March 20, 2017 Dear MCDS Community, As Jay and Lucinda have

5221 Paradise Drive 415.927.5900

Corte Madera CA 94925 www.mcds.org

March 20, 2017

Dear MCDS Community,

As Jay and Lucinda have shared with you, Lucinda will be retiring as Head of School in June 2018.

While there will be opportunities to celebrate Lucinda’s transformational leadership over the next

16 months, the purpose of this letter is to outline the process we will undertake to identify our

next Head of School.

The Board of Trustees is committed to finding an extraordinary leader who, like Lucinda,

embraces our school’s mission and values and will lead us through the opportunities and

challenges ahead. We intend to make this process as inclusive as possible. The strength of MCDS is

our community of parents, faculty, staff, alumni, former parents, grandparents and students. We

welcome your thoughts, ideas, or concerns and invite you to share them with us over the coming

months.

The Search Committee

The ultimate responsibility for hiring a new Head of School rests with the Board of Trustees. To

aid in that effort, the Board has appointed a Search Committee comprised of trustee, faculty, and

administration members. This group brings a deep understanding of MCDS and represents a

broad range of perspectives and voices.

The members of the Search Committee are:

Faculty/Staff members:

Karin Soriano-Bilal - 2

grade teacher and parent to Sekani (6th) and Anu (K)

Noah Cho - 7

& 8

grade English teacher and 8

Grade Dean and Advisor

Barbara Kraemer-Cook - Assistant Head of School for Curriculum & Upper School Division Head

and parent to alums Hannah (’10) and Ella (’12)

Trustees:

Tad Buchanan - parent to Michael (6th), Reina (4th), and Jack (2nd)

Pete Chung - parent to Paget (7th), Lathrop (4th)

Alison Garrett - alum and parent to Langan (5th) and Phoebe (4th)

Rashmi Marya - parent to Sophia (3rd) and Ved (2nd)

Jon Murchinson - parent to Henry (5th) and Nola (2nd)

Andy Nakahata - parent to Dash (6th) and Pax (4th)

Search Chairs:

Holly Hagens - parent to Tyler (8th), Mia (5th), Ethan (Incoming K)

Jumee Park - parent to alum Dabney (‘16), Mackensie (8th) and Lily (4th)

Our Search Consultants

After evaluating a number of search firms, we have chosen Carney Sandoe & Associates (CSA) to

partner with us. The Search Committee will work closely with Aggie Underwood, Vice President

and Managing Associate; Rayna Loeb, Senior Search Consultant; and Bob Fricker, Senior Search

Consultant. Together, and individually, Aggie, Rayna and Bob have led over 150 searches for

independent schools across the country as well as several in the Bay Area. The list of their

headship placement, which is extensive and impressive, includes The Hockaday School, The

Brearley School, Shady Hill School, San Francisco Day School, The Hamlin School, The Katherine

Delmar Burke School, Town School for Boys, University High School, Lick-Wilmerding High School,

and many others.

The Search Process

The Search Committee will launch a national search for our next Head of School and we expect this

position will attract a talented pool of candidates. We intend to be inclusive and transparent about

the process itself; however, we will also respect and uphold the confidentiality of all candidates

during this process. Over the next several months, the committee will meet with and screen a wide

and varied pool of candidates.

From this wide pool of candidates, the Search Committee expects to identify three finalists who

will return to MCDS in September to meet with as many members of our community as possible.

As part of the process, the Search Committee and the CSA team will conduct extensive reference

checks on each of the finalists. After reviewing all the information from the reference checks as

well as incorporating feedback from our broader community, the Search Committee will make its

recommendation for a new Head of School to the Board of Trustees.

Next Steps: Community Meetings and Survey

The process begins with a visit to MCDS by the CSA team. Aggie, Rayna and Bob will be on campus

April 5 and April 6 to host a number of forums with parents, faculty, administrators, staff, alumni,

former parents and grandparents.

We invite you to attend any of these meetings to share your thoughts about the qualities you value

in our next Head of School. A detailed schedule will be sent shortly.

An equally important part of the process is our community-wide confidential survey, which will

follow directly after the campus visit. We hope everyone will take advantage of both opportunities

to provide feedback. We encourage all members of our community to share your thoughts and

perspective.

Ongoing Communications

We are committed to an inclusive and transparent search process and plan on updating the

community frequently. We also encourage you to contact the Search Committee at

headsearc[email protected]g with questions, input or concerns. You can also find additional information

about the search at www.mcds.org/headsearch.

As we prepare for the work ahead of us, we leave you with a few lines from our school song…

“A spirit always surging with learning ever there…A school with moving purpose and freedom in the

air…A school that’s ever growing with memories old and new.”

Our community members inspire, nurture and challenge each other. We are guided by our core

values of respect, responsibility and compassion. We carry forward the pioneering and “can-do”

spirit of our founding families. In choosing our next Head of School, we are mindful of these

qualities that distinguish MCDS.

This is an exciting time for our community; we are well positioned to find a Head of School who, as

Lucinda has done so ably, will further Marin Country Day School’s mission.

Warmly,

Holly Hagens Jumee Park

Search Co-Chair Search Co-Chair