<p>Most of us like our Heads of School; certainly, I do at Thacher. Perhaps depending on the size of the school, the Head is more or less involved in the daily fabric versus time spent on “on the road,” resulting in a deeper bench of talent in the larger environments. I don’t know. Maybe it’s all individual case basis and not at all related to School size. However, it’s rare that I hear about any top Schools hiring from within than running an outside search to fill the Head’s position. </p>
<p>Does anyone else pay attention to the second layer leaders at a School and ask themselves who among the group could fill the Head’s shoes? Every School needs and wants a fantastic, inspirational leader at the helm, but I also like to see the active participation/grooming of other star performers. How do you feel about that next layer of leadership talent at your School?</p>
I think so. If I remember correctly, Exeter’s current principal was promoted within the school while Groton’s was an external hire (former Dean of Faculty at Andover).</p>
<p>Pretty sure SPS’s head was an internal hire (and an alum).</p>
<p>Interestingly, at SAS Parents Weekend, Associate Head of School Will Speers stepped in for Tad Roach at the Parents Meeting while Tad was visiting his ailing father. Despite having big shoes to fill, I was very impressed with Mr. Speers…who delivered Tad’s talk plus a few remarks of his own.</p>
<p>I think Will Speers and Tad Roach came to SAS at roughly the same time, and have worked together for a long time. I’ve never really spent that much time talking to Mr. Speers (he was on sabbatical my daughter’s first year), but my wife chatted briefly with him over parents weekend and had a good report. I will say that despite not having my daughter for any classes (yet), he knows who she is — and to a parent, that’s always impressive/touching. If Will is chosen to succeed Tad (whenever that day comes), I think it will be a wonderful thing.</p>
<p>ThacherParent… are there any stirrings afoot at Thacher that prompted your post? We, too, really love and value Mike Mulligan’s leadership but are too new at the school (freshman parents) to know the second layer all that well.</p>
<p>In fact, Portsmouth Abbey School just promoted from within this year. They ran a year long search last year for a replacement head (old head retired after 41 years at the school in various roles). They did not find a replacement so appointed another long time faculty member to the “acting headmaster” role last spring. </p>
<p>This fall, they decided the acting headmaster was actually the man for the job. So far, he has been incredibly well received. In a school like the Abbey, with such a unique culture, promoting from within helps retain the essence of the school. Stability is an integral to its mission. I would think that other schools would want that continuity as well. Interesting question, ThacherParent. It is probably a good idea to check out that second layer. In our case, the hidden gem school seems to have had a hidden gem administrator!</p>