Dear Members of the Berkeley Carroll Community:
Bob Vitalo has informed us that he would like to conclude his tenure as our Head of School at the end of the 2018-2019 academic year. While we are saddened that this day has come, the Board is profoundly grateful for all of the work Bob has done.
Berkeley Carroll has undergone a remarkable transformation under Bob’s leadership. From the curriculum, to our faculty, to our facilities, and to our real and meaningful commitment to creating a truly diverse faculty and student body, Bob has been our touchstone. And all of our accomplishments have occurred in an environment of civility and warmth. While the School has unquestionably become a more rigorous one under Bob, we have remained true to our culture and maintained and enhanced the nurturing sense of community that is BC’s hallmark. This is all due to Bob and to his inclusive management style.
The curriculum has been totally revised, and bears almost no resemblance to the one Bob inherited. As some examples of this, Bob led the effort to install a Spanish partial immersion program in the Lower School; he reformed the Humanities curriculum in the Middle and Upper Schools; he expanded the Science Research and Design program in the Upper School that has our students doing original, independent research; he added a wide variety of new electives in science, math and foreign language for our Upper School students; and, with the completion of the new Beta Lab, he has now positioned BC perfectly for the study of a true 21st century STEAM curriculum.
Bob has also put great focus on our most important resource: our wonderful teachers. Our faculty has never been stronger. Bob has made faculty development a priority, with many opportunities now available for our teachers to enhance their professional skills.
BC’s physical plant has also undergone visionary growth throughout Bob’s tenure. As our community knows and sees every day, our facilities have been totally transformed, with two major renovations to Lincoln Place, our acquisition and transformation of Sterling Place to an arts and academic facility, and the acquisition of 703 Carroll Street, which will ultimately transform our Lower School. These changes have given BC’s faculty the space and the tools it needs to steadily enhance our curriculum.
Finally, BC has become more diverse. Under Bob’s leadership, we have dramatically improved the diversity of our faculty and student body. BC has also increased its commitment to financial aid and is well under way towards creating an environment that is truly representative of our society as a whole. We speak frequently of molding our students into 21st Century critical, ethical and global thinkers. It is important that we not leave anyone behind in this laudable pursuit because of economic constraints.
The Board of Trustees will be working diligently over the next nine months to select Berkeley Carroll’s next leader. We are forming a search committee, which will be led by our fellow trustee, Amy Bender. We have also retained the services of Spencer Stuart to assist us in our search, and the process is underway. As an initial step, in late January/early February, Spencer Stuart will hold a number of assessment meetings with trustees, parents, faculty, administration and students to aid the search effort. We have established a
special page
on our BC website. Please refer to it for meeting schedules, updates on the search, etc.
There will be myriad opportunities to thank Bob over the next year and a half, while he remains firmly in charge of our great school. We already know that he will be leaving his successor with an incredible opportunity to build on his extraordinary legacy. Bob is fond of saying that Berkeley Carroll “has never been better.”
The Board couldn't agree more and offers our heartfelt thanks to Bob for making that so.
Sincerely,
Joe Polizzotto
Chair, Board of Trustees
