Holton brain drain?

[Anonymous]

Hello - parent of newly admitted DD1 and prospective DD2 for LS and I’ve heard rumblings of faculty departures due to HOS transition. A little nervous about making the move if it’s been a rocky transition and there may be brain drain. Since we’re LS, need to assess if we should wait to see how this all plays out. It’s a hefty $ to experience too many departures. Any intel from current parents?

[Anonymous]

This is SO hard! Not at Holton but as a parent with 4 kids in different schools this is inevitable that schools have their upswings and downswings and then a couple years of stable. Next year will be rockier but the school will continue to thrive

[Anonymous]

Generally at schools the first few years after a new Head of School come on board there is turnover and then if the leader is good things stabilize again. It's just how it is. Leadership transition is hard even when the new leader is strong (no idea about Holton's situation in particular - just have a long history with independent schools). If you believe Holton is the right place for your DD now, then do it. Especially if DD is a lower schooler, there are plenty of opportunities in the years ahead to switch schools if things change and you are no longer happy with the school.

[Anonymous]

Holton is the kind of place where there are a lot of traditions and long-standing faculty. Leadership changes things, but it's unlikely to be drastic unless the conditions are really bad. And if that's the case, the leader won't last long.

[Anonymous]

The good news is that your kids are young, and it will give them and the staff plenty of time to adjust to new leadership and faculty.

Don't worry, OP

[Anonymous]

Not connected to Holton specifically, but I wouldn't stress. If you're at a school for 10 years, you'll probably have a leadership change in there somewhere – might as well have it now! Unless it's a brand-new school and the founder is retiring, I don't think most changes/rockiness will be perceptible to you.

[Anonymous]

OP here, this is super helpful, thank you! Just trying to work through this with my spouse - who’s most concerned. By the end of all this, with two, we would have spent a small fortune. Would still love to hear from current parents and whether they are seeing any key departures.

[Anonymous]

Current parent whose kids have been in independent schools for a long time. Off the top of my head, I can think of new HOS changes at a majority of private schools in the area since my first kid started pre-k (Holton, NCS, St Albans, Landon, Sidwell, and Maret to name a few).

I would not make a decision trying to game who will leave and who won’t in deciding to attend any school. If you liked the feeling and ethos of Holton, I would give more weight to that than specific people on staff, though I don’t feel there is a current “brain drain going on”. In fact, I can think of a few internal promotions that should ensure quality teachers and admins will stay put.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Can current Holton parents share if there has been any faculty departures from Holton?

And who departed?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Current parent whose kids have been in independent schools for a long time. Off the top of my head, I can think of new HOS changes at a majority of private schools in the area since my first kid started pre-k (Holton, NCS, St Albans, Landon, Sidwell, and Maret to name a few).

I would not make a decision trying to game who will leave and who won’t in deciding to attend any school. If you liked the feeling and ethos of Holton, I would give more weight to that than specific people on staff, though I don’t feel there is a current “brain drain going on”. In fact, I can think of a few internal promotions that should ensure quality teachers and admins will stay put.

Good luck!

I would disagree as having quality faculty is a big part of what you’re paying for. And as OP said, it’s not a small amount. Yes, while Holton has a lot of good traditions, the experience and learning of the child is still greatly influenced by the teachers. Then why pay such high amounts if they’re not getting at least that?

[Anonymous]

My DS was in public and having good teachers was the luck of the draw. We switched him to private in 4th grade, mainly for smaller classes, balanced curriculum AND the faculty. The difference was night and day. He was engaged, and learning, and happy. Of course smaller classes made a difference but we know it’s mostly because he had some amazing teachers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Current parent whose kids have been in independent schools for a long time. Off the top of my head, I can think of new HOS changes at a majority of private schools in the area since my first kid started pre-k (Holton, NCS, St Albans, Landon, Sidwell, and Maret to name a few).

I would not make a decision trying to game who will leave and who won’t in deciding to attend any school. If you liked the feeling and ethos of Holton, I would give more weight to that than specific people on staff, though I don’t feel there is a current “brain drain going on”. In fact, I can think of a few internal promotions that should ensure quality teachers and admins will stay put.

Good luck!

I would disagree as having quality faculty is a big part of what you’re paying for. And as OP said, it’s not a small amount. Yes, while Holton has a lot of good traditions, the experience and learning of the child is still greatly influenced by the teachers. Then why pay such high amounts if they’re not getting at least that?

I don’t think that’s quite what I said, or perhaps it wasn’t clear. Sorry and let me try to restate. I wouldn’t zero in on specific teachers or admins as a requirement for attending a school as there is attrition in every school. But yes, quality teaching is important and absolutely what you pay for - but sometimes that quality is a new hire (or promotion from within).

I don’t feel comfortable speaking about specific teachers on anonymous board - I would ask around in real life. But I can say, I was personally happy with the recent presentation where all the admins (including new hires) spoke to the current parent body about plans for upcoming school year.

[Anonymous]

LS parent here. I can't think of any departures from Lower School of note. There was a learning specialist and a foreign language teacher who left last year, but I don't think the new HoS was even there by that point. In both cases, their departures were for typical reasons (family moving from the area; adjusting work schedule).

I don't think there's much upheaval, at least at the LS level.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:LS parent here. I can't think of any departures from Lower School of note. There was a learning specialist and a foreign language teacher who left last year, but I don't think the new HoS was even there by that point. In both cases, their departures were for typical reasons (family moving from the area; adjusting work schedule).

I don't think there's much upheaval, at least at the LS level.

Has there been much upheaval in the MS/US levels? Our DD was accepted to MS this year and had similar concerns. Thanks for any insights.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:LS parent here. I can't think of any departures from Lower School of note. There was a learning specialist and a foreign language teacher who left last year, but I don't think the new HoS was even there by that point. In both cases, their departures were for typical reasons (family moving from the area; adjusting work schedule).

I don't think there's much upheaval, at least at the LS level.

Has there been much upheaval in the MS/US levels? Our DD was accepted to MS this year and had similar concerns. Thanks for any insights.

We don't have any DDs at that level, so can't really say for certain. I know a few management-level people left -- a DEI director and someone on the Comms team as I recall. The new DEI person (a teacher who has been with the school many years) is a great teacher from what I've seen, so I assume she's well-qualified for the role, but I'm no DEI expert. I never dealt with any Comms stuff so can't really say I've noticed any issues there. It seems like business as usual from my perspective.

The new HoS is more accessible -- I see her out among the students and parents more than the previous HoS. I consider that a plus.