I write to you as a follow-up to our Headmaster Roger Perry's announcement today that he will be retiring his position at Lakehill Preparatory School at the end of the 2020-2021 school year. Roger is leaving this position after 46 years at Lakehill and 38 years as our Headmaster, and it has been my great privilege to have known him as a student, a parent, and a Board Member. I cannot imagine a more dedicated, humble, and committed headmaster.

Roger's leadership at Lakehill has driven the school's growth from a small college prep school in the 1970s, renting out space from a church and with no athletic facilities of its own, to a highly respected academic institution covering two campuses and with extensive arts, science, library, technology, athletic, and classroom facilities. It was through Roger's strong leadership and vision that we were able to purchase the original Hillside campus, build a gym, purchase and build our separate Roger L. Perry campus with the Alice and Erle Nye Family Environmental Science Center and the Warrior Athletic Complex, and improve our Hillside campus recently with a 16,000-square-foot expansion and update.

Roger's love of and commitment to our students has been his hallmark legacy. There are still graduates who come back to the campus 40 years after graduation to check in with Roger and to let him know the profound effect Lakehill and Roger had on their lives. Almost certainly every student who has attended Lakehill in the past four decades has shaken his hand in the mornings as they entered school. Many students who spent their Upper School years at Lakehill have tried to defeat Roger on the Commons' pool table, though very few can claim victory. He has seen and supported our children in countless musicals, Invention Conventions, award ceremonies, games, concerts, plays, spelling bees, and graduations. He has molded a culture that is kind, curious, inclusive, and engaged. We are so blessed to have benefited from his strong, steady leadership for the past four decades. His stewardship of the school leaves us in a strong position financially and structurally, with teachers and staff dedicated to children and the mission of the school, with loyal students, families, and alumni, and with much optimism about our future.

The Board of Directors will immediately begin the process of identifying Lakehill's next leader - someone who will build on the school's strengths and on our great traditions to lead us into the future. We have taken the first steps toward establishing a search committee and securing a leading search firm who together will commit to a vibrant, thorough, and inclusive process that considers input from across our community - parents, alumni, students, staff, and faculty. It is the Board's intention to communicate frequently with the Lakehill community throughout this process. Please expect to hear from Search Committee Chair, James Perry, with more details on the search process, including the opportunity to share your views and hopes for the next Headmaster.

On behalf of the Board of Directors and the entire Lakehill community, please join me in extending our deepest gratitude to Roger and his family for his lifetime of work and his unbridled commitment to making Lakehill a wonderful place for children and for everyone in the Lakehill family. We will have many opportunities in the next year to express our gratitude to Roger for his years of service, but no amount of thanks can ever truly reflect our appreciation for his devotion to our school and for giving so much of himself to make Lakehill what it is today and will be tomorrow.

Sincerely,

Colleen McCall

Board Chair, Lakehill Preparatory School