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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][b][quote=Anonymous]Maret board told who to vote for. The HOS and Board chair had already decided. [/quote][/b]

OP here- while I am mainly interested in hearing about how schools have transitioned to a new Head and how the process went, I have to chime in that this sounds crazy. I somehow highly doubt Marjo Talbott would have voted for the candidate who ultimately got the job- in fact, it almost seems like the board chose him because he is nothing like her. As for the board chair, certainly a nice person but power hungry? Another bizmare allegation.

Maret used to be a fringe school, sort of artsy- at least when Strutevant was in charge- loads of debt, some really bad teachers. Marjo Talbott might not be the friendliest, but she really put Maret on the map and brought it to where it is. While I think she should have retired a while ago, I respect the work she did for the school.

Maret was founded by three women- I personally am sad the position did not go to a female, since few of the co-ed schools in this area are headed by women.  Just so very disappointed in the whole process and certainly with the ultimate selection. [/quote]

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

During his presentation to families, he talked about how much Maret and Whittle are alike. Not only are Maret and Whittle completely different, the vast majority Maret families do not want the school to become more like Whittle in any way. While he may or may not be responsible for the mishandling of Whittle finances, he went to that school knowing (or at least he should have known since it was public knowledge) that Chris Whittle is a fraud. That shows awful judgment. This HOS choice has caused our family to reassess whether Maret is the right school for our children. I'm sure we aren't alone.[/quote]

Maret parent here. I was at the session and you are inaccurately reporting what he said. He spoke knowledgeably about Maret.  They had applied to Maret for one of his kids for goodness sake. He talked about how he admired Maret’s willingness to innovate and how engaged the faculty was. He answered a question about how he had handled crises in the past. I thought his answer showed that he had good instincts for the emotional side of handling a crisis and not just the nuts and bolts.

[b]I am willing to give him a chance.[/b] I met some parents who thought he was great. One parent said “I think he’s great.  He’s the whole package.”  Obviously you disagree. I know other parents who weren’t thrilled with any of the candidates but said of the three he was their first choice followed by candidate 3.  If you really think that his hiring means Maret is no longer a fit for your family, I know several families who will happily take your place. We had several friends apply to Maret this past year for Lower, Middle, and Upper School who were disappointed when their kids weren’t accepted.  [/quote]

I'm glad to see that someone is willing to give him a chance!  He's been the interim HOS at my son's school for the past year and has been wonderful.  He stabilized the school community during a difficult time (issues beyond covid) and when we needed it most (our previous HOS was no longer effective).  Yes, we all knew he was only coming in for one year and so we didn't have terribly high expectations but he exceeded them and more.  For someone who was only an interim he really engaged with the school community.  I think he has served our school community well and that will hopefully make for a better transition for the new HOS.  And yes, like at Maret many of the families at our school weren't thrilled with the selection of the new HOS, but the more the community has talked with each other, heard from teachers and staff, and engaged with the new HOS, people are getting excited.  I'm just trying to keep in mind that anyone wanting to go into education right now is damn near a miracle.    [/quote]

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