Welcome Dr. Douglas Brophy TOWN’S NEW HEAD OF SCHOOL
W
e had the honor this past school year of chairing the search for Town’s next Head of School, and we are so pleased our search led us to Doug Brophy. A leadership transition is an opportunity to think boldly and strategically about the future as well as reflect upon the qualities that we most value about our school. The defining characteristic of our search was the consistent, caring investment and engagement of our Town community, and we are grateful to all constituencies for the time, energy, and astute feedback you contributed to this important process. We want to particularly recognize the dedication and countless hours of deeply thoughtful work by our Search Committee members. We are also profoundly grateful to Tony Featherston for six years of fantastic leadership, and for his partnership, advice, and support throughout the search and transition process. Learn more about Doug on our website thetownschool.org/head
The Brophy Family: Doug with his wife, Barbara Porter, and their daughter, Allegra.
The Search Process in Brief Between late September and early February Town parents, faculty, and staff attended two open forums with our search firm, submitted over 200 community survey responses, attended 16 forums with finalists, conducted a collective 56 one-to-one meetings with candidates, and submitted over 400 feedback forms to share impressions of our finalists. Search Committee members read every single one of those 600+ survey responses, reviewed credentials for the 20 most outstanding applicants, interviewed eight semi-finalists, observed forums, and met at length with finalists. Finally, the Committee reviewed in-depth references for each finalist, and came to the unanimous decision to recommend Doug Brophy for consideration by the full Board. The Trustees carefully reviewed the Committee’s recommendation, and ultimately voted to appoint Doug as Town’s next Head of School. Then we got to share the news with Town’s entire community of current and former families, current and former faculty and staff, and alumni/ae! We officially welcomed Doug and his family to Town with a special event in April, and he looks forward to connecting with more community members as the school year begins. By the time you are reading this, Doug will have been at Town for about two months, and we can report he is thrilled to be officially starting work with our community. He has been busy meeting with families, faculty, staff, and Trustees; getting to know the building; doing a lot of reading and planning; and preparing for a fantastic school year ahead. We have never been more proud or pleased to be Town parents and Trustees than during this search process, and we look forward to Doug’s leadership and partnership to build on Town’s many strengths. — Valerie Russo Chair of the Board, Parent Karyn Kornfeld Trustee, Parent Head Search Committee Co-Chairs thetownschool.org
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