b s m -s , ma h s d : j 1, 2021 - carney sandoe & associates · 2020-03-06 · loomis chaffee...

Brookwood School

MancheSter-By-the-Sea, Mahead of School

Start date: July 1, 2021www.Brookwood.edu

overview

Brookwood School, founded in 1956, is an Early Childhood through Grade 8, coeducational, independent school located on a beautiful 30-acre campus in Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts, on the rocky coast north of Boston. Led by an exceptional faculty, the school offers a student-centered, academically engaging and varied program that nurtures and challenges students to reach their fullest potential.

Brookwood understands that preparing students for the world in which we live today is a task entirely unlike that which educators faced even a decade ago. Along with the acquisition of knowledge, students need analytical and social-emotional skills in order to deconstruct the complexity of their lives and the evolving culture. To this end, the school supports learning in four dimensions: skill mastery and deep knowledge; kindness, caring, and empathy; leadership and change-making; and creativity. This balanced, personalized approach, along with the belief that a community is strongest when comprised of individuals with diverse backgrounds, experiences, and points of view, prepares students for success in high school and beyond.

Brookwood School seeks a dynamic, perceptive and unifying leader as its next Head of School starting July 2021. The successful candidate will be devoted to the school’s mission and culture and articulate the core elements of the value proposition to differentiate the school from competitive alternatives. Brookwood’s Head of School has oversight of all organizational activities and serves as the school’s leader, identifying and leveraging the talents of those around them for the greater good. They will foster a climate of excellence and promote growth among students, faculty and staff. This is an exceptional opportunity to lead a highly regarded independent school with an unwavering commitment to student success.

2The Search Group | Carney, Sandoe & Associates [email protected] | www.carneysandoe.com

MissionBrookwood is a warm, child-centered community of exuberant learners with an extraordinary commitment to both the development of the mind and the development of the self. Through a purposeful balance of challenge, encouragement, and opportunity for appropriate risk-taking, the school fosters lifelong habits of inquiry, critical thinking, creativity and scholarship, just as it instills a healthy sense of self, a flexible mindset and a deep respect for the dignity of others. Ultimately, Brookwood strives to graduate academically accomplished individuals of conscience, character, compassion and cultural competence.


School hiStory

In 1956, Brookwood School was founded by a resolute group of parents, community leaders, and educators seeking to build an exceptional school following the rapid growth of families on the North Shore of Massachusetts. The original school buildings were the stables of a neighboring estate. After renovation of the building and grounds, the school opened in September 1957 with 64 students. The first graduation took place in 1964. From there, Brookwood grew steadily while preserving its founding values. An arts building and science complex were added in 1975. In the early 1980s, with enrollment over 250, investment continued in expanding the school facilities to include the Cutler Gym, Beatrice Patton Waters Library and the Cunningham-Eisemann Gallery. More recently, the Liston Commons, a new kitchen, dining facility, and a new lower school were built. The lower school was intentionally designed by teachers with dedicated spaces for individual and small-group work and outdoor learning.

This strong legacy began under the leadership of Founding Head of School Philip “Pip” Cutler, succeeded by John Ogden (1973-1979), Buck Lawton (1980-1992), John Peterman (1992-2015), and Laura Caron (2015-2020). Nancy Evans, the long-time Lower School Head will serve as the Interim Head of School through the 2020-2021 school year.

the School

Since its start, Brookwood has been steadfast in fulfilling its mission to graduate children of conscience, character, compassion, and cultural competence. Every day, the teachers use their expertise to challenge children intellectually while ensuring they feel known and valued. As a result, Brookwood

Fast FactsYear established: 1956

Total enrollment: 312

Number of ZIP codes represented: 40

Student/teacher ratio: 7:1

Number of faculty: 43

Faculty with advanced degrees: 80%

Students of color: 18%

Students receiving aid: 47%

Endowment: $13 million

students not only develop a strong academic base, they learn to become innovative creators, ethical thinkers, contributing citizens and lifelong learners.

Brookwood teachers embody “The New Face of Rigor.” Very simply put, Brookwood knows that how kids feel determines in large measure how well they learn. While expertly teaching core subjects, the faculty put emphasis on helping students develop strong relationships, work collaboratively, build their analytical and problem-solving skills, and strengthen their social-emotional skills. The school’s most recent strategic plan — Deep Roots, Bright Future (2019-2024) — has also sharpened the focus on four areas of school life: innovative programming, exceptional faculty, an inclusive community, and affordability. Brookwood’s educators are inspired by a culture of collaboration and continued growth. They remain up-to-date on the latest research and best practices. Educational trends are carefully vetted as part of the school’s steadfast commitment to its child-centered mission.

The Brookwood School-Lesley University Teacher Residency Program reflects a growth mindset and community where everyone is a learner. Faculty provide tools and experience to future teachers as they prepare for careers in education. This mentoring program not only requires faculty to remain current with the latest educational research and best practices, it stimulates an exchange of new ideas.


Secondary SchoolProcessBrookwood holds a strong reputation among secondary schools. Graduates attend and thrive in top secondary schools as well as top colleges and universities. Each child is unique; therefore, a personalized approach is used to help students find and secure acceptance at the school that is best suited for their unique passions and needs. In addition to the schools listed below, some graduates (10-12 on average) choose to attend public high school each year. Graduates in the Class of 2019 are attending the following schools:

Boston University AcademyBrooks SchoolBrewster AcademyCate SchoolCentral Catholic High SchoolCommonwealth SchoolConcord AcademyDeerfield AcademyEthel Walker SchoolThe Governor’s AcademyHolderness School IMG AcademyKimball Union AcademyLoomis Chaffee SchoolMiddlesex SchoolMilton AcademyMiss Porter’s SchoolNew Hampton SchoolPhillips Academy, AndoverPhillips Exeter AcademyPingree SchoolPomfret School Proctor AcademySt. Andrew’s SchoolSt. George’s SchoolSt. Mark’s SchoolSt. Timothy’s SchoolTabor AcademyWaring SchoolWestminster SchoolWilliston North Hampton School

https://brookwood.edu/about/our-approach/#rigor

https://strategicplan.brookwood.edu/?_ga=2.264787343.1499645789.1582311661-1945031416.1570454776


A unique feature of the school is its high level of support for parents. Along with developing a well-sequenced Early Childhood to Grade 8 program, the school is working to deepen its parent partnership through a complementary parent education program focused on parenting skills and aspects of healthy child development. Brookwood deeply values partnership between school and home to provide a comprehensive educational experience and support system for each family.

acadeMicS

At Brookwood, each student is individually recognized, celebrated, and challenged. Through the deeply inspiring faculty, education is tailored to children’s talents and needs so that each child is met where they are and engaged in reaching their fullest potential. Across curriculum, Brookwood stretches and supports every learner and provides opportunities for student choice.

Lower School teachers create a child-friendly environment of exploration and reflection as they nourish each child’s progress along the developmental continuum. Classrooms are filled with materials that intrigue and stimulate the senses and invoke learning in a dynamic way, with themed areas that honor children, capture their interest, and allow learning to come alive. As children work and learn in this child-centered environment, they develop a positive attitude, increase independence, build self-esteem, develop collaborative problem-solving skills, and discover the excitement of learning. With an interdisciplinary, process-oriented approach, the curriculum focuses on core academic areas: literacy; mathematics; science; social studies; world language; the visual and performing arts; technology; and physical education.

Connection and student agency are at the heart of the Upper School experience, as students are encouraged to take ownership of their learning with the support of invested faculty and peers. Upper School students are continually honing their mastery of Brookwood’s Mission in Practice: collaboration; risk-taking; respectful and clear communication; critical and creative thinking; and being responsible for themselves, the care of others, and the environment around them. The varied curriculum allows for many opportunities for leadership and creative expression. Faculty advisors who know how adolescents learn best, work collaboratively with students to help guide, direct and support their personal growth through each school year.

An integrated curriculum and project-based learning runs throughout the grades and comes to life in many highly imaginative opportunities, such as Steep Week. For one week in May, Upper School students are steeped in a selected topic, enabling them to transcend “school as usual” by providing a deeply immersive and enriching learning experience that emphasizes experiential and interdisciplinary learning. At each grade level, teachers also focus on global learning. Students regularly collaborate with peer schools around the world and in the local area through in-person and virtual exchanges. As outlined in the school’s newest strategic plan, Brookwood will build on the opportunities already present for all children to identify and pursue real-world problems and apply their knowledge for the greater good.

Brookwood has embraced the popular makerspace approach to learning, with an important twist. Here, as changemakers, students identify real-world problems and seek authentic solutions that make a difference. First graders explore and create exhibits, games and signage to include and inspire visitors who are visually impaired to our campus. Upper school students design assistive devices and virtual reality experiences for local seniors. Technology is used to build empathy and relationships. Students are given the freedom to choose how they effect change and learn to look outside themselves.


https://brookwood.edu/discover/uniquely-brookwood/leadership-changemaking/


artS and athleticS

The goal of the visual arts program is to create an atmosphere in which each child feels encouraged and supported in his or her creative endeavors. Brookwood students are exposed to a wide variety of two and three-dimensional art forms, such as drawing, painting, printmaking, sculpture, bookmaking, fabric art, mixed-media, graphic design, and ceramics. The program is sequential in both theory and practice, starting with basic art concepts and culminating with a more open studio art experience.

Brookwood students have an enormous range of opportunities to express themselves musically. At designated and developmentally appropriate grade levels, children learn to play instruments: recorder, ukulele, steel drums, guitars and hand bells as well as perform with a vocal ensemble. Through the comprehensive performing arts curriculum students learn to read complex rhythms, apply thorough music theory knowledge, appreciate the fundamentals of Classical, Jazz, Rock, Pop and World Music, understand the expectations of an audience in different performance settings, and experience and understand cultures through music.

Performance is a Brookwood tradition, fueled by more than a half-century of unforgettable moments on stage. The entire community gathers weekly at School Meeting to take risks, support, inspire and learn from one another. Students participate in plays and musical revues throughout the year at all grade levels, with the 8th Grade Play positioned as the grand finale. Many students opt for after-school individual and group lessons in an even wider range of instruments and genres, including a cappella, jazz band, multiple rock/pop combos, band and classical ensembles.

Students participate in developmentally-appropriate physical activities ranging from the simple, such as throwing and catching, to the more complex, such as navigating a ropes course or strategizing during flag football—which seek to promote skill development, sportsmanship, and individual and team play. The carefully sequenced physical education program, beginning in Early Childhood and culminating in 8th grade, includes both interscholastic and intramural teams. The program is designed to help each child develop an appreciation for healthy competition and the benefits of being physically active. Activities include soccer, field hockey, basketball, yoga, lacrosse, running, and fitness.

Student life

The Brookwood academic program is enhanced by a variety of student experiences that inspire children to grow into their best selves. Students engage daily in clubs and other extracurricular activities and take part in leadership opportunities in and out of the classroom. They also take part in a beloved buddy program connecting Lower and Upper School students.

Student clubs include, among others, Art Studio, Brookwood Birders, Brookwood Cricket Club, Chess, The Mellowest Club of All Time, PreK Reading and Service Partners, Run for Your Life, Stock Market Game, and Ultimate Frisbee.



caMpuS

The 30-acre campus on the North Shore of Massachusetts is an idyllic environment for learning. While schools know that outdoor learning is important, most lack the natural landscapes necessary to make it part of their daily experiences. Along with extensive use of Brookwood’s state-of-the-art classrooms, athletic facilities and turf fields, studio space, and performing art space, outdoor learning is a core component of the curriculum, and has been from day one. Students hike to vernal ponds to study spotted salamanders, don beekeeping suits to tend honeycombs, harvest milkweed for butterflies, and maintain nature trails—all without leaving the richly resourced campus of wetlands, vernal pools, ponds, walking trails, woods, and outdoor classrooms. The ocean, a short distance away, is woven into the curricular and extracurricular programming. Through their study of intertidal zone ecology, students learn about overarching concepts in ecology. Field trips to local beaches and tide pools enable students to make observations and collect data in order examine how these habitats change over time, and also supports their study of marine invertebrates and fish.

MancheSter-By-the-Sea, MaSSachuSettS

Brookwood is located in Manchester-by-the-Sea, one of a series of beautiful towns (Swampscott, Marblehead, Salem, Beverly, Beverly Farms, Prides Crossing, Essex, and Magnolia) on the “North Shore” in Massachusetts. A commuter rail branch connects the town directly to Boston – about 30 miles to the south – and Gloucester – about 10 miles to the north. With a population of around 6,000, Manchester-by-the-Sea is a relaxed, residential, seashore community encompassing approximately eight square miles with 12 miles of tidal shoreline. Located just off an exit of Route 128, the historic ring road around Boston, Brookwood is a convenient school location for families residing in a wide


range of towns nearby – from Revere and Salem to the South, Topsfield and Hamilton to the West and Newburyport and Rockport to the North. Students commute to Brookwood from communities in southern New Hampshire as well. Bus transportation is offered as an option.

What makes the North Shore such an attractive place to live and work is the combination of a small-town, seaside community with easy access to both the city of Boston and the outdoors. Gloucester and Rockport are close by on Cape Ann, and the stunning Plum Island National Seashore is a short distance north. Many residents commute to the Boston area. Downtown Manchester includes a number of small stores, a library, a market, several churches, and a number of restaurants and cafes.

opportunitieS and challengeS

The possibility and promise represented by this leadership opportunity is apparent as soon as you set foot on Brookwood’s campus and begin to meet its people. The campus is stunning, and the facilities are both first-rate and very well-maintained. The adults of Brookwood share a commitment to the best interests of each child enrolled at the school. The teachers are well-trained and deeply experienced, and their commitment to the students they teach is matched only by their camaraderie. They exude a dedication to the well-being of their students. They work in genuine partnership with one another and the parents to ensure that each child is recognized and honored. Brookwood’s students are engaged and joyful and classrooms are vibrant with movement and laughter. This is a community of exuberant and accomplished learners. The energy at Brookwood is palpable!

Like that of many suburban day schools, Brookwood’s enrollment has been in flux since the recession of 2008. This challenge was initially met with additional financial aid which maintained enrollment levels for several years. Meanwhile, the North Shore’s demographics changed (there are fewer school-aged children); many local public schools invested significantly in new facilities and programs; and the competition for students increased among local independent schools. When Brookwood’s long-time Head of School retired in 2015, the school was especially vulnerable to this collection of challenges resulting in a continuing decline in enrollment. The school has invested in a thoughtful restructuring to position Brookwood for these challenges.

There are ample reasons for optimism as Brookwood faces these challenges. As referenced above, the school boasts remarkable teachers and parents who share an enthusiastic dedication to Brookwood’s future. The school’s history is robust and its reputation for excellence and innovation has been well-earned since its founding. The community of the North Shore and of Brookwood is historically philanthropic and the area’s economy is robust. There are scores of potential partners for research, innovation and creativity in the area and in nearby Boston.

This is a position for a bold, enthusiastic and determined leader. The job also represents an incredible opportunity: build the team, refine the vision, implement the plan and promote it with vigor and confidence. The community of the school is eager to partner with a new Head of School and possesses the resources, the affection and the enthusiasm necessary to accomplish great things.


deSired QualitieS and QualificationS

The next Head must become a passionate advocate for the school – both internally and across the North Shore community. Brookwood’s Head must be an engaged and authentic presence at school and in the community. The next Head will work in partnership with the Board of Trustees, parents, alumni, and parents of alumni to envision a vibrant future for the school and then implement that plan. The successful candidate will possess positive energy, optimism, superb communication skills, and a long-term strategic perspective. High levels of emotional intelligence and an open mind to innovation and creativity will be essential, as well as being communicative, approachable and responsive. The successful Head will be a collaborative, consensus-building leader who actively solicits input and asks powerful questions; builds relationships first; listens well; communicates with inspiration and clarity; and effectively delegates and empowers other team members. The ideal candidate should embody the spirit of kindness, warmth, and acceptance that permeates the school.

Brookwood has defined the following additional priorities for preferred candidates:

• Leadership and decision-making experience; operational savvy, entrepreneurial mindset.• Experience in education and evidence of a commitment to lifelong learning. • A sophisticated understanding of independent school business models and finances.• Ability to build a culture of philanthropy.• Long-term commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.• Superb interpersonal skills. • Ability to authentically embody the joy of learning in an Early Childhood to Grade 8 setting.


to apply

Interested and qualified candidates should submit electronically in one email and as separate documents (preferably PDFs) the following materials:

• A cover letter expressing their interest in this particular position;• A current résumé;• A one-page statement of educational or leadership philosophy and practice;• A list of five professional references with name, phone number, and email address of each

(references will not be contacted without the candidate’s permission) to:

While there is no current deadline for the submission of materials, the search for Brookwood’s next Head will move quickly. Candidates are encouraged to submit materials as soon as possible.

Peter PhilipSenior [email protected]

Burke ZaloshSearch [email protected]

b s m -s , ma h s d : j 1, 2021 - carney sandoe & associates · 2020-03-06 · loomis chaffee...

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