<p>Phillips Andover Headmaster Barbara Chase is retiring. Any current students know who will replace her? How is she perceived on campus by students?</p>
<p>Barbara</a> Chase Announces She Will Retire as Head of Phillips Academy in Summer 2012</p>
<p>I have no inside information - but my guess is that the announcement is being made now so that incoming students know that there will be a change in administration during their time at Andover. The Board of Trustees will now begin the process of finding a replacement.</p>
<p>Key positions at a school take a fair amount of time to fill, and it’s always best if there is an orderly transition from one administration to the next. Best case scenario, a new Head will be announced before the end of 2011, and there will be some transition time before Headmaster Chase retires at the end of the 2011-2012 school year.</p>
<p>At Choate, last February (2010) Headmaster Shanahan announced he would retire at the end of the 2010-2011 school year. His replacement, Edward Curtis, was announced last November, and will take over the Headmaster job on July 1.</p>
<p>What timing. The school seems to be going through a lot of changes in a short period of time. They have just found their new CCO director who’ll start after that position has been left vacant for a year. The leadership of trustees is changing this summer. And they are still looking for a replacement for the highly regarded CIO. Now’s the headmaster. Coincidences?</p>
<p>I hope Exeter didn’t recruit her away.</p>
<p>Here’s a link to the online exclusive in the Phillipian about it.</p>
<p>[Chase</a> Announces Retirement | News | The Phillipian](<a href=“http://phillipian.net/article/10441]Chase”>Article: Antonio Pulgarin Speaks to Toxic Masculinity, LGBTQ+ Rights, and Latinx Issues in New Exhibition “Whispers of a Caballero.” – The Phillipian)</p>
<p>So nice of the school to provide this information before students make their decisions. </p>
<p>While a new headmaster still must meet the Mission Statement of the school, ultimately the head sets the tone for the school. Having seen how a new headmaster upset the morale at one of the top schools a few years back, it’s nice to have this information available.</p>
<p>@ MaterS, to which school are you referring?</p>
<p>There is really no point in mentioning a specific school.</p>
<p>I just wanted students with no private school experience to know that a new headmaster can, but not always, present a few bumps in the road.</p>
<p>The headmaster of a bigger school like Andover focuses on carrying out the school’s long term strategies, represent the school to the outside world and be an important part of fund raising. He/she usually doesn’t involve in the daily operation of the school and the student body shouldn’t feel an immediate impact with a new headmastr.</p>
<p>as always: ymmv</p>
<p>On a second thought, she may know something we don’t. I would be very careful before I send in the deposit and say I do.</p>
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<p>MaterS, Is it possible to describe what happened without mentioning the school name?</p>
<p>No need for alarm, hootoo. I was there when she announced her retirement - she will have been at PA for 18 years by the time she leaves. That’s a little above the average tenure for a Head of School. She lists her reasons as her age and her mother’s age (she is 90 and requires more and more care and time). Plus, Head of School posts require a tremendous amount of travel. She’s hardly ever on campus - always recruiting and promoting in Beijing, San Francisco, London… A job like that is a hard one, and she’s been doing it incredibly successfully for 17 years at this point. She will be missed.</p>
<p>However, her replacement will be great, too. A school like Andover attracts top candidates, and the search has been likened to a political campaign. Barbara Chase was one of more than 20 candidates when she applied for the post back in '93. The process takes over a year. There’s nothing to worry about, and it is absolutely coincidence that there are multiple administrative changes occurring right now. Andover is at a peak - last year Forbes ranked it the number one boarding school in the country.</p>
<p>If this is what you are referring to, I don’t think anybody will take this seriously. Deerfield is #20, Hotchkiss is not on the list, and PA is below Trinity and Horace Mann? Do you have a better list?</p>
<p>America’s Best Prep Schools - Forbes 2010</p>
<p>1.Trinity School
2.Horace Mann
3.Phillips Academy Andover
4.Brearley
5.Roxbury Latin
6.Phillips Exeter Academy
7.Collegiate
8.St. Paul’s
9.Spence
10.Winsor
11.Chapin
12.Harvard-Westlake
13.Dalton
14.Lawrenceville School
15.Groton School
16.Milton Academy
17.College Preparatory School
18.Noble and Greenough School
19.Hopkins School
20.Deerfield Academy</p>
<p>Tom said the number one BOARDING school. If you divide that list into two separate lists, one for day schools and one for boarding schools, Andover would be at the top of the boarding school list. (Trinity and Horace Mann are day schools).</p>
<p>That’s obvious and not my question. Does Tom think that PA is below Trinity and Horace Mann? These are not to be taken seriously as your fave Choate is also not on the list.</p>
<p>I could care less if my “fave” school was ranked number 127th on the list. I’m more worried about if the school I’m going to attend will provide me with a great education, has excellent faculty, and a strong community. Rankings shouldn’t be used to determine a school’s worth. </p>
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<p>I don’t even understand this quote. So if a school I like is not on a ranked list, then the list shouldn’t be taken seriously? That doesn’t even make any sense.</p>
<p>PM me if you want to talk more about the rankings.</p>
<p>This thread was about the Andover Headmaster retiring not about the 2010 Forbes ranking List. Make a new thread to discuss the ranking if you want.</p>
<p>2010, Every one knows GLADCHEMMS are at the same level however one tries to nitpick. So what do you think of that list where Choate and Hotchkiss are missing and schools like Hopkins and Nobles are on that list. I’m asking you “WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE LIST?”</p>
<p>Oh we’ve talked about it, pulsar.</p>
<p>"I previously said on these forums that feeder schools do exist. Some on these boards said no. Now Forbes says yes!</p>
<p>Looks like Hotchkiss and Choate should be on this Top 20 list instead of Horace Mann and Nobles."</p>
<p>Remember? Let us not hijack a thread.</p>
<p>to get back to the original thread, and to add to Mater’s statement. My family has lived through two head changes at very famous top schools, and even if the school is extremely established, on top of its game, etc. a new head has their own agenda and will invariably bring his/her own slant to things. Yes it can bring even a school like Andover into a whole new different direction.<br>
Its great when a school’s students are so loyal that they want nothing even remotely negative said about the school, but that viewpoint tends to be slightly myopic.</p>