Avon Old Farms Headmaster Position Description

Avon Old Farms School Avon, Connecticut Head of School Position Start Date: July 1, 2019 www.avonoldfarms.com

Mission Avon Old Farms School strives to be the best college preparatory school for boys by cultivating young men of integrity who honor wisdom, justice, inclusion, service, and the pursuit of truth.

Overview Avon Old Farms School, an independent boarding school for boys in grades 9-12, seeks a Headmaster who will embrace the school’s mission of educating young men and exemplify the school’s core values.

In a spirited community of learners, Avon offers students unwavering support and fraternal bonds that last a lifetime. The school strives to be the top college prep boys boarding school in the country, inspiring boys and helping them along the road to self-discovery, independence, and manhood.

The school knows and understands boys and has created an educational and social environment where boys can thrive, learn, and explore in an atmosphere of brotherhood. The school’s founder, Theodate Pope Riddle, one of America’s first licensed female architects, designed the school and its early curriculum and approach to learning. Her personal fortitude and educational vision in 1927 created the groundwork for an institution that continues to challenge boys in the pursuit of knowledge and self-improvement.

In January, Ken LaRocque announced his retirement, effective at the end of the 2019 school year, representing 38 years at the school, 21 of them as Headmaster. The Board of Directors, together with a Search Committee, is seeking a new Headmaster who will be responsible for leading Avon as it continues its mission of leading boys on the journey to becoming men. The ideal candidate will be an experienced and dynamic educator who can balance a forward-thinking vision with a steadfast commitment to Avon’s beloved history and traditions. Avon wishes to see candidates for the position who will engage in the education and welfare of boys, who are committed to the boarding school model, embrace the school’s mission of “cultivating young men of integrity, who honor wisdom, justice, inclusion, service, and the pursuit of truth,” and who exemplify the school’s core values of brotherhood, scholarship, integrity, and sportsmanship.

Nestled in the school’s 860 forested acres on a hilltop overlooking the Farmington River, the Avon campus, with its Cotswold inspired architecture, provides state of the art facilities carefully placed The Search Group | Carney, Sandoe & Associates

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among the exquisitely crafted original campus buildings. The campus itself reflects both the school’s powerful sense of tradition while also equipping its 62 faculty and 409 students (from 28 states and 24 countries) with the tools and ambience to excel and flourish educationally. Experience Avon’s excellence in action here.

The School In 1917, Theodate Pope Riddle (a graduate of Miss Porter’s School) purchased 3,000 acres of land — an area known as “Old Farms” – atop a ridge overlooking the Farmington River. Soon after, Riddle designed and began building Avon Old Farms School, as an “indestructible school for boys,” in its distinctive Cotswold Tudor style, using materials gathered from quarries, fields, and forests on site. Construction took nearly a decade using craftsmen from England as well as the local area.

The school opened in 1927 as a boys’ school that would be on the leading edge of educational philosophy and thought. In the early years, Avon combined the best of English and American secondary school traditions with Riddle’s progressive ideas about curriculum, fostering initiative, willpower, and individual thinking. Her chosen school mascot, the Winged Beaver, reflects the school’s motto Aspirando et Perseverando, – “Aspiring and Persevering.” In her notes on educational policies for the early years, Riddle explained her desire to create leaders, independent in thought and strong in moral principles.

In 1944 Mrs. Riddle, a patriot and close acquaintance of Franklin D. Roosevelt, decided to close her school in order to aid the war effort. The school campus served as a military hospital where some 800 veterans blinded during battle were rehabilitated. The Old Farms Convalescent Hospital gained national prominence for establishing new protocols in supporting individuals who lost their sight as adults. Many of these same protocols are still used by vision professionals today.

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Avon Old Farms reopened as a school for boys in 1948. Initially, the school faced major obstacles, but under the leadership and personal dedication of headmaster, Don Pierpont, the school returned to life. In 1969, George Trautman took over as headmaster and fulfilled a mandate from the board to build a strong athletic program and school pride. Throughout the Pierpont and Trautman tenures, traditions remained central: sit-down meals, coats and ties, regular all-school meetings, and of course, the commitment to the education of boys. Over those years Avon attracted a talented and diverse student body and a dedicated faculty, strengthened the school’s endowment, modernized original buildings, and carefully added new facilities. Since 1998, Headmaster Ken LaRocque has continued that legacy while balancing the school’s strong athletics with a robust academic program that included a vibrant arts program, a commitment to cultivating community service, student leadership, and an atmosphere of respect and kindness. Avon Old Farms has developed into one of New England’s leading boarding schools. It is in some ways a singular kind of New England school – a throwback in some important ways and yet very modern in others. The wide range of alumni have included Richard Yates (novelist), Jaye Adams (aka Jazz Cartier…hip hop recording artist), Brian Leech and Jonathan Quick (NHL stars), George Springer (2017 MLB World Series MVP), David Bigelow (founder, Bigelow Tea), and Pete Seeger (folk singer).

A student-to-teacher ratio of 6:1 and average class size of 12 means students receive the individual attention they need for success. In 2016-2017, 34% of Avon Old Farms students collectively received more than $4.4 million in financial aid grants. The endowment is currently around $60 million. The school will celebrate its centennial in 2027. Over the last two decades, Avon has gained in many ways and matured in terms of identity and mission.

AOF is associated with the Connecticut Association of Independent Schools (CAIS), the International Boys School Coalition (IBSC), National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS), New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC), SPHERE Consortium, and The Association of Boarding Schools (TABS).

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College Matriculation Avon Old Farms graduates are currently enrolled at the following colleges and universities, among others:

Academics The curriculum at Avon Old Farms takes its shape around a central belief: that all boys are relational learners. Students are supported and encouraged to discover their true identities through the exploration of all aspects of school life. Part of the goal is to help each boy find his voice. While the core curriculum is traditional, the approach is not. The English department seeks to cultivate empathy in young men through meaningful conversations in the classroom. The science curriculum’s two main objectives are to promote and sustain natural curiosity in the many areas of science and to develop the student’s ability to explore, discover, and investigate the fundamental truths of nature. The approach to teaching history focuses on a critical study of the past to bring depth and perspective to the great issues of today.

In math, students develop strong problem-solving and critical-thinking skills designed to empower students to find success not only in mathematics but also in other disciplines. At Avon, the arts are more than paint on a canvas, pixels on a screen, notes in the air, or chords in the hand – boys experience a journey of creative discovery through personal programs allowing them to explore their undiscovered talents.

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American University Amherst College Bates College Boston College Boston University Brown University Carnegie Mellon University Colby College Colgate University Columbia University Dartmouth College Dennison University Duke University Elon College George Washington University Georgetown University Harvard College Haverford College Johns Hopkins Kenyon College Lafayette College Lehigh University McGill University Middlebury College New York University Northwestern University Penn State University Princeton University Sarah Lawrence College Skidmore College Swarthmore College Tufts University Union College United States Air Force Academy United States Military Academy (West Point) University of California at Berkeley University of Colorado at Boulder University of Michigan University of Notre Dame University of Pennsylvania University of San Francisco University of Virginia Vanderbilt University Villanova University Virginia Tech Wake Forest University Wesleyan University Xavier University

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Avon also offers a dynamic range of STEAM-related courses, including 3-D CAD Design, Computer Programming, Robotics, Engineering, and Digital Media and Production. In the afternoons, boys can pursue areas of individual interest such as photography, video, art, writing, or engineering. Under the expertise of professionals both on and off campus, these students learn how to expand in their own gifts and desire to excel.

Avon Old Farms also offers a weeklong Intersession program in January that encourages students and faculty to delve deeply into a single topic of interest and to produce something tangible and valuable with their efforts. During this week, students and faculty devote all of their academic attention to one course that may explore a traditional academic topic in depth, or it may focus on an area outside the traditional curriculum. Each class presents what it has learned to the wider community. Examples include courses on America’s “War on Terrorism” 2001-2017, Understanding Modern Art, Crash Course in Roman History, Beekeeping 101, Aviation, The Business of Sports, CAD Engineering, Song Writing, and Genomics.

Arts and Athletics Avon Old Farms believes that boys who create music and visual art and who take part in performing arts grow immeasurably. In the visual arts, the school offers a remarkably wide selection of courses in drawing, painting, ceramics, photography (digital and analog), printmaking, woodworking, and digital design. The department also offers courses in engineering applications and architecture. The music department offers course in music history and appreciation as well as opportunities to learn an instrument and participate in orchestras, jazz ensembles, and chorale groups. The school’s top choral group, The Riddlers, travel for performances at major concert venues. Recent tours include trips to The Search Group | Carney, Sandoe & Associates

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Ireland, Greece, and Canada and this February they performed at St. John the Divine along with girls from Westover School, another of Mrs. Riddle’s designed schools.

The Ordway Gallery is a beautiful and functional space for both student and professional artists to display their work. Avon’s Theater Company stages three productions each year. From start to finish, students have a strong hand in the production. The Company also collaborates with the girls at nearby Miss Porter’s School; likewise, Avon students frequently act in theatrical productions at Miss Porter’s.

Avon Old Farms School’s athletic teams compete in the prestigious Founders League alongside Choate, Hotchkiss, Kent, Loomis Chaffee, Kingswood-Oxford, Taft, Trinity-Pawling, and Westminster.

The school’s teams have won more than 30 league and New England championships combined over the last 15 years, and many of the athletes have moved on to compete for some of the nation’s foremost collegiate programs and in professional sports. Avon’s ice hockey teams alone have won eight Division 1 New England Championships (four between 2004 and 2008) and several alums have played – or are playing – in the NHL. The AOF lacrosse team is regularly ranked in the top 25 nationally.

At the same time, the school ensures that an athletic experience is accessible to and enjoyed by all students by offering more than 24 sub-varsity teams and intramural activities. Teams include hockey, basketball, squash, wrestling, swimming, riflery, baseball, lacrosse, golf, track and field, tennis, football, soccer, and cross country.

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School Life By design, there is always something going on at Avon Old Farms. The school describes the campus as the “Village at Avon Old Farms” and prides itself on creating a dynamic academic and social community for its diverse group of boys from around the nation – and world. At Avon, it is believed that living and learning with a variety of people helps shape student leadership skills and emotional intelligence. To that end, the school offers numerous clubs, including Junior Achievement, astronomy, healthy living, financial investment, photography, debate, literature, Model UN, political action, environmental protection, fly-fishing, and chess, as well as four separate clubs in community outreach. The school’s oldest club (and one of the most popular) is the Nimrod Club in which students care for the campus woodlands and streams. Even though the school doesn’t require community service, more than 75% of the students participate in the Avon Outreach Club. Among other things, club members are involved with the Special Olympics, American Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity, military veterans, and the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation. They also regularly volunteer at local soup kitchens and nursing homes.

Classes, sports, and extracurricular activities make up the majority of a student’s schedule. However, there is also time to grab a snack from the Hawk’s Nest and relax in the student center, make a run into town for dinner or a movie, or take a trip to a neighboring school (like Miss Porter’s or Ethel Walker’s girls schools) for a social event on the weekend. Approximately 75% of Avon’s students are boarders with the rest living in the local area. Students indicate the integration of the two groups is pretty seamless. A parent observed, “Everyone loves the community and the camaraderie – the brotherhood is real – and there is a kindness as well among the boys.” In addition, another parent remarked, “The standards and expectations are high and my sons want to live up to them – and it’s already made a positive difference in who they are and how they carry themselves – they have grown up a lot in the first six months.”

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The faculty at Avon are focused on “what’s best for the boys” and appreciate a campus design and daily schedule that create many opportunities for student-faculty interaction both formally and casually, where “people’s orbits intersect all the time.” The ample teaching opportunities that come from that interaction provide some of the foundation of academic and personal learning at Avon and are both a mandate and a source of personal and professional fulfillment for faculty. Most faculty at Avon live on campus and all participate in the residential life of the school in addition to teaching, coaching, and other activities. Almost all administrators teach at least one class as well. Teachers indicate they prize the academic freedom they have and absorb the full schedule as a calling and lifestyle rather than a burden. As parents observe, “They know your son, they care for him, and look out for him...they do this day to day and other schools don’t seem to do it to this degree...and they make it very natural looking.”

Campus Theodate Riddle crafted a school in a magnificent setting with remarkable original buildings that have now been joined by well-designed newer facilities on a gorgeous hilltop campus. Under Ken LaRocque’s leadership, significant facilities added in recent years include the Athletic Complex, the Beatson Performing Arts Center, the Brown Student Center, and the Ordway Science and Technology Center.

Avon Old Farms is an original member of the Green Schools Alliance and the only boarding school to have won the Green Cup Challenge more than once. It has many ongoing sustainability initiatives designed to reduce its carbon footprint and raise awareness about the importance of conservation, including a progressive single-stream recycling system, a co-generator in Riddle Refectory that assists in heating campus water, a heat reclamation unit inside the Jennings Fairchild Rink, and a The Search Group | Carney, Sandoe & Associates

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200-kWh solar array that results in a 9% reduction of yearly campus-wide electricity usage.

The physical plant includes a number of faculty residences; acres of forest with lakes; streams and pathways; 10 athletic fields including a stadium; 9 tennis courts; ice rink; chapel; forest cabin and pavilion; two theaters; recording studio; refectory; and health center. The Headmaster’s residence sits in the center of campus.

Avon, Connecticut Avon, Connecticut is an affluent and picturesque town in the Farmington Valley region of Hartford County about 20 minutes west of Hartford. In 2005, Avon was named the third-safest town in America

by Money Magazine. But the town’s attraction is more as a quiet suburb of Hartford within proximity to major northeast metro areas and attractions. Boston and New York are just 100 miles away and the Berkshire Mountains lie about an hour to the northwest. Yale University and the Connecticut coast are less than an hour south.

Locally, Hartford offers cultural, recreational, and dining opportunities. Along with the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Arts (oldest art museum in the U.S.), area residents enjoy the Hartford Symphony Orchestra and The Mark Twain House and Museum, as well as sports venues and teams including the Hartford Wolfpack AHL hockey team and the Hartford Yard Goats minor league baseball team, concerts, and theater venues (Mortensen Plaza, XL Center, Bushnell Theater, TheaterWorks, and Hartford Stage). It is also home to Trinity College, the University of Connecticut School of Law, and the University of Hartford.

Of course, the stunning, self-contained campus is more than enough of a home for many faculty and their families.

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Opportunities and Challenges The next Head of School will join a community that is confident in its identity and united in its commitment to Avon’s mission and values, the core of which is a commitment to caring about each boy and his potential. Since its reopening in 1948, the three Headmasters have enjoyed long tenures during which they have brought important changes to Avon. During Ken’s tenure, Avon has broadened its curriculum to include STEAM programs, strengthened its commitment to academic excellence and the arts, and enhanced its campus, while maintaining the school’s longstanding commitment to brotherhood, scholarship, integrity and sportsmanship. The next Head of Avon will be expected to attend to the following issues: School Culture: Avon’s distinctive culture permeates every aspect of school life and is embraced passionately. The strong sense of community, coupled with an ethic of care, gives the school a family feeling in which each student is known and valued, and his unique potential is developed.

The warmth of the community is extended to all of its members from Avon’s community, from its senior leaders to its kitchen and maintenance staffs. Avon’s school culture is so pervasive that the next Head of School will need to commit to understanding, embodying, and respectfully continuing to shape the culture.

Physical Plant: The campus is easily one of the most beautiful in the country. The original Cotswold village design informed the placement of and construction of new buildings, giving the campus a visual physical cohesion. Some of the older buildings, particularly the dorms, are in need of updating and these and the newer buildings will require ongoing maintenance to retain their utility and appearance.

A facilities audit is underway the result of which will require ongoing attention and funds.

Academic Program: During the past few years, the school has added a popular robotics program, engineering, computer programming, and STEAM focus, and developed and broadened its Visual and Performing Arts curriculum. The Intersession Program, started in the winter of 2016, provides students and faculty with additional opportunities to explore their interest through a variety of minicourses. There is present among some of the teachers a desire for further innovation. The next Head will want to work with the academic leadership of the school to explore options for supporting the teachers who are eager to explore new ways of engaging the students and sharpening their instructional practice.

Faculty and Staff Development: The magic of an Avon education is delivered by an exceptionally hard-working faculty and staff who are highly professional and caring. A typical teacher coaches two or three sports, lives in the dorm or participates in residential life activities, and teaches four sections, leaving very little time for professional collaboration or reflection. The next Head will want to work with the Board and the other leaders of the school to explore further opportunities for faculty professional development and programmatic enhancement.

Enrollment: The competition for domestic boarding students has never been more intense. Avon must continue to market itself locally, nationally, and internationally. The next Head will need to ensure that the school’s outreach efforts to build enrollment are well planned and executed and monitor the strategic allocation of need-based and merit aid. That said, the school has enjoyed full enrollment each year.

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Athletics: Many boys are drawn to Avon because of its highly successful athletic program. In a competitive marketplace in which schools are hiring increasingly professional coaches and building spectacular facilities, the next Head will need to ensure that Avon athletic program remains excellent.

Philanthropic Support: Avon’s endowment, which didn’t exist until 1983, has grown to $60 million.

Despite its impressive growth (while also adding new facilities), the endowment must continue to grow to provide much needed support for the school’s programs and people. Supported by the Development Office and the Board’s Development Committee, the next Head will need to play a key role in cultivating and soliciting major and planned gifts from Avon’s many grateful alumni, parents, and friends.

School Management: The school has operated for many years with a year ending budget surplus.

It operates effectively with a fiscally conservative mindset. Given the pressures on rising costs and tuitions and demographic shifts, the next Head will need to continue operational discipline and bring solid management experience.

Desired Qualities and Qualifications The Board of Dirctors is interested in candidates who will embrace fully the school’s mission and live its values. Preferred candidates must possess proven leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills to help the school maintain its commitment to Avon’s distinctive vision and values. In a small, intimate school community where everyone is engaged in fulfilling the school’s mission, the most promising candidates will be equally comfortable involving themselves in the daily life of the school and in addressing the strategic issues and opportunities confronting the school. The school is most interested in candidates who demonstrate most, if not all, of the following: • The ability to live Avon’s values, articulate its vision, and inspire and motivate all constituencies.

• A warm, approachable, and visible presence that is affirming and respects the views of others but a mindset that is decisive when necessary.

• The ability to delegate effectively in order to mobilize the remarkable commitment, energy, and wisdom present in the faculty, staff, Board, and the larger Avon community.

• Effective communication skills with teachers, parents, students, community members, and the Board of Directors, keeping these groups appropriately informed of successes, potential issues, and/or needs.

• Ability to work closely and comfortably with the Board of Directors in a true partnership in governance, leadership, and fundraising.

• Understanding of and commitment to strategic external affairs, including admissions, fundraising, marketing, and broader community involvement. The successful candidate must either have experience soliciting financial support or be willing to learn the skills needed.

Personal Qualities The favored candidate is a person of unquestioned integrity with a passion for working with boys as they develop into young men. The person is also approachable, outgoing, energetic, and confident, with strong emotional intelligence, fine personal values, and excellent communication skills. Avon will be best led by an individual who can lead by example; has a warm presence and a down-to earth, hands-on, accessible style; a sense of humor; a true love of and appreciation for the School’s culture; and can enthusiastically mentor and encourage leaders, faculty, and staff.

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To Apply Interested and qualified candidates can contact either of the consultants to further explore this exceptional leadership opportunity. All inquiries are confidential.

Applicants will need to submit electronically (although not all at once) the following materials (preferably as separate PDF documents): • • • •

A current resumé A cover letter expressing their interest in the position A one-page statement of educational philosophy and leadership 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:

Ben Bolté Senior Consultant bbolte@carneysandoe.com 617-933-3430 (direct) Bob Fricker Senior Consultant bob.fricker@carneysandoe.com 510-508-6616 (direct)

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