Athenian Students Played Key Role in Head Search Process

In most schools, hiring committees for key roles primarily consist of faculty, staff, and board members. At Athenian, however, students are involved in making these decisions. The search for a new Head of School was no different, and the entire Athenian community—students, faculty, and families—were involved in the process. In collaboration with the search firm Storbeck Consulting Company, the search committee held a national outreach campaign.

Search Committee Co-Chair and Board Chair Jon Nickens wanted to ensure that the process resulted in the best candidates and fit for Athenian. He felt that a variety of voices needed to be included and said, “The Board felt strongly that given this opportunity, including as many voices and perspectives as possible was critically important. We felt it was vital to have Athenian professionals on the committee. Our group was composed of five trustees and four faculty and staff.” Athenian trustees serve on the board and in various committees that focus on different initiatives relating to the future of the school. Stephanie McGraw, Amy Rasner, Emily Shinkle, and Matt Zahner were the four faculty and staff members involved with the hiring process.

Another important part of the search process was including students’ voices. “Student interaction with the consultants and finalists was crucial to the process as they are the ones that live the Athenian life. Students are the ones that can most clearly articulate the impact of the school on their lives. The decisions made by the Head affect teaching and learning,” said Jon.

Junior Koen Feyock, a student chosen to be a part of this process, said, “I just think it's important that students have a say because they're the ones who are going to be feeling the impact, arguably the most out of everyone. And they should have a say in who the main guiding person over school is going to be.”

A panel of Athenian students brainstormed questions about the candidates’ priorities, how they would listen to student voices, and what they would do to integrate the middle and upper school students more. Students also asked about which Pillar resonated the most, as Athenian’s IDEALS – Internationalism, Democracy, Environmentalism, Adventure, Leadership, and Service – are an integral part of the school’s foundation. “I was looking for someone who would prioritize the things that I love most about Athenian, which is the adventure, environmentalism pillar. For me those are some of the reasons why I love Athenian and why I've been here since sixth grade,” said Koen.

With a national search, the candidates’ backgrounds and experiences varied widely. Junior Maya Baruch said, “We had some candidates from more administrative perspectives and backgrounds and some college professors and people that were heads of other schools, but none of the candidates were the same.” She appreciated student involvement in getting to know the candidates and learning about the role of Head of School. “Being able to take part in the process and have students talking to them makes us students feel empowered and also educates us a little bit more of what the admin's roles are and board of trustees,” she said.

Some of the qualities that were prioritized for a new Head of School, according to Jon, included “proven instructional leadership, commitment and deep understanding of experiential education, a demonstrated passion for equity and inclusion, financial expertise and truly a person that would be capable of being visible on campus and able to build trusting relationships with parents, students and our professional community.”

Stephanie McGraw, humanities teacher and search committee member, said, “What I think we need is someone with a vision and the guts to make difficult decisions. We can't do it all and will need to really focus on what's essential to our identity as a school. We need a decisive leader who truly ‘gets’ Athenian.”

Seeing teachers and faculty around campus often results in getting to know them. While there are usually significantly more teacher-student interactions, the Head of School is not generally seen walking around campus. Students hope to see this change with a new Head of School. 

Koen said, “Just make your presence known in a kind, helpful way and try to make connections with a lot of students.” Maya agreed, and said, “I really want someone involved in student life. I think it’s essential that if our head of school is going to lead us all that they should be really integrated in the community and that means being there.” For Maya, this includes going to student shows, athletics games, and morning meetings, as well as having an open office. “Get to know people. Because we want to get to know them and welcome them. Be around during C&Cs, have an open office, have an open door,” she said.

One of the most challenging parts of the search, according to Jon, was finding the balance between aligning values but also being open to change and new ideas. “This is a very difficult thing to do. As best as we could, during the vetting and interview process, we asked questions to allow candidates to explain how they have honored their current or former institutions’ core mission and values while also being able to move a school forward,” he said.

Identifying the priorities for the new Head of School, Jon said, “It's clear that our community is looking toward deepening our efforts around equity, inclusion and student well-being. And the focus of trustees is always school sustainability. The Head will always be working toward ensuring Athenian will exist for another 60-plus years.”

As the search was concluded and Jay Roberts announced as the new Head of School, Jon reflected on the rewarding elements of the process and said, “I was so inspired by seeing the Athenian community rally around a common purpose. The amount of participation via Zoom calls, surveys, face-to-face interactions showed how deeply people care about the school's future. And secondly, I was able to be reminded of just how special a place our school is. We met candidates from all over the country. Each person spoke glowingly about how Athenian is a model of what education can be.”