a genuine sense of belonging.
 

A Warm Welcome from Day One

For incoming students, relationships began to take root during New Student Orientation. Across three division-specific sessions, new students and their families met teachers, toured campus, connected with student ambassadors, and began preparing for their first day.

For Grade 7 student Lotus N., the scale of opportunity stood out immediately. “My first impression was great. The school is huge!” she shared. “I’m so excited to be able to do so many after-school activities and to have the opportunity to learn so many different things that I’ve never learned before.”

 

Onboarding Built with Purpose

For new faculty and administrators, the journey began during New Faculty & Administrator Orientation, affectionately known as “Newbie” Orientation. In the latest episode of Learning from the Lab, a podcast hosted by Graded’s Chief Innovation & Technology Officer, David Trajtenberg, four incoming educators reflected on their first days at Graded.

Mark Palombo, Upper School Choir Director, arrived in São Paulo after teaching in Thailand. Having heard about Graded’s reputation from afar, he found that reality matched expectations: “You hear all these stories of people just falling in love with Graded. The instant you walk into this building, you feel it.” For Mark, that feeling comes down to one central idea: relationships. “The relationships matter, the people matter, the community matters.”

As new students explored campus and began imagining their lives at Graded, new teachers were doing something similar—learning not only how the school operates but also how learning happens at Graded.

For Andreas Kidane, an Optimal Learning Services Teacher previously based in Germany and Los Angeles, Graded’s investment in professional development left a strong impression. “I’ve never seen a school put so many resources behind teacher growth and expanding teacher practice,” he noted.

Kevin Gonzalez, a College Counselor arriving from Saudi Arabia, highlighted the intentionality behind Graded’s onboarding. “Starting from the application process, to interviewing, and now to orientation, there is a purpose to how Graded does onboarding,” he said. “As a new person coming into a new environment, it really helps us understand the greater scheme of reasoning behind how things are done.”

Newbie Orientation balanced institutional philosophy and teaching practices with the practicalities of settling into São Paulo, covering everything from health benefits and banking setup to navigating a new megacity.

Incoming High School Principal Alexa Schmid, who spent the last nine years working in Kenya, felt that balance firsthand. Touched by the thoughtful welcome she received—from notes left by colleagues to a basket of goodies and home essentials—she reflected: “It’s been a really nice balance of taking time to connect as humans and develop relationships, allowing us to be folded into the fabric of Graded.”

 

 

Many Journeys, One Community

While their starting points and backgrounds may be different, new students, faculty, and administrators quickly found common ground: the opportunity to join the Graded community.

For Mark, that transition centers on relationships. For Alexa, it’s belonging. For Andreas, professional learning. For Kevin, institutional purpose. And for students like Lotus, it boils down to something even simpler: “Everyone wanted to help. I already feel at home.”

Amid the orientations, campus tours, and first-day nerves, that feeling of home might just be the most important first impression of all.