|
July 15, 2022
Dear Members of the Taft Community,
As summer begins, we want to update you on the HOS search. As you may have seen, our survey has gone out to all of you this week. If for some reason you have not received it, you can also find a link on the HOS webpage at https://www.taftschool.org/about/head-of-school-search. This is an important step in our search process and we hope that you will all participate and give us your frank feedback. We need to hear your thoughts and aspirations as we work with Spencer Stuart on the Head of School position description and prioritize the HOS skills and qualities. We are partnering with Kincentric, which is a specialized team at Spencer Stuart, to analyze the data and give us thoughtful insights into feedback from all of the important stakeholders in the Taft community – board members, faculty and staff, students, alumni/ae, parents, and other valued members.
Additionally, we want to thank all of you who have emailed us at the HOS email (headsearch@taftschool.org). We urge you to communicate with us and we especially want to hear from the Taft faculty and staff. In addition, if any member of the Taft faculty wants to be considered for the HOS position, please email us. The emails received at the HOS email are confidential and will only be reviewed by the search committee.
The committee has a full schedule between now and the end of the calendar year with dates to qualify and interview prospective candidates and move finalists forward.
Over the course of the summer, Spencer Stuart will be holding information sessions with the board, the senior administrative team, and faculty and staff. In the fall, they will spend time on campus, also engaging with students. In late fall, the Advisory Council will start to meet and advise the search committee; their insights will be critically important to our search. In that vein, we note that sitting head candidates whom we have spoken to so far have emphasized the need for confidentiality given their position. The committee is fully aware of the responsibility to the candidates to respect their privacy while at the same time garner enough feedback from the Taft community. As you can imagine, this is an incredibly difficult balance and we ask you to bear that in mind as we move forward.
We are excited and energized about the search and the extraordinary interest in this position. It is a testament to Willy, and the entire Taft faculty and staff. Their daily efforts to put our students first, and to educate the whole student, have put Taft in the enviable position it is in today. Our culture, strong roots, and open mind will serve all of us well as we transition to new leadership and will enable us to build an even better Taft going forward. To the faculty, a special thank you after these turbulent last few years. Your dedication and unwavering commitment allow us today to recruit from a position of great strength.
We wish all of our Taft community a safe and wonderful summer, and we urge all of you to participate in the survey (https://msuitelink.com/TaftSchool) and thank you for your participation.
Kate and Sarkis
Kate Genung Taylor ’94
Sarkis D. Izmirlian II '90, P'20,'22,'24
Co Chairs, Head of School Search Committee
| 
