Head of School Search

It is the responsibility of the Board to hire, support and evaluate its sole employee, the Head of School. To ensure there is broad engagement and input from the entire St. James’ community, we selected individuals with a breadth and depth of relationships with the school. Members are charged with holding the future of the school and its mission at the forefront, and it is our hope that collectively a wide range of perspectives and experiences will inform our discussions.

Absolutely – community input in this process is very important. The search committee will vet the initial pool of candidates and identify a group of semi-finalists who will be interviewed in a confidential setting. This is done primarily to ensure that those potential candidates who have not yet informed their current schools of their possible interest in a career move will not be compromised by expressing interest in this position. The finalists – usually 2-3 – will be invited to campus and have an opportunity to meet with members of the St. James’ community through a variety of venues and forums.

Using the community input from the survey and campus visit, our consultants in partnership with the search committee have developed a position statement that articulates the opportunities and challenges that await the new Head of School as well as the professional skills and personal characteristics we believe are most desirable and relevant to successfully lead St. James’ School. These include a deep commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, an understanding of the mission of Episcopal day schools, solid leadership experience, proven abilities in financial management, fundraising, and communication, and a passion for the St. James’ mission.

St. James’ is fortunate to have such a capable and committed group of professionals working at the school. We will encourage individuals who have an interest in the Head’s role to apply for the position. All candidates will be considered and reviewed in the same manner – this is crucial to the integrity of the process and to ensure we select the individual we believe to be best suited to be the next St. James’ Episcopal School.

Like most independent schools, St. James’ will engage in a thoughtful search and well-planned transition over the next nine months. We anticipate the following timeline: 

• Position posted: October 2023
• Application deadline: November 15, 2023
• Semifinalist interviews: December 2023
• Finalist visits: January 2024
• Appointment: February 2024
• Start date: July 2024

Interested candidates should contact Tracy Bennett or George Sanderson of Educators Collaborative directly. They will maintain confidentiality in reaching out to potential leaders. We also invite members of the community to make referrals of appropriate candidates. Please contact Tracy or George to share names and contact information of potential candidates, and they will reach out directly to them.

We are conducting a national search. While we know there are many talented education leaders locally, we also know that St. James’ is an amazing school and the vibrant urban location will be a draw for many people, so well qualified individuals from outside the Los Angeles area will likely be interested.

We are optimistic that given the exciting opportunities this position offers we will attract highly skilled, passionate educators and successfully recruit the next head of St. James’. However, should we not identify that individual, we would move forward to retain an interim Head. This is not uncommon, and there are many schools that choose to hire an interim Head for a period of time and then resume their search for a permanent Head. Again, we believe that appointing an interim Head is a highly unlikely outcome, and that we will name a new Head by the end of the first quarter of 2024.

Feel free to contact the Search Committee chairs, Caroline Choe and Kevin McLellan, directly or either of our search consultants:

• Tracy Bennett, Partner: tbennett@educatorscollaborative.com
• George Sanderson, Partner: gsanderson@educatorscollaborative.com