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27 April 2009

Dear SRV Community –

It is with significant sadness that I inform you that, at last Thursday night's Board Meeting, the Board accepted Donna Sanderson's resignation of her position as Head of School effective at the end of this year. This has been a very personal and difficult decision for Donna and she has not made it lightly.

During her time as Head, Donna has met many challenges and successfully moved the institution forward. Working closely with the faculty and staff, she has brought them together, provided leadership and learning around their craft, and forged a strong sense of unity and purpose. She has built substantial relationships with the students as a prominent figure in the classroom, even to the point of teaching her own weekly kindergarten math class. She has also built excellent relationships with parents and Board Members as she clearly articulated the school's mission and philosophy. She has been forced to make some very difficult decisions but she did so with the same great care and attention she has brought to her work all year long and with a long term view of protecting the future of the institution.

I stand by the decision of the Search Committee and the Board last year to hire Donna. She was the right person for the job and her excellent work this year confirms that for me. I applaud and appreciate Donna for her work and what she has contributed to our institutional history. While I am sorry to have her resign, I support her decision to do what is right for her health, and her family.

The next steps in this process require a number of incremental decisions and I will keep the community informed each step of the way. At this point, the Board has taken the following steps:

1. At last Thursday's meeting, the Board formally charged the Executive Committee (the group of Board members who works most closely with the Head of School: Craig Hodges, Deborah Fineberg, Rob Oaks and Persephone Braham) with identifying all of the possible interim leadership options for presentation to the Board at a special meeting to be held May 5. At that time, the Board will discuss and evaluate the options and make a decision to go forward with one.
2. Over the next 3 months, we will pursue the creation of a Search Committee to start the work of finding a new permanent Head of School. We have a tested search process and a full year to conduct the search.

After the special meeting of the Board, I will send out another letter to the community detailing the decision made and the next steps.

The good news is there is always good news, even in times of uncertainly:

• During our PAIS (Pennsylvania Association of Independent Schools) accreditation 10 years ago, we had an interim Head of School as we will during our accreditation year next year.
• During the last year Donna, Lauren, and Laurie have worked closely to strengthen the administrative staff, and improve the running of the institution as a whole. Lauren, Laurie, and the rest of the administrative staff, will remain and continue that excellent work.
• We have a strong, committed faculty, deeply invested in our primary work: Providing our children with the best elementary education possible.
• We have a strong program, strong curriculum, and happy children who each day have an opportunity to live out in full dimension, the mission of our institution.

When thinking about the School, I sometimes browse through Grace Rotzel's book, The School in Rose Valley; it is an amazing piece of work. If you have not had a chance to read it, I would encourage you do so. On this occasion, I was reminded we are not the first institutional caretakers who faced challenges or found opportunities – nor will we be the last. It is at the very core of the progressive model we embrace, to evolve, grow, develop, and change.

Grace writes, "As I write, the school is making a change again...We never arrive; we change, and the new insights and inspiration accompanying the changes make for growth in learning."

In partnership,

Craig Hodges
President of the Board