TEACHING ATTENTION IN A DISTRACTED WORLD
10/14/2026
“In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous.” - Aristotle
In the fall of 2026, Montrose School will complete our Campus Renewal Project, a significant investment in our campus athletic fields, bridges and walkways, and surrounding wetlands.
This project represents what the world needs now more than ever: an education that intentionally cultivates reflection and inquiry, deeply human qualities that serve the common good.
“In a distracted world, Montrose forms young women capable of attention, reflection, wisdom, leadership, and faith,” said Head of School Katie Elrod. “Our renewed campus is the setting where that formation takes place.”
A Place Where Girls Grow in Attentiveness
Every year, Head of School Katie Elrod chooses a virtue to anchor her conversations with students, faculty, and parents, drawn from Montrose School's signature list of good habits of mind, heart, and character. This year's choice feels especially urgent: attentiveness.
“We know that we live in an attention economy,” observed Mrs. Elrod. She pointed to the research of Cal Newport and others that shows how the average person's attention gets pulled dozens of times an hour by design, not by accident.
Montrose School leaders have been following Cal Newport's research since his book Deep Work was first published in 2016. That book inspired the school to rename its learning center as the Deep Work Center.
“Aided by our phone-free environment and collaboration with parents, our students learn to marshal and sustain their attention on our rich liberal arts curriculum,” Mrs. Elrod explained.
She continued, “Into a distracted world, we are sending young women who will be equipped with something increasingly rare: the capacity to sustain attention, to stretch toward a question, a text, a person, or a prayer, and stay there.”
Moreover, educators at Montrose have long known at Montrose that the habit of attentiveness goes well beyond the ability to focus on mastering calculus or Elizabethan poetry. It is an essential element of a flourishing life. “This habit prepares us to notice and deeply care for the person in need and to be open to the still voice of God,” said Mrs. Elrod. “Focusing on this more robust and richer definition of attention will help us become more attuned to our students as we help them answer their call to greatness.”
A Renewed Campus
Montrose School’s Campus Renewal Project, now nearing completion, was intentionally designed to cultivate this habit of attentiveness.
“Every element has been designed with a purpose: to give our girls a beautiful space, surrounded by the awe and wonder of nature and the glory of God, in which to practice sustained, undistracted attention,” said Mrs. Elrod.
The transformational project includes two new regulation-size turf athletic fields, where girls learn to focus on unity, perseverance, and giving to something beyond themselves for a greater purpose. A mentoring walkway links the entire campus, in support of Montrose’s signature program which provides every girl with an individualized mentor who serves as her coach and guide. An outdoor area for prayer and reflection houses a marble statue of Our Lady, Sedes Sapientiae (Seat of Wisdom), while other outdoor learning spaces make room for girls to engage in integrated, interdisciplinary work, connecting our entire campus with our rich liberal arts curriculum.
In addition, the school is making a significant investment to restore the campus wetlands. “Given our location in the heart of historic downtown Medfield, it is our priority to steward our campus in ways that will serve our community,” said Mrs. Elrod. To that end, the school will replace almost 15,000 square feet of invasive species with native plantings.
“The Campus Renewal Project is the perfect extension of our campus to help every girl cultivate the habits of mind, heart and character, so that she may find her noble purpose and transform society for the good,” said Mrs. Elrod.
This article was recently published in The Pilot.