Country Day Selects New Head of School

An Important Announcement from the Board of Trustees of Cincinnati Country Day School October 2014

Charles “Chip” Pettengill ’79 President of the Board of Trustees Dear Members of the Country Day Community: On behalf of the Board of Trustees, it is our great pleasure to announce the selection of Tony Jaccaci as Country Day’s 12th Head of School effective July 1, 2015. For the past 17 years, Tony has held teaching and senior administrative roles at St. George’s School (1997-2010) in Newport, RI, and at the YK Pao School (2010-present) in Shanghai, where he currently serves as executive principal. Tony and his wife Lucia currently live in China with their three sons Nick, Sam, and Ben. Following a comprehensive search process involving students, faculty, staff, parents, alumni and trustees, the search committee enthusiastically recommended Tony as the next head, and the Board of Trustees unanimously endorsed him to lead us as we approach our centennial year.

As the son of two teachers, Tony began his educational path at Phillips Academy in Andover. He received a BA from Harvard University and a MALD from Tufts University’s Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.

He started his teaching career at St. George’s School, in Newport RI. During Tony’s 13 years at St. George’s, he served as a history and languages teacher, department head, summer school head, and director of global programs. While at St. George’s, Tony taught at the U.S. Naval War College (also in Newport) for a concurrent two-year period. In 2010, Tony assumed his role as the executive principal for the YK Pao School Secondary Division where he was charged with the entrepreneurial task of building a school from the ground up. At YK Pao, Tony has had a proven record of fundraising and creating strategic partnerships that provide students with additional learning and growth opportunities outside the classrooms.

During his campus visit, Tony emerged as a highly capable, visionary leader who is passionate about learning. Tony’s practice of building consensus through listening and inclusion will help ease his entry into our highly collaborative community. A proponent of whole-child education, Tony admires Country Day’s approach of promoting rigorous academic preparation in a supportive and joyful environment. He found our students engaged and hard-working but felt they also realized the importance of maintaining a healthy school-life balance. Tony was also quick to recognize the bonds between the students and Country Day’s talented faculty.

We are deeply grateful to the various Country Day constituencies for their significant contributions during the search. Their thoughtful input and insights provided valuable feedback for creating our candidate profile and guided the search committee’s deliberations. Also, our families warmly welcomed our candidates and their spouses during their two-day visits and strongly demonstrated the caring sense of community that is a hallmark of the Country Day experience. We also wish to thank our search consultants John Mackenzie and Doug Jennings of Educators’ Collaborative for their thoughtful guidance throughout the process.

Tony will succeed Rob Macrae who has accepted the position as the new head of school at New Canaan Country School. We owe a great deal to Rob for his numerous contributions that have left Country Day a more robust institution. Rob often stressed to students the importance of leaving the campsite better than they found it. Rob is turning over a vibrant institution, which will afford Tony a strong start when he assumes the headship in July.

Please join us in welcoming Tony, Lucia and their children to the Country Day family. We are thrilled at the prospect of CCDS’s future growth under Tony’s leadership. No doubt our best is yet to come.

Sincerely,

Chip Pettengill ‘79 CCDS Board President

Julie Fleischmann Search Committee Co-Chair

Jon Hall Search Committee Co-Chair

Anthony T.T. Jaccaci 12th Head of School October 17, 2014 Dear Members of the Country Day Community: It is both a great honor to be named as the 12th Head of School for Cincinnati Country Day School, and a pleasure to write to you today to express my gratitude for this opportunity to lead such a wonderful school.

A Country Day education was first described to me as a balance between rigorous preparation and joyful inquiry. My visits to the community as the potential Head of School confirmed this for me. Whether I was speaking with Lower School students, visiting Middle School classrooms or listening to Upper School students describe their experiences, it was clear that students love coming to School every day. This, to me, is a reflection of a thriving learning community.

In addition, I learned more about the CCDS community through the voices of many different constituencies – Trustees, Alumni/ae, Parents, Administrators, Teachers, Staff and Students – and the common theme I heard was this devotion to maintaining and celebrating the ethos of joyful learning.

While in Cincinnati, I also had the opportunity to meet with Dr. Macrae. Dr. Macrae has done remarkable work as the School’s Head during his tenure, and I will be coming to a school that has an outstanding academic program, a comprehensive extracurricular program and a nurturing, supportive community – elements which have all flourished under his leadership. As in any leading school, there is a commitment to continue to grow, and I am excited to lead the school in its next stage of development as we look to best prepare our students for the 21st century, interconnected global world. Dr. Macrae leaves the School in very good standing to achieve this goal.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the members of the Country Day community for welcoming my wife Lucia and me so very warmly during our numerous visits to campus. I would especially like to thank the members of the Country Day Search Committee. This group not only took time to learn about me, but also spoke passionately about the School and opportunity. They truly represented the School well.

I would also like to give a special thanks to Board of Trustees President Chip Pettengill and Search Committee co-Chairs Jon Hall and Julie Fleischmann. Their dedication deeply impressed me and helped me understand the many ways in which Country Day has rightly earned national distinction.

While Country Day remains in Dr. Macrae’s leadership for the school year and I have considerable work to do at YK Pao School in Shanghai, I will take every opportunity to work with Rob and members of the Head’s Cabinet to begin the process of transition.

Lucia, my three boys (Nick, Sam and Ben) and I are all eager to join the community this coming summer. While the move from Shanghai to Cincinnati will be long in distance, we feel that the journey has already begun with our warm welcome.

Sincerely,

Anthony T.T. Jaccaci

Board of Trustees

Search Committee

Charles Pettengill ‘79 (President)

Co-chairs:

Chris Bortz ’92

Julie Fleischmann, Past Board President

Jody Brant ’87

Jon Hall, Board Vice-President

Kyle Brooks ’81 Marianne Castrucci

Members:

Richard Durand ’73

Merle Black

Jason Fraley

Ann Gardner

Jon Hall

Theresa Hirschauer

Amy Hanson

Shailesh Jejurikar

Lori Jeffries ’90

Aaron Kellenberger

Shailesh Jejurikar

Mike Leonard ’83

Macy Kirkland

Anne Maier

Mike Leonard ’83

Jeanne Parlin

Anne Maier

Chip Pettengill ’79

Holly Mott ’95

Mellie Sweatt-Duplechan

Peter Niehoff ’05

Ashley Ward

Marilyn O’Brien

Gordon Wright ’85

Jeanne Parlin Stephen Schwartz ’80 Todd Stegman Paul Stewart Hemella Sweatt-Duplechan Charles Thomas III ’80 Gordon Wright ’85

6905 Given Road, Cincinnati, OH 45243 www.CountryDay.net • (513) 561-7298