Announcement from The Search Committee 10/11/18

message from the search committee

Dear Wesley School Community,

As you know, our Head of School John Walter is completing his tenure at The Wesley School at the end of this academic year. We deeply appreciate John's nine years of service to our school and our children, and his leadership establishing Wesley's reputation as a first-class educational environment. Now, as we move forward in our search for a worthy successor to John, we want to provide an update on that process.

Selecting a Head of School is one of the most meaningful and significant responsibilities entrusted to the Board of Trustees. Parents, faculty, and other members of the Wesley community also have a critical role to play in the process. We are all looking for a leader who will guide us to new and greater opportunities ahead while adhering to our Mission: "Academic Excellence and Character Development within the Circle of Family." The work of the Search Committee and the process itself will be as transparent as possible, and we will communicate as often as possible to keep everyone informed.

The Search Committee co-chairs are David Hookom and Robert Ivison. Both are deeply committed to The Wesley School and are honored to be leading the effort to find our next Head of School. The other members of the Search Committee were chosen based on a distinct set of skills, experiences and perspectives they will bring to the search process. Please find more information HERE. We believe this group represents a diversity of insight, a depth of knowledge and experience, and a deep respect for Wesley that will guide and inform our work together.

Following detailed research and review of potential search firms, and in consultation with experienced independent school leaders in Los Angeles, the search firm we have retained is Resource Group 175 (also known as "RG175").

RG175, from its inception in 2002, has been a premier Head of School search firm, committed to highly personalized leadership and governance consulting to schools such as ours. Their work is based on the values of integrity, inclusivity, knowledge, transparency, and flexibility. The Wesley School is pleased to be working with Debbie Reed and Tom Hudnut, two principals of the firm with exceptional knowledge of independent schools in Southern California, and Los Angeles in particular. You can learn more about Debbie and Tom on their website.

As part of the discovery process, Debbie and Tom will visit the school on October 16, 17, and 18, in order to meet with parents, faculty, administrators, staff, and students in different forums. Your participation and input during these meetings are highly encouraged. More information about these meetings will be forthcoming shortly. We will also be conducting a community-wide online survey to solicit parent input that will also influence our criteria for a new Head of School.

We welcome your thoughts, feelings, questions, and concerns so please reach out to any member of the Search Committee either in person at the school or via email. You may also reach us via email at headsearch@wesleyschool.org. A dedicated "Head of School Search" link will appear on the school website soon, which will serve as another communications channel to keep you updated.

Thank you in advance for your support and participation.

Sincerely,

David Hookom and Robert Ivison
Search Committee Co-chairs