Dear Canterbury Community,
On behalf of the Head of School Search Committee we would like to take this opportunity to update you on the progress of the search, as the Board of Trustees seeks to identify Canterbury's next Head of School. While some activity related to the search has been visible to the school community, many of the most important steps over the coming weeks will take place behind the scenes, and we want to provide periodic updates about this progress.
First of all, we would like to make sure everyone is aware of the membership of the Search Committee. We are very pleased that the following individuals have agreed to serve on the Committee, and we thank them for their commitment on behalf of Canterbury: Board of Trustees chairman Matt Wojewuczki; Trustees Matt Elliott, Glen Dixon, Bill Fisher, Chuck Surack, Richard Waterfield '90, Larry Weigand; Foundation chairman Robert Godley; current and former Foundation and/or Board of Trustees members Kathy Callen, Preeti Dembla, Jeanette Schouweiler, Nancy Westfall; and faculty member Kimberly Summers.
As you know, our Educators' Collaborative (EC) consultants Deirdre Ling and John Mackenzie recently spent two days at Canterbury meeting with parents, students, teachers, staff, and alums. In addition, members of our community had the opportunity to complete an online survey giving more feedback regarding the state of the school and the direction of the search. There were a high number of respondents to the survey which has been very helpful – thank you. That survey is still open through this Sunday October 13 for anyone who has yet to complete it or was not able to attend sessions when EC was on campus. Survey link: www.surveymonkey.com/r/CanterburyHeadSearch
With the benefit of all the information gathered thus far, EC and Canterbury have put together a detailed profile to inform and encourage candidates to apply for the Head of School position. The profile can be viewed by clicking here. Further, we will have a new, temporary page on our web site on which search information such as this and other relevant details and updates will be posted. That page is expected to go live next week.
EC is now actively engaged in building a strong candidate pool and then vetting the candidates through preliminary interviews and reference checks. Our Search Committee expects to begin screening candidates in November, with the intention of identifying a small group of finalists, who will be invited to Canterbury for interviews in December and/or January.
Out of respect for candidate privacy, all communications with candidates and all interviews prior to the finalist stage will be handled in a confidential manner. During the finalist visits, however, there will be opportunities for those in the school community to meet with the candidates and to provide their impressions of each. It is the Search Committee's hope to select the next Head of School at the end of this time period, but the search will be extended as necessary, until the right person is selected for this important role in shaping Canterbury School's future.
We will provide additional information between now and the finalist visits. In the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Jan Paflas and Debbie Parrott '87
Head of School Search Committee Co-Chairs
Contact: Jan Paflas (jpaflas@gmail.com) and
Debbie Parrott (dparrott@highmarktech.com)