WES Head of School resigns

[Anonymous]

No!!! They shouldn't. The school never moves forward when they promote from within, that's a huge issue at Wes.

[Anonymous]

I agree, but in practice, the school does not move forward. Why pretend when they recruit staff?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Looks like the board didn't want a serious commitment. Why would they pick a person who had to leave behind a spouse, so far away? And now a temp person for the next year?
What's going on there?

Mr. Duncan didn't leave behind a spouse when he came to WES. He actually was not married or even engaged when he joined the school. I think they tried to find her a job here but it did not work out. Mr. Duncan is a great person but the middle school head (interim head) is also amazing. She has been there forever so I actually think it's a good choice to allow the school to run a real search rather than rushing into picking someone for this fall.

[Anonymous]

Mr. Duncan and his wife could have chosen to live in DC. The fact is that he came to DC from the south -- then, instead of staying at WES with his new wife moving to DC -- he chose to return to the south. This explains why he was "asleep at the wheel" at his job -- he was interviewing for a new one! Will the new Head keep Mr. Duncan's "Greg Brady" office? Just needs a lava lamp and some beads hanging from the doorway -- way cool dude! Just a hint: At most schools, the Head will greet the kids by name at morning dropoff (they all got the memo on that and some even offer a firm handshake) - this time find someone that can offer LEADERSHIP.

[Anonymous]

Our family recently adopted a dog from the animal shelter. I found that this grown Yorkie, all of six pounds or her, was getting her own way. One day I found my son, my ten-year old son, a confident, well-liked, leader in his class, standing over the dog and firmly commanding her to "sit", "stand", "come here". Now I am a more passive, introverted, and non-confrontational personality, but I could see that my son was able to control the dog through force of personality.

I bring this up only because the Washington, private schools parent population (including at a Big 3-feeder where the "stakes are high") is full of high-strung, alpha dogs. Any head of school has to be strong, firm, and willing to command through their force of personality. If you do not dominate them, these parents will surely dominate you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Mr. Duncan and his wife could have chosen to live in DC. The fact is that he came to DC from the south -- then, instead of staying at WES with his new wife moving to DC -- he chose to return to the south. This explains why he was "asleep at the wheel" at his job -- he was interviewing for a new one! Will the new Head keep Mr. Duncan's "Greg Brady" office? Just needs a lava lamp and some beads hanging from the doorway -- way cool dude! Just a hint: At most schools, the Head will greet the kids by name at morning dropoff (they all got the memo on that and some even offer a firm handshake) - this time find someone that can offer LEADERSHIP.

A lot of assumptions to arrive at such strong and incorrect conclusions about Kirk Duncan. All accusations are baseless. Kirk has accomplished a lot at WES during his tenure.

Many of the posters in this thread including you have no idea what human resource management is. One cannot control all future contingencies when hiring someone.

I also agree with the pp about too many alpha dog parents in the region.

[Anonymous]

Duncan was a fine Head of School. WES will continue to have problems until the Board attracts forward thinking and high quality board members.

[Anonymous]

Interesting. Is that the issue - the real lack of "leadership" at the school? It just always seems that WES is the wanna-be school - full of wanna-be parents/leaders. Generally thought of as a joke, no?

[Anonymous]

PP, I think the Board and the micro managing parents are the problem. It's very odd, but WES parents really run the school. You don't see that at other area schools (to that uber extent). No strong HOS will tolerate that .

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Kirk Duncan, the Head of School at WES, has resigned to take a job in NC. I don't think he was in that position for very long.

There must be a back story, hopefully no scandal,

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our family recently adopted a dog from the animal shelter. I found that this grown Yorkie, all of six pounds or her, was getting her own way. One day I found my son, my ten-year old son, a confident, well-liked, leader in his class, standing over the dog and firmly commanding her to "sit", "stand", "come here". Now I am a more passive, introverted, and non-confrontational personality, but I could see that my son was able to control the dog through force of personality.

I bring this up only because the Washington, private schools parent population (including at a Big 3-feeder where the "stakes are high") is full of high-strung, alpha dogs. Any head of school has to be strong, firm, and willing to command through their force of personality. If you do not dominate them, these parents will surely dominate you.

Good analogy.

[Anonymous]

For those of us who have been in a long distance relationship, it is not surprising that a couple would decide the best option for both partners is to start fresh, in a new city. Kirk did a lot of great things for WES and he has set-up his replacement for success. While transitions are never easy, Nancy Wright (the Middle School Director) seems like a great candidate to keep things running smoothly until WES finds someone to take the position permanently.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP, I think the Board and the micro managing parents are the problem. It's very odd, but WES parents really run the school. You don't see that at other area schools (to that uber extent). No strong HOS will tolerate that .

Are there a lot of current parents on the board? That never seems to work well.

[Anonymous]

Mostly current parents on the board.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Interesting. Is that the issue - the real lack of "leadership" at the school? It just always seems that WES is the wanna-be school - full of wanna-be parents/leaders. Generally thought of as a joke, no?

In fact, WES is not a joke. As a current parent, I take offense to this given that WES has provided an incredible education for both of my children but without "the scene" you find at so many other independent schools in our area. Head changes happen all of the time at schools all over the country. It's normal. I feel very confident this head change won't diminish what WES offers because it's the teachers and the curriculum that have made such a positive impact on my kids.