From the Search Committee Co-Chairs Carey Jaros ’96 and Susan Shons Luria '85

1/22/2024

Dear Members of the Laurel Community,

As Board Chair Megan Lum Mehalko ’83 mentioned in her letter to the community acknowledging Ann V. Klotz’s upcoming retirement, we write as the Co-Chairs of the Head of School Search Committee to provide more information about the plans the Board of Trustees has developed to identify and recruit the next Head of School, who will start on July 1, 2025.

The Board of Trustees, which has the ultimate responsibility for selecting the next Head of School, has appointed a Search Committee to conduct and manage the search process for our school’s next leader. The Board also has retained Educators Collaborative (EC) to assist us with our search. EC has conducted over 1,000 successful head of school searches since its founding in 1971. Leading our project will be Nat Conard, Co-Managing Partner of the firm, and his partner Pilar Cabeza de Vaca. Both have served as heads of independent schools and are well known and respected by educators throughout the country. Pilar and Nat both feel that Laurel School presents an exceptionally attractive professional opportunity that will draw an excellent pool of candidates.

The success of this search will depend in large part on the input that the Search Committee and the consultants receive from the Laurel community. We ask that you complete this community survey by January 31. Nat and Pilar will visit Laurel for two full days in early February to meet and speak with members of all constituencies. The responses to the survey and the input provided in the on-campus meetings and listening sessions will inform the development of a Leadership Profile that will guide the consultants, the Search Committee, and the Board in recruiting and selecting Laurel’s next Head of School. We know we can count on you to participate in the survey and to fully share your thoughts about the future leadership of Laurel with Nat and Pilar.

Educators Collaborative will advertise the position extensively in the coming weeks and access their comprehensive database and professional networks to solicit, recruit, and encourage applications from well-qualified prospective candidates. If you have any nominations for candidates to be the next Head of School at Laurel, there will be an opportunity to share them as part of the survey. Pilar and Nat anticipate considerable interest in the position from a well-qualified group of candidates, both locally and from across the country.

During the next several months, Nat and Pilar will develop a pool of thoroughly vetted candidates for the Search Committee to review. From this pool, the Committee will select eight to ten candidates to invite to virtual, confidential interviews. After interviewing this group of semi-finalist candidates, the Committee will invite the top candidates to the School for two full days of interviews. There will be opportunities for representatives from all constituencies in our community to meet the candidates and provide feedback to the Search Committee on their impressions. Ultimately, a single candidate will rise to the top and be recommended to the Board for approval. It is our hope that Laurel’s next Head of School will be selected and announced prior to the beginning of the 2024-2025 school year, allowing for a full year of celebration of Ann’s tenure and an intentional transition to our next leader.

As part of our commitment to keep the Laurel community informed, we will post key information and updates on the search throughout the process on this page on Laurel’s website. In the meantime, we are grateful for your support and contributions to this process as we prepare for an exciting new chapter ahead for the school we all love.

Sincerely,

Signature: Carey Jaros '96