Dear St. James’ School Parent

As you know, Mr. Bowers will be retiring at the end of the next academic year (June 2011). According to the by-laws of our school, the chair of the Search Committee for the Head of School is to be the rector of Saint James’ church. Therefore, I have begun the work of organizing a search process to fill the Head of School position.

I am writing to you in order to explain this search process, and to give you an update of the progress we have made thus far.
Several months ago, we retained the services of Carney, Sandoe & Associates, a prestigious nationally based school search consultant firm. In particular, this firm has a great deal of experience in assisting searches for Episcopal schools, and they have a proven track record.

Our two consultants, Gary Gruber and Tim McIntire, have been to Los Angeles twice already. They were on campus in May, and met with a variety of members of the St. James’ School community. They also conducted a School Board/Search Committee retreat. More recently they returned to Los Angeles and met with the Search Committee. I am very confident in the guidance that Gary and Tim are providing us for conducting an excellent search.

Based on their extensive interviews here, along with the data they received from the surveys to which you have all been asked to respond, the consultants are now preparing a profile of St. James’ Episcopal School, which will serve as the core document for the discernment of candidates for the position of Head.

After the profile has been developed, the consultants will attempt to match candidates with the profile. Carney, Sandoe & Associates has an extensive national and international data-base of potential candidates. They will also receive independent applications.

The search consultants will conduct the first round of “vetting” of potential candidates and then pass on the names of approximately eight to ten persons for consideration by the Search Committee who will conduct interviews from there on. When a final candidate is chosen, he/she will be presented to the School Board and the Vestry for approval. Hopefully, we will be able to offer someone the position by December of this year.

I also want you to know that I have invited several parents to serve as a “Parent Support Group” for the search process. These parents are charged to serve as a communication link between the parents and the Search Committee, listening to and soliciting your comments or questions with regard to the search, and providing you with regular updates. I am also developing a similar “Faculty Support Group” as a means of communication between the faculty and Search Committee.I am enclosing a list of the members of the Search Committee as well as the list of the Parent Support Group. The members of the Faculty Support Group are still to be finalized.

I also want you to know that you can contact me directly at any time and I‘m happy to talk with any of you about this search.
Any time of transition can be somewhat unnerving, and yet this search process also provides the entire Saint James’ community with an opportunity to re-state and reclaim our identity and mission for St. James’ School.

I look forward to the exciting months ahead. We are an excellent school and we shall become even better.

Faithfully Yours,

The Reverend Paul J. Kowalewski, Ph.D. Rector