Lars Kuelling Appointed New Head of School

By Tracy Wilson

Lars Kuelling, an experienced educator and administrator, has been appointed the next Head of Ojai Valley School and will succeed longtime school President/CEO Michael Hall-Mounsey when he retires this summer after more than 40 years of service. Mr. Kuelling received the full support of the Board of Trustees following a national search in which community members helped to identify the skills and characteristics required in the next school leader.

Board Chair Jack DeNault III described Mr. Kuelling as “an accomplished administrator, a passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion, an experienced educator and a visionary leader eager to embrace Ojai Valley School’s history and traditions while charting a path to the future.”

Mr. Kuelling currently serves as the Assistant Head of School for Academic Programs at The Harley School in Rochester, New York. The Harley School is a coeducational day school with 515 students in nursery through 12th grade. Mr. Kuelling has led the creation of a new approach to professional development and evaluation, a comprehensive mental health and wellness program, and a student retention program.

Prior to his arrival at Harley in 2016, he served as the Head of School at Grosse Pointe Academy, in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan, where he stabilized the school’s finances, guided the creation of a new mission statement and strategic plan, and strengthened the academic program with new learning opportunities, such as a STEM lab and a partnership with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Prior to Grosse Pointe Academy, he was at the Canterbury School in Indiana, where he served in a variety of roles, including high school faculty member, ninth grade dean, and director of the middle school.

In addition to the aforementioned experiences, Mr. Kuelling also served as the Assistant Director at the Instituto Cultural Oaxaca, in his wife’s hometown in Mexico, and he began his career at the Bryn Mawr School in Baltimore, Maryland. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia in Latin American Studies and a master’s degree from the University of New Mexico in Anthropology.

The OVS Board of Trustees began to take steps to initiate a search for its next school leader last spring following Mr. Hall-Mounsey’s retirement announcement.

The School retained an executive search firm and formed a Search and Transition Committee consisting of Board members, current and past parents, teachers, and alumni. In mid-October, the Committee narrowed the search to three finalists who all had the opportunity to meet community members during separate campus visits. Mr. Kuelling was offered the position in early November and accepted.

“I am thrilled and honored to join you as the next Head of School of the Ojai Valley School,” he said in a letter to the OVS community. “Patty and I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the members of the community when we visited, and we were struck by the vibrancy of the educational environment, the commitment to developing the potential of each individual student,

Leadership Change

and the natural beauty of the Ojai Valley. I remember distinctly when, at the end of our first day on campus, I turned to Patty and said, ‘What do you think?’ and she replied, ‘I think we’ve found our next home.’”

“Our visit made clear that OVS meets each student where they are, values a symmetry of life, remains committed to the lessons to be learned in the outdoors, and strives for excellence in education,” he continued. “My personal commitment to place-based experiential learning is reflected in elements of the OVS program such as outdoor education, shop work, the arts, robotics, sustainability, and countless other areas, and I am excited to leverage OVS’ strong programs and unique location to continue to build its reputation as a leader in the world of independent schools.”