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Head of School Jerry Loewen Announces 2014-2015 as Final Year

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Dear Emerson Families,

Before we reach the end of this school year, I want to inform you that the 2014-2015 school year will be my last at Emerson School. Next year will be my sixth year at Emerson and my wife and I are ready to explore the variety of professional opportunities awaiting us.

Schools have different needs at different times in their histories. When I came to Emerson five years ago, I saw many opportunities to help Emerson reach new heights and to address several areas of need. Together with your support and the support of Emerson’s unsurpassed faculty and staff, we have accomplished much, both tangible and intangible, and have weathered the normal number of challenges independent schools face from year to year. We have raised the annual fund participation rate by more than 30 percent. We have nearly doubled the amount of financial aid dollars and the percentage of students receiving support. We have raised $2.7 million that will bring us very close to our Building STEAM goal a full year ahead of schedule. But what I prize the most is helping to strengthen our school culture. I have worked in six other excellent independent schools, but in none have I ever felt such a deep dedication to its mission, history, and culture.

By the end of next school year, the capital campaign and the construction project will be completed, and we will have moved into our new facilities. The school’s first wave of faculty succession will be behind us and we will have welcomed an exceptional group of new teachers and staff into the school community. Additionally, we will have completed all elements of the ISACS accreditation process for this seven year cycle.

Now it is time to take all the rich lessons I have learned here and apply them to a new school community, and for Emerson to find a new Head of School capable of guiding it into the future. With the best interest of the school in mind, I am announcing this today because of the extended timeframe that is now common in the search and selection process for a new Head of School. Beginning the search in June will allow the school the greatest opportunity to find the best suited candidate to be your next Head of School. A search consultant will be visiting Emerson next week to begin the process. I encourage you to be involved and lend your voice to the process that will set the vision for Emerson’s next Head of School.

Now, with a fixed end date to my time here, I am even more focused on helping the Emerson community keep improving upon the quality of every child’s experience. Working with you, your children, and our brilliant faculty and staff has been my most professionally rewarding and fulfilling experience in my thirty years of independent school work. The warmth and vibrancy of our community has resonated with me in a way that my other school homes have not. Thank you for this incredible opportunity, and I look forward to next year at Emerson.
Sincerely,

Jerry Loewen
Head of School