Gould Academy - Head of School Search Profile

Head of School for July 2012

Bethel, Maine 230 Students in Grades 9-PG, Boarding & Day 175th Anniversary www.gouldacademy.org

Mission Statement

Gould Academy prepares academically motivated students for college and helps them to become independent-minded, ethical citizens who will lead lives of purpose, action, excellence, and compassion in a dynamic world.

G

ould Academy has initiated a search for a new Head of School who will assume leadership in July 2012 upon the retirement of Daniel A. Kunkle, who has been the Head of Gould since 2001. Under his visionary leadership the School has enhanced its program with exciting initiatives while remaining deeply committed to its core values and historic strengths.

Gould seeks an engaging leader whose commitment to Gould’s students and whose educational vision will ensure that Gould continues to advance its mission and philosophy and becomes recognized among the best small boarding schools in the country.

The new Head of School will lead a community of 230 students, 102 faculty and staff, and an administrative team of 9 (4 direct reports)—with the support of 24 dedicated trustees. The campus is in the village of Bethel—Maine’s most beautiful mountain village—at the eastern edge of the White Mountains with the 8 mountain peaks of the Sunday River Ski Resort just outside the School’s front door. The new Head will be responsible for a $10m operating budget.

Core Principles

• The individual student: We know, respect, and embrace each student.

• Caring community: We bring teachers and students together in relationships that nurture each student’s intellect, growing selfconfidence, self-determination, and respect for others.

• High standards: We challenge students to strive for their personal best in every pursuit. At the heart of any Gould endeavor are the energy to try, the willingness to risk, and the capacity to persevere.

• The life of the mind: We promote curiosity, open- minded exploration, and disciplined analysis in our students’ work.

• The whole person: We believe that the complete development of each student requires intensive experiences in academics, athletics, arts, community life, and the natural world.

• The whole world: We prepare students for successful and responsible global citizenship.

— A Brief Introduction to Gould — Gould Academy is the intersection of traditional northern New England values and innovative approaches to teaching and learning.

It is where a pristine natural environment has shaped school experience, culture, and tradition for 175 years; where a school-wide, 1-to-1 laptop platform works in tandem with traditional farming; where experiencing the world outside of a tightly knit community is the best way to understand your place within both.

It is where risk and failure are essential to growth and future success; where the approach one takes on a black diamond trail can be applied to a physics or English course and vice versa; where self-discovery is finding the classmate who is from somewhere you have never been.

At Gould swimming in a local pond, creating a digital story, leading a class discussion, throwing a pot at the wheel, putting one in the back of the net, getting extra help in a teacher’s living room, and laughing with friends are all in a day’s work.

It is where the body fuels the mind; where students define their own paths to success; and where teachers guide them back to those paths should they lose their way.

It is where a five on an AP exam is celebrated but is not the only definition of success. It is where at the end of the Gould journey, a student is as equally comfortable winter camping in the White Mountains as he or she is walking the streets of Beijing.

It is where a community is committed to being the only small boarding school to offer a rigorous academic program and a rigorous winter sports program without compromising either.

It is where a community firmly believes that the only mold is the one a student defines as the best version of him or herself.

Vision Statement

In 2016 Gould Academy will be recognized as one of the best small boarding schools in the country, a school where academic, athletic, and artistic performance all lead to outstanding personal development and where purposeful experiences in study, travel, culture, technology, community, and the out-of-doors prepare students for rewarding lives.

History

Gould served as the high school for Bethel and a few nearby communities from its founding in 1836 until 1969, when a public middle and high school was built for Bethel and surrounding communities. For much of that time Gould also served private boarding students, similar to many private, “town academies” in Maine and New England. William Bingham, a philanthropist from Cleveland who had discovered Bethel and Gould during the 1930’s, built many of the School’s major buildings during the first half of the 20th century. Since 1969, Gould has been a private boarding school with ca. 180 boarding students and 50 day students. Fifteen percent of the boarding students are from the state of Maine and the rest from throughout the country and the world.

The Gould mission and program assert a commitment to be a school where academic, athletic, and artistic performance all lead to outstanding personal development, and where experiences in study, travel, culture, technology, community, and the out-of-doors prepare students for rewarding lives. Gould is particularly noted for the breadth and excellence of its program, for its focus on the individual student, and for the strength of community life.

The Program

The academic year at Gould is divided into 3 trimesters with a combination of full year courses (all 3 trimesters) and trimester courses of approximately 10 weeks. The schedule for the academic day is a rotating 7-block schedule: four 90-minute blocks on Monday, Tuesday, Friday; 3 on Thursday; and 2 on Wednesday and Saturday.

There are all-school assemblies Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday and a meeting time for the faculty on Thursday mornings, 7:45 a.m. - 9:00 a.m.

During the winter trimester, the sports and cocurricular activities period moves from late afternoon to the morning on Tuesday and Thursday to provide good light for outdoor activities. In the fall of 2010 each student and each faculty member received an Apple MacBook as the School launched its laptop initiative. The School’s commitment to technology is also evident in its adoption of Whipple Hill’s online communication platform.

Within this thoughtful and well-managed structure, Gould balances a rigorous college preparatory curriculum, including 9 AP courses and a diverse assortment of electives, with highly successful cocurricular and outdoor programs and a few very special opportunities. The McLaughlin Science Center, completed in 2002, offers state-of-the-art facilities for a 21st century science curriculum and faculty. The emphasis is on practical applications and hands-on activities, and, among others, there are courses in AP Biology and AP Chemistry and electives in astronomy, robotics, aeronautics, and electronics. Gould’s nationally recognized arts department offers 10 different visual arts electives, including blacksmithing and silversmithing, and an artist-in-residence program each fall trimester. In the performing arts students can pursue band, chorus, and drama, or create and edit digital music and video in the Musical Instrument Digital Interface Lab. Ten Steinway pianos on campus reflect Gould’s commitment to the arts, and Bethel is noted as an area where artists thrive. In English, history, mathematics, and world languages, students benefit from a thorough grounding in the fundamentals before having opportunities to pursue a wide array of challenging and interesting electives.

Faculty & Administration

29 females, 30 males average experience = 13 years average years at Gould = 8 Finances & Voluntary Giving

annual budget = $10m endowment = $12.5m financial aid = $1,725,000 2009-2010 annual fund exceeded $600k goal by 16% capital giving past 3 years = $12m development and communications staff = 10

2010-2011 Enrollment

138 boys & 92 girls 181 boarders & 49 day students 9th = 34; 10th = 43; 11th = 85; 12th = 61; PG = 7 Winter Term = 13 8th graders US boarders = 126 (including ME-30, MA-34, NH-19,CR-7,NY-6,IL-5) non-US = 55 (including Canada) financial aid = 46 boarders & 15 day students tuition remission for 14 faculty children

Gould athletes compete successfully in the Maine Association of Independent School Athletic Directors League (MAISAD) and against other top New England boarding schools. Co-curricular activities, such as mountain biking, the Outing Club, and rock climbing flourish in Gould’s mountain setting, and a multi-purpose field house and a turf field support the strong athletic program. Skateboarders enjoy an indoor skate park as well as a nearby 8k square foot concrete skate park. Among the interscholastic sports, boys’ lacrosse has enjoyed particular success in recent years. However, with Sunday River and its early and dependable snow only minutes away (no other school is as close to its mountain!), Gould has become best known for its comprehensive “On-Snow” program.

In most years close to 85% of the students have ski passes to Sunday River, and Gould offers a lot to do on the snow. The top skiers compete in alpine, freestyle, snowboarding, and Nordic events sponsored by the USSA. Gould alums race for the US Ski Team and Division 1 colleges and universities, and are Nor-Am competitors and USSA Junior Olympians. These elite skiers train under the School’s outstanding ski coaches at Gould’s Kailey Competition Center, which serves all competitive skiers at Sunday River, not just Gould students. Gould’s Director of OnSnow Programs manages the Competition Center for Sunday River. Ski racers not at the elite level compete against teams from other boarding schools. This past February boys’ and girls’ Nordic and Alpine teams won the 2010 New England Preparatory School Championships, hosted and took the title in the Nordic Championship, and repeated as champions in the Alpine Championships.

However, Gould is emphatically not a ski academy and there are many other winter term sports and on-snow activities. Students train to become members of the National Ski Patrol and teach skiing to local 3rd through 5th graders in the Rug Rat Youth Ski Instruction Program. This past winter a few students trained in an adaptive ski program and learned to work with and support handicapped skiers.

Among the “very special opportunities” is the Four Point Program. Each class undertakes a week of experiential learning just before spring break every year. Freshmen are immersed in another culture through home and school stays in China, Germany, Hungary, and other countries. Sophomores stay at Gould to work on art and service projects. Juniors do some serious winter camping in the White Mountains, including a “solo night.” Seniors design their individual Four Point programs which might keep them at Gould or take them anywhere in the world. Another special program is Farm and Forest, based at Gould’s Barn, where each year several students choose to spend their co-curricular period learning firsthand traditional and organic farming, animal husbandry, and forestry. Back on the snow, a dozen eighth and ninth graders enroll in the School’s Winter Term Program to train with Gould’s elite skiers and coaches. They follow a Gould schedule but with their own separate classes, designed and taught by Gould faculty.

One Student at a Time

For a small school Gould offers a surprisingly large and very high quality program. However, it is Gould’s focus on the individual student that truly defines the school: “We’re a people first school with a strong program.”

Gould looks for kids with passion, embraces each student where s/he is, recognizes individual strengths, provides room to grow, knows each student well, and helps each student become the best version of him/ herself.

For every Gould student there are layers of support, and the Advising Counseling Team meets weekly to talk about students and ward off crises. The Assistant Head of School chairs the Team, which includes the Dean of Students, Dean of Community Life, dorm heads, nurses, International Student Program Director, Ninth Grade Program Director, and Winter Program Director.

Most students thrive in Gould’s demanding program because of the small classes, frequent interactions with caring teachers and coaches, and a strong advising

Selected Sports and Activities

Soccer Mountain Biking Dance Ski Patrol Basketball Snowboarding Baseball Rock Climbing Skateboarding Equestrian Tennis Lacrosse Selected Courses

AP Literature and Composition Culture and Identity AP Government and Politics Eastern Philosophy AP Calculus Analytical Geometry History of the American Musical Music Technology AP Chemistry Astronomy Sculpture Blacksmithing Honors Computer Science Aeronautics Honors Spanish 4 Introduction to Chinese Language Selected Facilities

McLaughlin Science Center 2 Academic Buildings Ordway Hall (Dining) 3 Dormitories 17 Faculty Homes Farnsworth Field House (Multipurpose) Turf field Trampoline Room Indoor Skate Park Selected College Matriculation

Bates Colby Colorado College Cornell Dartmouth Emory MIT Rhode Island School of Design St. Lawrence Tufts U.C. Berkeley University of Vermont

system. The Academic Skills Center provides individual support for those who need help with organization and in acquiring learning skills to compensate for learning differences. The Writing Center and the Math Center provide as needed tutorial help to those struggling with writing or math.

Community

Paired with its strong focus on the ­individual student is the School’s commitment to community. Gould is well known for its enthusiastic welcome to all, and community life and a supportive family atmosphere are among the most cherished elements of the Gould experience. Special traditions are major contributors to building the tight-knit Gould community. The first experience at Gould for all new students is a trip to the Maine wilderness with faculty trip leaders. Then each fall the Head tries to surprise the students when he announces “Mountain Day” and cancels classes so the entire Gould community can climb a mountain together. Winter Carnival gets the students out on the snow for events such as rope pulls and obstacle courses. And in early spring the most intrepid students join the Polar Bears of Bethel for 8 morning dips in local ponds and streams. The ongoing contributors to the healthy community life are found in a strong residential program, a modern and welcoming dining hall (with great food!), and, of course, the positive interaction between faculty and students. Faculty are drawn to Gould because of its mission, philosophy, and core values. It is a family friendly school, and there is low faculty turnover. The faculty’s own sense of community was enhanced with the introduction of Critical Friends a year ago.

— The Strategic Plan —

The Gould Strategic Plan was revised in November 2010. The revised plan focuses on 5 imperatives (listed below) critical to the school’s near-term future. The plan document also notes that a number of ongoing imperatives not enumerated in the plan itself remain essential to achieving mission, among them a stable operating budget, strong advancement and admission efforts, excellent constituent relationships, and fidelity to core principles.

New Strategic Imperatives

In order to realize the vision of being recognized as one of the best small boarding schools in the country, Gould Academy must deliver academic, athletic, artistic, experiential, co-curricular, and community life programs that prepare every student for a life of purpose, action, excellence, and compassion in a dynamic world. Over the next four years, the following imperatives will advance us toward that goal.

1. Program Standards Set standards of excellence that will foster in students an ethical, ambitious, and healthy response to a challenging program.

2. Program Integration Ensure that all major programs (1) work together to promote the educational mission and vision of the school and (2) are accessible, within reason, to all students.

3. Personalized Education Preserve and strengthen Gould’s commitment to a personalized education through advising, educating, and communicating with students and parents “one at a time.”

4. Faculty Recruit, develop, support, retain, and competitively compensate all who have responsibility for program delivery and promote the core principles, mission, core principles, and strategic initiatives.

5. Facilities Develop and maintain school facilities that support contemporary and future educational needs, model energy and ecosystem responsibility, and honor the lessons, traditions, and values from the past.

— Challenges and Opportunities — With its beautiful location, attractive campus, unique programs, and dedicated faculty, the opportunities for Gould are many. During Dan Kunkle’s tenure, the school’s finances have been carefully managed and an administrative structure has been constructed to support the school’s curricular and co-curricular programs.

The Strategic Plan captures the challenges the next Head will be asked to address. Although there is great pride in its program, Gould is seeking a leader who will support the pursuit of excellence in all aspects of the school. In order to deliver a personalized education, the Head will need to empower and to guide campus leaders to hire and to develop teachers, coaches, and staff who can meet this ambitious goal.

Like most small New England boarding schools, the next Head of Gould will need to be actively engaged in admissions and development. Maintaining and strengthening the current blend of day students, domestic boarding students, and international students is a focus of the admissions staff, and the Head will be an essential part of the admissions team.

Supported by the development staff, the next Head will need to be personally involved in increasing the school’s major gifts program. Increased philanthropic support will be required for the school to fulfill its goals for campus improvements.

At its core, Gould is a small community in which relationships are highly valued by the students, faculty, and staff. The next Head will be asked to be an active and visible member of the Gould community.

There is a similar expectation that the Head will be a visible member of the Bethel community.

Professional Qualities

— The Ideal Candidate —

The Board of Trustees and the Gould community are interested in all candidates who can embrace, articulate, and promote Gould’s vision.

Gould also seeks a leader who possesses demonstrated organizational, strategic, interpersonal, communication, and community-building skills.

The most promising candidates will be able to demonstrate most, if not all, of the following: • Ability to synthesize and to articulate Gould’s distinctive educational vision to inspire and to motivate others towards strengthening the School • Understanding of organizational development so that the appropriate organizational structures can be maintained and/or developed for the effective functioning of the School.

• The ability to work effectively with leaders of Gould’s academic and co-curricular program and the faculty/staff to support and ensure that Gould offers an exceptional educational experience to its students.

• A warm, approachable presence that invites and respects the views of others, yet is able to be decisive when needed.

• Effective communications with faculty members, parents, students, community members, and the Board of Trustees in ways that are clear, concise, and prompt so that these groups are appropriately informed of potential issues and/or needs.

• Ability to work closely and comfortably with the Board of Trustees to create a multi-year financial plan and to build a true partnership in governance and leadership.

• Comfort in and commitment to serving as an active ambassador for Gould locally, nationally, and internationally in support of stronger community relations, admissions, and fund raising.

• Understanding of an effective external affairs program, which includes admissions, fundraising, college placement, and broader community involvement. The successful candidate must be comfortable asking for financial support and have a commitment to developing a culture of philanthropy.

• An advanced degree, with teaching and administrative experience, preferably in a boarding school.

Personal Qualities

The favored candidate is an outgoing, energetic, confident person of keen intellect and integrity who is a creative problem solver and who will enjoy living the values of the school, values that are often expressed as strong sense of community and a love of the outdoors. Gould will be best matched by a leader who is a lifelong learner and who has a sense of humor and a down-to-earth, hands-on, approachable style. The Head should connect easily with parents, teachers, students, alumni, and people in the community.

— INFORMATION ON THE SEARCH PROCESS AND CALENDAR — Gould Academy has engaged Educational Directions Incorporated to assist with the search for a new Head of School. Gould is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) and is a member of the National Association of Independent Schools.

NAIS Principles of Good Practice regarding Head of School Searches will inform the search process.

Please direct all inquiries, applications, and nominations in confidence to: Christopher Arnold at carnold@edu-directions.com or Robert Fricker at rfricker@edu-directions.com Email communication strongly encouraged. Please send application materials in a consolidated .pdf format.

Reference letters should be submitted separately.

Gould Academy is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes applications from all qualified candidates.

The Search Committee plans to complete the search early in October 2011. The compensation package will be within the norms of comparable NAIS and ISAS schools. Candidates should submit all information as soon as possible, but not before first speaking with one of the Search Consultants. Candidates should submit: ☐ Cover letter explaining why they are interested in and qualified for the Headship ☐ Current resume ☐ Personal statement ☐ Two reference letters, plus names, addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses of 5 additional professional references ☐ A short writing sample, in addition to the personal statement

SEARCH CALENDAR

Applications Due.............................................July 15, 2011 Semi-Finalist Interviews.................August 20 & 21, 2011 Finalist Interviews..............Weeks of September 11 & 18 Educational Directions Incorporated, PO Box 768, 156 Anthony Road, Portsmouth, RI 02871 TEL: 800.647.2794