Reply to Head of School searches: How did it go

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]

[b]Why so very disappointed with the ultimate selection, aside from your being against his selection because of his gender? [/quote][/b]

Many things, first and foremost that he is coming from Whittle.

Second, the lack of transparency in general with the process: There should have been a voting member on the committee from the faculty, the parent survey results should have been public, and the student feedback appears to show (based on what my DC has told me) that they liked the male candidate *the least* but the board seems to have glossed this fact over.

Third, the search firm that was used is known to recycle past candidates who were not successful in past cycles because they are lazy and are unskilled headhunters.

Finally, none of the candidates know anything about Maret itself- why not promote from within, such as the Associate Head of School, or bring someone back who knows the school well, like one of the former division heads? As someone with past consulting/managerial experience, the process was vexing to watch unfold. However, and as some have intimated on this thread, the decision rested in very, very few hands, sort of like the Politburo.[/quote]

No.  The students I know found the second candidate cold and aloof.  They liked the third and the kids I know found the first and third candidates warmer and more approachable.

There was a current Maret parent who had been at Whittle who spoke at the session they had with the candidate for the school community. She was full of praise for him and said that he was always focused on the students and their learning. He was HOS at another school (K-12) in Connecticut for 12 years years and had taught and held leadership positions at other schools before that.  I think some people on here and at Maret are over emphasizing what happened with Whittle. He struck me as an educator who was willing to try something that could help move education forward.  As someone paying for my kids to attend private school, I don’t think I am in any position to look down or criticize a for profit model for education.  We opted out of public education because we thought the independent model was better for our kids. I’m all for finding better ways to educate children and am not going to hold it against an educator if they tried something new and different.

The new HOS has experience managing and seeing building and expansion projects through. Maret is in the process of expanding its athletic facilities with new fields and facilities and his prior experience will be helpful with that.  He has also done fundraising and I think that matters too.  Finally, he seems to have real experience with DEI which I hope translates to Maret continuing to make progress and improve in that area.  [/quote]

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