Why is everyone at Holton-Arms leaving?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You’ve got to wonder how this scandal is going to affect enrollment in the future. HA is already a safety option for many private school applicants although still ahead of the likes of SR and GC. The pressure is going to be huge on HOS to fix the damage.

What scandal? The companion dog?

Losing nearly a hundred faculty and staff members over the course of three years, including almost every single administrator as well as several of her own hires.

I’m not sure how reliable that number is. Every day is different.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Great school but the perception is it is always a backup option to the DC privates ( Sidwell, GDS, NCS, Maret) and Virginia like Potomac and Veritas. HOS needs to change this perception instead of causing drama that will hurt enrollment even further.

What is Vertias? I've never heard of that

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Holton was "that kind of place" under SAJ's leadership. We chose the school because of the culture she created.
PE is cleaning house, and changing the vibe of the school completely. I don't dislike her, but the change is real. It has definitely posed challenges for faculty and students alike.

This is a fair observation. I believe there is enough of a management style/vision difference between the old and new regimes that many teachers decided this was a good time to leave. My daughter likes most of the teachers leaving but is not losing any sleep over some of them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: People care that the school has changed for the worse and teachers who devoted themselves to teaching no longer feel they can work there.

This doesn't track. Teachers are paid well at HA in comparison to other school for identical positions. If they are devoted to teaching, and are paid well, then the "feel they can no longer work there" excuse doesn't hold water. Sounds like they've enjoyed years of not having to answer to anybody and now that grift is up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: People care that the school has changed for the worse and teachers who devoted themselves to teaching no longer feel they can work there.

This doesn't track. Teachers are paid well at HA in comparison to other school for identical positions. If they are devoted to teaching, and are paid well, then the "feel they can no longer work there" excuse doesn't hold water. Sounds like they've enjoyed years of not having to answer to anybody and now that grift is up.

It's just the troll teacher that doesn't want to receive orders from her new boss.

Too bad. You are paid precisely to follow orders, not to do whatever you want.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: People care that the school has changed for the worse and teachers who devoted themselves to teaching no longer feel they can work there.

This doesn't track. Teachers are paid well at HA in comparison to other school for identical positions. If they are devoted to teaching, and are paid well, then the "feel they can no longer work there" excuse doesn't hold water. Sounds like they've enjoyed years of not having to answer to anybody and now that grift is up.

It's just the troll teacher that doesn't want to receive orders from her new boss.

Too bad. You are paid precisely to follow orders, not to do whatever you want.

HA parent here. PP, I really hope you are not a Holton parent. This is such a horrible attitude (“shut up and obey orders”) toward the ppl teaching your kids!

[Anonymous]

Two comments:

1. I remember when my alma mater had a big turnover in the upper school shortly after I graduated. Nothing omnious. It just happened. A combination of retirements, following husbands moving out of state, offers/promotions elsewhere. Based on the information shared earlier in this thread, the changes at Holton averages to one per department. Which seems not outside the ordinary.

2. Vibe change is real. I can believe it happening. If the new head is less woke/DEI than the previous regime and wants to tame down certain messages, I can see how this disincentivizes some teachers and encourages them to start looking elsewhere. Woke/DEI people are believers, little different from people adhering to a faith. Just as people will leave a congregation over theological disuptes with the pastor, they will leave an organization if it's not conforming to their viewpoints.

However, and this is a big however, the vibe change wouldn't be happening if there weren't clear backing by the board and enough parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is a problem. I have done the math and HA turnover is nearly double the rate of a top private school in the past two years. PE is not well liked, although I like her personally… she is very sharp and witty. There have been many, many changes and new hires that are not good for the girls or the school. Not sure why the board isn’t hearing this.

So teaching our girls to be resilient during times of turmoil and change is not good for them? No teachable moments in persevering when things around you seem chaotic? Perhaps a little bit more exposure to how life can be is a good thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Two comments:

1. I remember when my alma mater had a big turnover in the upper school shortly after I graduated. Nothing omnious. It just happened. A combination of retirements, following husbands moving out of state, offers/promotions elsewhere. Based on the information shared earlier in this thread, the changes at Holton averages to one per department. Which seems not outside the ordinary.

2. Vibe change is real. I can believe it happening. If the new head is less woke/DEI than the previous regime and wants to tame down certain messages, I can see how this disincentivizes some teachers and encourages them to start looking elsewhere. Woke/DEI people are believers, little different from people adhering to a faith. Just as people will leave a congregation over theological disuptes with the pastor, they will leave an organization if it's not conforming to their viewpoints.

However, and this is a big however, the vibe change wouldn't be happening if there weren't clear backing by the board and enough parents.

HS parent here. The vibe is different but in a different way than described above. The previous HoS knew every single girl in the school. Apart from the daughters of a few big donors, the new HoS doesn’t know the names of the girls. DD told us it was very disappointing to have so many names butchered during the closing ceremony. And this is after the HoS pulled a girl into her office before the ceremony to ask how to pronounce the different names. This is after being on the job for 3 years. While it seems like a minor thing, this example gives a sense of how she behaves on campus. I can only imagine how she treats the teachers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: Any adult in a position of leadership and authority should know better than to tell children that she requires an "anxiety emotional support dog."

I helped better articulate your beliefs: "Girls! Eat your feelings. Do not share that you have issues or need help, especially when it comes to your mental health."

[Anonymous]

LOL, was this last post just to sneak in a reference to Veritas?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: I would also be concerned that there are still 6 open classroom teaching positions being advertised on May 26th for next fall.

You sound like somebody who has not been part of the workforce for many years. It's not unusual for any job postings to remain open until the hiring process is complete and contracts signed. I have no doubt interviews are moving forward as expected and in no way indicates that they can't fill them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Losing nearly a hundred faculty and staff members over the course of three years, including almost every single administrator as well as several of her own hires.

So what I'm hearing is that with almost 200 faculty and staff, most people are staying at HA! Great news! No fire!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: I would also be concerned that there are still 6 open classroom teaching positions being advertised on May 26th for next fall.

You sound like somebody who has not been part of the workforce for many years. It's not unusual for any job postings to remain open until the hiring process is complete and contracts signed. I have no doubt interviews are moving forward as expected and in no way indicates that they can't fill them.

Show me a peer school that still has 6+ classroom teaching jobs open as we head into June. It is not a good sign.

Sidwell - 1 classroom teacher, 1 assistant K teacher
Landon - 0 classroom teacher jobs
Stone Ridge - 2 classroom teachers in k-12
GDS - 2 full time classroom teachers, a few part time non-core class teachers
NCS - 1 interim teacher and 1 classroom teacher
STA - 0 classroom teacher jobs
Visi - 1 part time teacher
Maret - 1 part time teacher

What is going on at Holton is NOT GOOD.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: Show me a peer school that still has 6+ classroom teaching jobs open as we head into June. It is not a good sign.

First, show me a peer school that has had as much of a need to clean house, eliminate the bloat, and bring things back to center as much as HA, and then I'll show you a school with 6+ classroom teaching jobs still open.