M P C D S M , l h S D 2021 - Carney Sandoe & Associates · 2020. 5. 19. · multifaceted service...

Metairie Park Country Day SChool

Metairie, louiSianaheaD of SChool

Start Date: July 2021www.MPCDS.CoM

overview

Established in 1929, Metairie Park Country Day School is a coeducational, non-sectarian independent Pre-K through Grade 12 school where care and cultivation of each child comes to life with exciting and innovative approaches to teaching. Located on 15-acres in beautiful Metairie, Louisiana — minutes away from downtown New Orleans — Country Day, as it is often called, is a joyful place, filled with thoughtful, passionate adults united in creating a supportive and challenging community for young people. Graduates are fully prepared to be effective leaders for the 21st century and benefit immeasurably from attending a school that leverages advanced technology alongside an expansive, rigorous curriculum to open the world to its students.

Country Day’s reputation — locally and nationally — is evidence that the school’s deliberate balance of community with the individual is a means to graduating students poised to change others’ lives for the better. Throughout its history, it has claimed among its graduates many innovative leaders in the Greater New Orleans community and beyond. The strength of the bonds among Country Day alumni are almost legendary; the school has created a family, an extension of home for many, and a safe place for learning, nurturing, and exploring.

At this time, Country Day seeks a new Head of School who will honor long-standing traditions, encourage on-going innovation, and sustain the hallmark collegiality that exists across divisions and disciplines. Strong candidates will also be able to identify new ways to nurture the school’s vibrant, supportive community, and ensure the school maintains its role as a bellwether for the broader New Orleans region.

2The Search Group | Carney, Sandoe & Associates [email protected] | www.carneysandoe.com

MissionMetairie Park Country Day School enriches the lives of talented young people in a dynamic learning environment, building strength of both intellect and character within a community that is simultaneously challenging and supportive. Our students learn to be flexible, to be adaptable, and to face the challenges of life with honor, optimism, confidence, creativity, and a sense of humor.

Fast FactsTotal enrollment: 757Students who identify as a person of color: 27%Total faculty: 108Faculty who hold an advanced degree: 64%

Average student to teacher ratio: 8:1-18:1, depending on the subject and division levelAccredited by: Independent Schools Association of the Southwest (ISAS)


SChool hiStory

Country Day was founded in 1929 by a group of families who wanted an alternative to the traditional public, private, and parochial schooling available in the New Orleans area. The school first opened its doors to 56 students in Grades 1-6 and assembled in the current administration building, completed just in time to open for the academic year. The stated aims of the school were to provide an education that met the needs of the individual child; that taught the skills necessary to adapt to a rapidly changing world; that emphasized cooperation rather than competition; that integrated shop, weaving, dance, music, and play into the curriculum; and prepared girls and boys for college. The school did not give grades and instead of individual subjects, the academic disciplines were combined into “units of work.” Since that time Country Day has evolved into a Pre-K through Grade 12 institution of 700+ students and over 100 full and part-time faculty, with an early childhood program added in 1986.

the SChool CoMMunity

Today, Country Day honors its founding philosophies by remaining a dynamic and collegial place to learn and work. The school’s educational approach reflects the rigor and accountability of traditional schools and fuses it with the creativity and intellectual flexibility of progressive schools, cultivating a culture of enthusiastic learning, critical thinking, and innovation. Whether it is in the creation of multifaceted service opportunities to enhance the civic engagement of students or in the ability to connect disciplines and divisions during Hour of Code Week, Country Day prepares each student for college and, perhaps more importantly, for life.

Friendly and happy students greet campus visitors; faculty and staff collaborate with each other; parents convey a deep regard for the hard-working faculty; and administrators and teachers go above and beyond to support students. From the “Buddy Program” in which seniors are paired with kindergartners to multi-age classrooms in the Lower School, Country Day is intentional about creating strong relationships that signal to students and adults alike that each person matters. Community nourishes the individual, and in turn, the individual gives back to the community. This symbiotic relationship is at the core of the Country Day experience.

At Country Day, one size does not fit all when it comes to educating young people for the future. From its youngest to oldest pupils, Country Day truly offers a one-of-a-kind learning experience. Lower School is shaped by its practice of multi-age classrooms in K-1-2 and 3-4 with instruction geared toward the individual child, and in upper levels, technology has facilitated new pedagogies in project-based learning and creative design. The visual and performing arts are essential to the school, and even with a no-cut policy, athletic teams have won over 50 state championships in both girls and boys sports. The notion of learning through a myriad of experiences is the essence of a Country Day education.

aCaDeMiCS

Lower SchoolActive discovery and a careful cultivation of wonder provide the foundation for Country Day’s Lower School students’ love of learning. Based on the philosophy that young children learn best in a flexible yet structured setting, the Lower School is designed in multi-grade classrooms, allowing teachers to create student groups according to interests, learning styles, and strengths. The Lower School curriculum is guided by the belief that children learn best through play in a hands-on and nurturing environment.



Teachers in the Lower School’s multiage classrooms look beyond scaffolding knowledge and skills to actively instill ntellectual curiosity, open-mindedness, empathy, and personal responsibility. Intellectual growth is not separate from social/emotional growth, and at Country Day, learning includes a deliberate focus on creating and maintaining a strong community of diverse thinkers. Students grow in their ability, inclination, and engagement as they seek to master multiple subjects of interest. At the same time, they develop their sense of mindfulness, paying attention on purpose to creating, practicing, and strengthening their individual character under the active coaching and counsel of adults.

Middle SchoolMiddle School offers its students a curriculum that insists on mastery of essential content and skills in the context of solving challenging problems and addressing provocative questions. An equally important part of the Middle School experience is service learning, which heightens students’ awareness of the needs of others. Thus, the Middle School is a wonderful bridge between the Lower and Upper Divisions, with faculty and staff who nurture and challenge children during this unique stage of their development. Students are encouraged to take academic risks, act with integrity, and actively explore their individual strengths. Country Day students and faculty regularly measure success through the Mission Skills Assessment (MSI), a scientifically based assessment of six character skills: teamwork, creativity, ethics, resilience, curiosity, and time management. Based on these measurements, curriculum, activities, and programs are adjusted to better prepare students for life after Middle School. The role technology can play in an interconnected, information-rich world is also essential for children at this level to grasp and practice; students in Grades 6-8 use tablets to enrich and facilitate learning opportunities. Further, the Middle School’s modern classrooms foster opportunities for students to work independently and cooperatively, as well as across disciplines, to maximize their learning

potential. The majority of Country Day Middle School students also take part in athletics, music, and drama, which allow them to display their diverse talents outside of the classroom. As part of the Outdoor Education curriculum, Grades 6-8 experience multiple overnight adventures culminating in 8th grade with a weeklong trip to the mountains of North Carolina.

Upper SchoolVigorous, intellectual exploration expands in the Upper School as students hone their skills of making connections in a complex world. An expanded global outlook challenges students to be aware of and to understand other cultures in a deeply meaningful way as part of the school’s mission to develop the habit of ethical thinking and moral behavior.

The Upper School curriculum is college preparatory — with Honors classes and Advanced Placement options available across all disciplines. Within the classroom, Country Day encourages self-expression and independent thought through inquiry-based discussion. Independent study options are available for students with a special interest. Continual self-assessment and growth are also a focus for faculty and staff; more than half of the Upper School’s teaching faculty have advanced academic degrees.

Within the framework of small classes that allow individual attention and encourage personal development, teaching styles include discussions, lectures, videos, field trips, writing assignments, special projects, and group work. All Country Day graduates are computer literate and learn in-depth word processing, databases, spreadsheets, PowerPoint, and basic computer language as a means to further learning.

To supplement its strong academic programs, Country Day offers a wide variety of opportunities for personal accomplishment and growth through extracurricular activities and service. Students may undertake a program of independent work by taking courses at the New Orleans Center for Creative



Arts (NOCAA) or senior externship opportunities for class-produced publications such as Le Mélange (yearbook) and eh, las bas! (magazine).

O-YES, Own Your Educational Success, is a perfect representation of the ways in which Upper School supports the growth of all students. It was founded in 1994 as a way to help high school students who exhibit academic resilience and success — in spite of their learning differences — to develop skills of self-advocacy. By learning to be one’s own self-advocate, the students play a crucial role in making teachers aware of their learning style, showing teachers ways of presenting information that adheres more to their learning strengths, and requesting accommodations from teachers when the classroom dynamic is out of sync with their learning weaknesses.

Country Day’s college counseling program is designed to work with students from their freshman through their senior years. The program’s goal in the freshman and sophomore years is to familiarize students with the process that will lead to the most suitable choice of institution. During the junior and senior years, the program focuses on the actual process of college selection and application.

College PlacementCollege and university acceptances for the Classes of 2014 to 2019 include the following, among others:

American University Arizona State University Bard CollegeBoston College Boston University Case Western Reserve Colby College Colorado College Cornell College Dartmouth CollegeDuke UniversityElon University Franklin and Marshall College George Washington University Johns Hopkins University Kenyon College Lafayette College Lehigh University Louisiana State University Loyola University New Orleans New York University Northeastern University Northwestern University Pomona College Rice University Spelman College Stanford UniversityTexas A&M University Tufts University Tulane University University of AlabamaUniversity of California, Los Angeles University of Louisiana University of MichiganUniversity of New Orleans University of Notre DameUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Virginia University of Wisconsin, Madison Vanderbilt University Wake Forest University Washington and Lee UniversityWilliams College Xavier University Yale University

artS anD athletiCS

New Orleans is renowned for the arts, and Country Day School carries this tradition through its visual arts, music, and drama programs. The school’s visual arts program features painting, metals, drawing, graphic design, sculpture, printmaking, film, photography, and ceramics. The school’s dynamic music program offers students the chance to excel in orchestra, band, jazz band, chorale, and advanced chorale. Students can also take center stage in a thrilling drama program, where performance training focuses on both comedic and serious acting.

Country Day’s athletic program provides every student in Grades 5-12 the opportunity to participate on an athletic team. The goal of Country Day Athletics is to provide a space where all students can build self-confidence and team spirit and develop their potential as individual athletes and as members of a team. The Program’s “no-cut” policy allows over 80% of Middle and Upper School students to participate in at least one sport.

Country Day offers more varsity sports than most Class 1A High Schools in Louisiana including baseball (boys), basketball (boys and girls), cross country (boys and girls), football (boys), golf (boys and girls), soccer (boys and girls), softball (girls), swimming (boys and girls), tennis (boys and girls), track (boys and girls), and volleyball (girls). After four years in Class 2A, Country Day became a 1A school as of the 2019-20 school year.

SChool life

Everyone who joins the Country Day community understands that children learn best in an environment that is both academically demanding and appropriately supportive. So, over the years, life at Country Day has come to be characterized by a carefully created rigorous academic program in the context



of a committed and caring community. The school’s culture deliberately encourages independence, fosters critical thinking, and trains students to open their minds to limitless possibilities.

There is no way to describe a “typical” Country Day student, so it’s no surprise that a school like Country Day expects and enables students to be involved in a number of different activities across a variety of areas: football players participate in the fall drama production and compete for the Science Olympiad team; photographers sing in the Small Vocal Ensemble and play baseball; and Student Senate representatives play in the Jazz Band. A perfect example of a project that transcends boundaries is the Hour of Code.

Because there is no single way to navigate a Country Day education, diversity is necessarily woven into the fiber of the school’s being. Country Day’s youngest students begin to understand diversity as they learn about the uniqueness of each individual. That knowledge base grows in Middle and Upper School as they further explore literature, languages, history, and are exposed to varying viewpoints and perspectives. Country Day also provides opportunities for older students to experience the richness of cultures through student exchange programs, and, of course, all students and faculty participate in regular discussions on cultural competency and diversity; these discussions occur in both structured and organic fashions.

A simple, daily practice that helps all students appreciate the uniqueness of one another and the power of their community happens in the dining room; the dining experience at Country Day is a deeply treasured tradition. To promote interaction among diverse groups, students sit for lunch in a family style setting at tables with their peers from other grades. The seating is assigned and the students move to new tables with different students every six weeks. A designated server is responsible for serving the day’s meal and ensuring the younger children are cared for first. Faculty and staff hosts sit at nearly every table to assist in fostering mature conversation and reinforcing manners. When the meal is complete, all share in the responsibility of clearing the table and leaving it ready for the next group of students.


CaMPuS

The values of the Country Day community are clearly exemplified across its 15-acre campus. Built to resemble a home in 1929, the school’s open walkways, large courtyard, and sunlit classrooms invite community members to move about, converse and convene on the expansive green space and in welcoming learning spaces. The school is unique in its proximity to a vibrant city while maintaining a serene, open campus on which to study.

Metairie, louiSiana anD the new orleanS MetroPolitan area

Metairie, New Orleans’ first suburb, is a key part of both New Orleans geography and culture, and home to approximately 140,000 residents who comprise an ethnically and religiously diverse population. Metairie is rich in French and Spanish heritage yet is a lower-key alternative to the pulsating city of New Orleans. Country Day is located in Old Metairie, a residential area featuring breathtaking historical architecture, from Mission, Colonial, and Greek revival to English Tudor-style homes.

From historic homes and streetcar rides to above-ground cemeteries and world-class museums like the National World War II Museum, the opportunities for exploration in New Orleans are truly endless. Whether you’re an art aficionado, a history buff, or foodie, New Orleans offers a multitude of attractions to pique your interest; however, the French Quarter may be at the top of the list. Often called the Crown Jewel of New Orleans, the French Quarter is one of New Orleans’ most historic neighborhoods, buzzing with everything from ghost tours to awe-inspiring architecture from bygone days. That being said, the French Quarter deftly mixes the new with the old. There’s a reimagined


French Market, modern boutiques, and artisan cocktail spots mixed with beloved antique stores and old restaurants. Like the Creole aristocrats lining the galleries of the Historic New Orleans Collection, the French Quarter is a timeless portrait and one that invites modern day life to thrive against the rich backdrop of New Orleans culture and tradition.

New Orleans is so much more than the French Quarter, though. With dozens and dozens of festivals a year, the city offers visitors and locals an array of colorful events most every weekend. The birthplace of jazz is also home to a world-class philharmonic orchestra, ballet, and other dance companies, both touring and locally produced theater, and a rich array of museums and art exhibitions. Festivals and theaters are complemented by an active athletics scene. With teams like the Saints (football), the Pelicans (basketball), and even the Tulane Green Wave sports, everyone has something to cheer about, and exciting sporting events take place year-round.

The one thing that everyone who lives in New Orleans knows is that food is spiritual sustenance. In New Orleans, cuisine is a science, an art, and a full-sensory experience all at once. It’s a romance conducted over white-linen tablecloths graced by crawfish étouffée, in a bistro courtyard with a bowl of gumbo, or on a picnic bench with a po-boy sandwich stuffed with fried oysters. Beignets, muffuletta, king cakes, jambalaya — the list of New Orleans culinary delights is long and deeply satisfying.

New Orleans is a cultural hub, diverse and storied, unlike any other in the country. Rich in history and culture, there are endless opportunities to learn and explore. New Orleans can do many things, but it never, ever disappoints.


oPPortunitieS anD ChallengeS

Country Day was founded as a progressive school 91 years ago. Much of that founding philosophy exists today in the school’s approach to educating the whole child in an environment that continues to honor its tradition and heritage. Throughout its history, there has been a shared sense of mission and a common core of values that define the school. In recent years, Country Day has grown, giving rise to a need to re-examine the appropriate enrollment balance with facilities and staff. Following an Interim Head of School and the turnover in the Head’s position, the primary challenge awaiting the next Head will be to bring the community together with a renewed commitment to the school’s mission, purpose, and identity. More specifically, the next Head will be challenged to:

• Build upon a strong family-oriented school where individuals are respected, cared for, and valued.• Partner with a highly engaged board of trustees who care passionately about the school.• Engage in fund raising to increase the endowment and support new initiatives.• Guide an experienced faculty in professional growth opportunities and support their individual

professional goals. • Re-energize the community’s morale and restore trust following several years of Head of School

transitions.• Embrace a unique city in all of its charms and challenges.• Promote Country Day in a highly competitive landscape.• Examine admissions policies and balance enrollment with facilities and staff.• Plan strategically and manage change in a post-COVID-19 world where a new normal will emerge.


DeSireD QualitieS anD QualifiCationS

The Head of Country Day will be an experienced and successful school leader prepared to manage the day-to-day programs of a sophisticated independent school as well as lead the school forward. S/he will be an inspirational visionary for the school and the community and also a proven collaborator and team builder. The next Head will be excited to embrace the unique culture of New Orleans, a vibrant city with deep historical roots and profound influences from Europe. More specifically, the next Head will be:

• An experienced educational leader, with a strong academic background and demonstrated experience inspiring program review and innovation.

• A servant-leader with a strong moral compass and character traits that align with Country Day’s values.

• A strong leader with a capacity to build bridges and consensus and an experienced team builder.• Able to attract and develop talented personnel, delegate effectively, and empower the teachers,

administrators, and others to provide leadership to their respective groups.• An affinity for strategic thinking and creative problem solving to ensure a sustainable future.• An outstanding communicator and public speaker who is able to listen and convey tough decisions.• A highly visible individual who makes genuine connections with students, parents, teachers, and

the larger New Orleans community to enhance the school’s image and reputation.• A warm, approachable presence who delights in being an essential part of the Country Day

community and can invite and respect the views of others.• An educator who demonstrates enjoyment of students and genuine desire to invest and delight

in their school activities.• An experienced leader of diversity and inclusion initiatives; skilled in building equitable and

inclusive communities, with the ability to respectfully navigate diverse cultural and social situations.• Someone who will appreciate Country Day’s culture, history, and traditions and embody its values.

to aPPly

Interested candidates can contact the consultants for additional information and a discussion of the position. To be considered, applicants will need to submit (electronically as separate PDF documents) the following materials:

• Cover letter expressing interest in the Head of School position;• Current résumé;• A one-page statement of educational leadership practice, highlighting your leadership

experience in a large school;• List of five references with name, phone number, and email address of each (references will be

contacted later in the process and only with candidate permission), to:

Marlene ShawSenior [email protected]

Rhonda DurhamSenior [email protected]

M P C D S M , l h S D 2021 - Carney Sandoe & Associates · 2020. 5. 19. · multifaceted service...

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