Head of School Search

This webpage provides information about The Wheeler School’s search for our ninth Head of School. This is the position statement for this important role at Wheeler. Below you will find additional details about the search process and timetable; our search firm, Search Committee, and Faculty-Staff Advisory Committee; and an archive of search updates sent to the school community.

 

Letters to the Community

 

The Search Firm

We have partnered with Resource Group 175 (RG175) to lead the Head of School Search. You may be familiar with RG175 because they previously partnered with Wheeler on a number of searches, including our recent search for the next head of Lower School.

The consultants from RG175 who are partnering with us on our search for Wheeler’s next head of school meet with members of the Middle School Student Council during the discovery process

RG175 is committed to guiding highly personalized leadership and governance consulting to schools, based on the values of integrity, inclusivity, knowledge, and flexibility. Their consultants are considered leaders in the independent school world, many of whom served as heads of school themselves or in high level roles of independent school administration. In short, they understand the unique needs of independent schools. RG175 consultants have led searches for schools throughout the country and the world. Their expansive network allows them to identify candidates whose leadership and management skills align with a school’s culture, challenges, and aspirations.

The Search Committee

Choosing a new head of school is the responsibility of the Board of Trustees. In many ways, it is the most important thing the Board will do. As such, several Trustees serve on the Search Committee which will work with RG175 to identify the best candidates and ultimately recommend one of them to the Board. In order to accomplish this important work, the committee will meet regularly with RG175 over a period of about six months to review resumes, interview candidates, and check references. This approach helps ensure a fair, thorough, orderly, and inclusive process.

During the search process, the committee will engage all of Wheeler's constituency groups for their input. They will work closely with administration, faculty, staff, parents, students, and alumni to ensure that our next head of school continues to lead us with the spirit for which Wheeler is known.

You are welcome to reach out to the Search Committee if you have questions or feedback at any point throughout the search process:

Contact the Search Committee

Katie Goodfellow P’25

Search Committee Chair and Secretary of the Board of Trustees

Daniel Becker P’25

Vice President of the Board of Trustees
A picture of Director of Unity & Diversity Princess Bomba standing outside and smiling at the camera.

Princess Sirleaf Bomba P’16, P’18

Director of Unity & Diversity

Matt Coen ’88

Trustee

Alisia St. Florian ’86

President of the Board of Trustees

Rob Glancy ’01

Trustee
Aerie director Mark Harris sits at a table by a window.

Mark Harris P’08, P’24

Director of Aerie Enrichment Program

Neeltje Henneman

Head of Upper School

Connie Howes P’01 P’04

Treasurer of the Board of Trustees

Shankar Prasad P’32

Trustee

William Prescott H’03, P’85, P’91, P’96

Head Emeritus

Paige Roberts P’29, P’31

President of Wheeler School Parents Association

Amy Baumgartel Singer ’89, P’20, P’24

Director of College Counseling

Eve Veliz-Moran P’34, P’34

Trustee

Young Un P’12

Head of Strategic Innovation and Liaison to Faculty-Staff Advisory Committee

Faculty-Staff Advisory Committee

The Faculty-Staff Advisory Committee assists the Search Committee in its data gathering endeavors. They consider candidates entirely from the vantage point of the faculty and staff community, and its members, who are listed below, come from every division of the school.

  • Young Un, head of strategic innovation and committee chair
  • Mo Abdalah, Nest teacher
  • Chris Capaldi P’31, Lower School Music teacher
  • Judy Diaz P’27, P’29, director of the Wheeler Health Center
  • Sean Kelly ’02, P’35, director of Athletics
  • Alyssa Mroz, Hamilton Lower School teacher
  • Isabel Purdy P’25, P’28, Middle School and Upper School Chinese teacher
  • Rachel Spaulding P’27, P’27, head of Advancement
  • Dana Tatlock P’20, P’24, Middle School teacher
  • Charlene Williams P’28, assistant director of U&D and WHeeLS coordinator

Projected Search Timeline

This timeline is a guideline, not an absolute. The following dates and corresponding action steps are reflective of what a typical search process entails.

✓ Head of School Search consultant selection

✓ Creation of Search Committee and Faculty-Staff Advisory Committee

✓ Discovery process begins: RG175 gathers information and speaks to various constituencies.

✓ Discovery process continues: RG175 gathers data and other important information about Wheeler through online surveys, individual and group interviews, and drop-in sessions with various constituencies. They search for broad themes that reflect the strengths and qualities of the school that must be preserved during the leadership transition, the challenges and opportunities the next head will face, and the key leadership attributes of interest to the school.

✓ Discovery process ends: RG175 meets with the Search Committee to review the team’s findings and develop a profile of the ideal candidate based on those findings.

✓ Position statement development: RG175 presents a position statement to the Search Committee chair and the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees for approval. The position statement is a recruitment tool shared with key industry leaders who might help identify potential candidates and will be shared with educators in the firm’s database to spark interest in the position.

Recruitment begins (we are here): RG175 recruits and interviews promising candidates based on the criteria of the position statement. At this stage and through the semi-finalist round, the candidate pool remains confidential.

Recruitment continues: RG175 recruits and interviews promising candidates based on the criteria of the position statement.

Recruitment concludes: RG175 recruits and interviews promising candidates based on the criteria of the position statement.

Review: Members of the Search Committee review candidates presented by RG175 and hones the pool to a smaller list they would like to interview in the semi-finalist round.

Semi-finalist interviews: The Search Committee interviews the selected semi-finalist candidates and then convenes to discuss the semi-finalists and identify its preferred finalists to invite to campus.

Finalist visits: Each finalist comes to campus for a visit with the school community, including meetings with faculty and staff, school administration, parents, students, and other constituencies. After the candidates’ visits, the Search Committee gathers feedback from various constituencies involved in the visits and then convenes to discuss which candidate to recommend to the Board of Trustees as Wheeler’s next head of school.

Agreement and announcement: The Search Committee, on behalf of the Board of Trustees, notifies the selected candidate. Assuming they reach an agreement with the candidate, the Search Committee and Board of Trustees announces the news to the school community.

Transition preparation: The Board of Trustees forms a small Transition Committee that plans the transition in leadership. This includes a plan for introducing the head-elect to the Wheeler community during the remainder of the 2024-2025 school year. Long before they arrive to take the helm on July 1, 2025, the head-elect will be well on their way to becoming a familiar face at school.