Update from the KCD Head of School Search Committee Co-Chairs

Dear Bearcat Community,

 

As promised last week, we are writing to provide additional information about our next steps forward in our leadership transition at KCD. We have been working with our consultants from The Education Group (TEG) and have introduced them to our search committee members. 

 

There are two phases to the search, which will occur concurrently. Our TEG consultants have begun advertising and recruiting candidates for the 2024-25 Interim Head of School position. During this first phase, TEG will interview and do preliminary reference checking of applicants and then present a vetted pool of qualified Interim Head candidates to the search committee. The committee will conduct interviews with a small number of candidates from this pool later this spring. From there, the search committee will recommend one candidate for Interim Head of School to the Board, which has the authority to make the appointment. The intended starting date of the Interim Head of School will be July 1, 2024.

 

The second phase of the search, which is also underway, is the recruitment of KCD’s next permanent Head of School, with an expected starting date of July 1, 2025. Our TEG consultants will provide an online questionnaire to members of the KCD community to help TEG identify the qualifications and characteristics the community seeks in our next Head of School. On April 22 and 23, our consultants will visit the campus to meet with parents, faculty, staff, students, search committee members, and the Board in order to develop a leadership profile for our next Head of School and to gain an understanding of the opportunities and challenges facing the next Head. In advance of the visit, we will share the schedule for these meetings with faculty, staff, parents, and students and invite your participation.

 

Following that visit, TEG will publish a “School and Position Profile,” which will become the primary marketing tool for the search. Our consultants will recruit candidates through the remainder of the spring and early summer and will present a vetted slate of qualified candidates to the search committee. The committee will narrow the list of candidates and interview selected semifinalists. Based on these interviews, the search committee will invite a small number of finalists to visit the campus this fall. During those visits, parents, faculty, staff, and students will have opportunities to meet the finalists. Following those visits, the search committee will recommend one individual to the Board, which will then make the final decision to appoint the selected candidate as our next Head of School.

 

The success of this search will largely depend on the input and feedback that the search committee and consultants receive from the school community, so ample opportunities will be provided for you to participate in the Head of School search process. These opportunities can be boiled down to four points of input. The first two opportunities for input will be available over the next four weeks by completing TEG’s community questionnaire (mentioned above) and attending the on-campus meetings with our TEG consultants in April. The other opportunities for input will come through the on-campus visits from the finalists this fall and a post-visit survey that will be available to anyone who meets with those finalists. Your participation and input from each of these opportunities will provide the search committee and our consultants with important feedback on the candidates.

 

The goal is to have our new permanent Head of School selected by late fall or early winter to afford the incoming Head of School opportunities to become acquainted with the school, the community, and the Louisville area before the official starting date of the position. To keep you updated on the search process, and to announce significant events or decisions, we are establishing a “Head of School Search” tab on the KCD website, linked here. Updates will be published here as they become available. We are also establishing a dedicated “Head of School Search” email address where you can submit your questions or thoughts to the search committee; the address is HOSsearch@kcd.org.

 

You may also email our consultants at any time with questions or suggestions. Their names and email addresses are below.

We look forward to your participation in this process and welcome your input. 

 

We wish everyone a safe and enjoyable spring break!

Dr. Swapna Chandran

Ross Cohen

Co-Chairs of the Search Committee