St. Peter’s School Head of School Search

May 7, 2012

Dear St. Peter’s School Community,

We write with exciting news. On behalf of the Board of Trustees and the Head of School Search Committee, we are pleased to announce that Shawn Kelly has been named Head of School, effective July 2012.

You will recall, the Board of Trustees formed a search committee made up of many dedicated and professional members of our proud community to embark upon a thorough, forward-looking and deliberate process to select our next head. The search - and, specifically, St. Peter’s - generated tremendous interest. Over 50 people applied, including five highly qualified and talented candidates who were brought to campus for final interviews, with trustees, parents, faculty and staff, and students. We would like to thank all those who contributed to this process by providing feedback on the position description, and by spending time with the finalists. Your support and participation were essential to the success of the search, and reminded all of us how fortunate we are to have many people dedicated to our school and its future.

During the selection process, the search committee was tasked to identify an individual to lead the school to a position of greater excellence in an ever more competitive world, to preserve the best aspects of St. Peter’s culture and help identify areas in which St. Peter’s must evolve, to lead our educational program with confidence and creativity, to inspire our faculty and students, and to work cooperatively with parents, trustees, alumni and the local community to strengthen St. Peter’s.

We believe Shawn Kelly is the person who will be able to fill these roles and to lead St. Peter’s to an even stronger future, building on the success of David Costello.

Shawn received a B.A. in Marine Affairs from the University of Rhode Island and an Ed.M from Harvard University. Since 2009 he has been Head of School at the McClelland School in Pueblo, Colorado. Before that, Shawn enjoyed 11 years at Eaglebrook School, Deerfield, MA, where he garnered significant experience as Science Teacher, Director of Studies and Director of Development. Shawn’s work in capital campaigns, strategic development plans and curricular development will be important to the future success and prosperity of St. Peter’s School. Shawn and his wife, Tiffany, are excited about relocating to Philadelphia and integrating into the broader St. Peter’s community.

This is an exciting time of change for St. Peter’s School. The St. Peter’s faculty, students, alumni and community have always risen to the occasion during important moments in the school’s 175 year history, and we hope you will do so again now.

We must support Shawn as he makes his mark on our community. The integration will take time, but Shawn is eager to become part of our family and is ready for the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.

Please join us in welcoming Shawn and Tiffany to St. Peter’s.

With much appreciation,

Richard A. de Wyngaert, Chair Board of Trustees
Jim McGivern, Chair Head of School Search Committee

September 7, 2011

To the St. Peter’s School Community:

Since writing to you this past June to inform you about David Costello’s decision to retire as Head of School, we have begun the process of selecting a new Head of School. This letter is intended to be the first of several updates about the progress of our efforts.

Our work began in July with the appointment of a Search Committee to guide the school through the selection process. Designed to include stakeholders from the various constituencies of significance to the school community, the Search Committee is comprised of current and former members of our Board of Trustees, current parents, alumni parents and educators. Jim McGivern, a current member of the Board of Trustees, serves as Chair of the Search Committee. In addition to his deep commitment to St Peter’s School and our community, Jim’s varied skills and experience will serve the Search Committee and the school exceptionally well.

The members of the Search Committee are:

Richard De Wyngaert - Chair, St. Peter’s Board of Trustees; current parent;
Jim Mc Givern - Member, St. Peter’s Board of Trustees; Alumni parent;
Terry Bartolozzi - Alumni parent; past Chair, St. Peter’s Board of Trustees; faculty;
David Blum - Vice Chair, St. Peter’s Board of Trustees; current parent;
Wendy Carnecchia - Faculty; Lower School Head, St. Peter’s School;
Pace Duckett - Secretary, St. Peter’s Board of Trustees; alumnus;
Karen Edelstein - Alumni parent;
Carmen Guerra - Vice Chair, St. Peter’s Board of Trustees; current parent; former President, St Peter’s School Parents’ Association;
Susan Moore - Faculty; Alumni parent;
Mario Moussa - Treasurer, St Peter’s Board of Trustees; current parent;
Tania Rorke - Member, St. Peter’s Board of Trustees; current parent;
Cindy Towers - former President, St Peter’s School Parents’ Association; current parent;
Beverly Woods - Current parent.

During the summer we also selected Independent Thinking, a firm led by Jane Foote and Bill Lyons, to advise us on the search process. Independent Thinking worked successfully with us two years ago on the search for our Director of Development, and will be working with the Search Committee to identify and recruit a new leader who will embrace our mission and continue to improve our school. The success of our Search is critical to the success of St. Peter’s School, and the search process will involve many steps and will encourage input from all constituents.

To help ensure a successful search, we need your help and participation. In a few weeks, Jane and Bill will be on campus to meet with administrators, faculty, trustees, parents, students and other stakeholders in order to gather as much information as possible. They also plan to solicit input from alumni. This work will lead to the public phase of the search later this fall, when we will publish an Opportunity Statement that will outline our common view of the challenges and opportunities before St. Peter’s School and define the leadership experience and qualities we seek in our next Head of School. Independent Thinking will use the input they receive and the Opportunity Statement to recruit a strong pool of candidates for us to consider.

Over the coming months, Jane and Bill will interview candidates to present to the Search Committee. The Search Committee will conduct interviews with those candidates who possess the traits our community seeks, and will identify several candidates as potential ‘finalists’ for the Head of School position. As of now, we cannot specify when meetings with the finalists will occur, but we are confident that with the ample time allotted, we are in a strong position to find the right leader for St. Peter’s School to begin in July 2012.

We are committed to including all St. Peter’s School stakeholders in our search process, and the Search Committee will seek to keep you updated as we move forward. There will be times, however, when the work of the Search Committee needs to remain confidential, so there may be some quiet stretches during this process.

The choice of a new Head of School is an important one and the Search Committee is committed to a broad, inclusive and vigorous process. We are confident that this approach will yield the result that we seek, namely a great leader for St. Peter’s School.

We thank you in advance for your commitment to St. Peter’s School and to the search process.

Sincerely,

Jim McGivern (Chair, Head Search Committee)

Richard De Wyngaert (Chair, St Peter’s School Board of Trustees)