The most troubling part of this is when you consider who is left behind vs those who have gone

The best teachers were recruited by their former colleagues who left HA to become heads of divisions at other schools. Then the teachers with good resumes were hired when they applied out for posted jobs. And people who couldn’t stand working for Penny simply left (or stood up for themselves and were dismissed)

Who’s left? People who can’t get hired elsewhere. New hires that are being churned in to fill all the departures (and good luck with that since the head of HR has been one of the many departures). People who will obey whatever Penny orders

This school had a great faculty and culture. Those are now being dismantled at an escalating rate and remade in the image of one individual for reasons that are unclear to all

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.

This is not good from a college preparation perspective. Out kid is currently in middle school but we will plan to transfer before HS.

Holton pays more than most area independent schools. It’s not the pay. The only schools in the area that pay more are MCPS.

It’s the parents and the kids. That’s why teachers are leaving.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are multiple posters talking about the damage Penny has done. It's not just one.

There IS at least one normalizing all the problematic trends.

So what’s the issue then besides the HoS?

Ask the teachers. If you are calm, they will tell you.

Is it an issue of.pay?

Our family's list of concerns is growing by the week.
I genuinely love Holton and really don't want to look for another school, but it's clear Penny was not the right hire for the HOS position.
I hope the board does something quickly as it feels like there is a lot of damage that has been done already.

(I am admittedly not familiar with how a BOT works, especially in a school setting. Who appoints them, how long are their terms and how would they even go about firing a HOS?)

Anonymous wrote:It’s 10 high school teachers plus some in other divisions

No skin in the game but went to a private and that would be a huge percentage. Even 10 at a mid-size public seems high.

Anonymous wrote:There are multiple posters talking about the damage Penny has done. It's not just one.

There IS at least one normalizing all the problematic trends.

So what’s the issue then besides the HoS?

Anonymous wrote:There are multiple posters talking about the damage Penny has done. It's not just one.

There IS at least one normalizing all the problematic trends.

The fact that penny bothers you doesn’t mean that affect all departing teachers.

There are multiple posters talking about the damage Penny has done. It's not just one.

There IS at least one normalizing all the problematic trends.

Anonymous wrote:Just to say: there is someone in this thread who seems obsessively focused on blaming Penny for everything. If she could, she would probably blame Penny for climate change or world hunger too. That kind of fixation lowers the quality of the discussion.

Teachers do not leave a school only because of one head of school. The issue is usually more complex than that.

+1

Just to say: there is someone in this thread who seems obsessively focused on blaming Penny for everything. If she could, she would probably blame Penny for climate change or world hunger too. That kind of fixation lowers the quality of the discussion.

Teachers do not leave a school only because of one head of school. The issue is usually more complex than that.

Anonymous wrote:They did exit interviews for the students until recently, I don’t see why they can’t do it for the faculty too?

Penny:
-ended exit interviews for seniors
-ended the faculty-staff committee
-ended feedback forms for administrators