Dear Lakehill Community,
I hope that everyone is doing well, keeping safe, and taking some time to appreciate families and loved ones. As Roger announced to the school in his letter in June, I am leading the search for Lakehill’s new Head of School. This is a high honor and I am fully committed to finding the best leader for our current and future students. It is certainly an interesting time to be conducting such a search, but the strength of our school community, the outstanding faculty and administration, and the amazing Lakehill legacy that so many built will attract many highly qualified candidates for us.
I am proud to announce the Search Committee that will conduct this process on behalf of the Board of Directors:
- Jarrod Bassman (4th, 7th, and 9th grade parent)
- Carolyn Howard (alumna and parent of a 2020 alumna)
- Katie Lavie (2nd and 5th grade parent)
- Colleen McCall (Board Chair, alumna, 12th grade parent, and parent of 2019 alumna)
- James Perry (8th and 11th grade parent)
- Brooke Scruggs (PFC Representative, 6th and 9th grade parent)
- Brent Walker (6th and 11th grade parent)
- Hardmon Williams (8th and 11th grade parent)
I am very grateful to these individuals for agreeing to serve the school on this important journey. Each of them already does so much for Lakehill and cares deeply about our school’s future. The Search Committee is excited and has already put in a lot of time to get this process started. Please thank them in advance for their service when you see or talk to them.
The first part of the process was to secure a consulting firm to guide us through the search itself. After reviewing the proposals, I am pleased to announce that we have engaged
Carney Sandoe & Associates
,
a nationally recognized search firm specializing in independent schools since 1977. Carney Sandoe is a large firm with many resources and contacts. We believe this will serve us well in the current environment. Our consultants are Rhonda Durham and Bob Windham and they have already begun their work for us.
Rhonda Durham served for 12 years as Executive Director of the Independent Schools Association of the Southwest. This followed her eight years as Head of School for an independent school in Texas. Rhonda joined Carney Sandoe in 2019 and her full bio can be found
here
.
Bob Windham’s career has been in education, culminating in his role as Head of School, then President, of St. Mary’s Hall in San Antonio. He served as a teacher, principal, and Associate Superintendent at schools and districts across Texas. Bob has been with Carney Sandoe since 2014 and his full bio can be found
here
.
Our goal is to gather input from the entire Lakehill community (parents, faculty and staff, board members, and alumni) so that we can incorporate as many ideas as possible in prioritizing the qualities we seek in our next Head of School. In addition to virtual interviews of a few groups and individuals by the search consultants, the community will be asked to complete an electronic survey to be circulated in the next few weeks. Your input will be vital in developing a profile of the qualities we seek in our next leader and will be used to help formulate the Position Description in the candidate recruiting process. Please be on the lookout for the email.
While we have a general timeline of the process, we will need to be flexible and nimble. The COVID–19 situation seems to change daily; search timetables are always fluid and evolving in order to maintain a competitive advantage. Our consultants will be recruiting, vetting, and interviewing candidates throughout the remainder of summer and the fall, with the Search Committee reviewing our narrowed selection of candidates. We will interview candidates, working our way toward a final selection for presentation to the Board of Directors. We will provide updates on the timetable throughout the process.
Again, it is an honor to be asked to Chair this important search on your behalf. The Search Committee will work hard to find a Head of School who understands and appreciates the value of the Lakehill community and can lead us confidently into the future with a firm grasp on our mission, history, and traditions.
Sincerely,
