We appreciate the support of our Mackintosh community as we seek a leader who will advance our school’s mission of nurturing the keen minds and compassionate hearts of gifted children. Stay tuned for more details as the search progresses.
Dear Mackintosh Community,
Many thanks again to all who were able to participate in the listening sessions hosted by our search consultant, Tracy Bennett, during her campus visit earlier this month. She expressed her appreciation for the very warm welcome she received and for the thoughtful, informative feedback you offered. We greatly appreciate all who provided invaluable feedback through our online survey—we had a terrific response. Your input, in addition to conversations with school leaders, will guide our development of the Information for Candidates document. This comprehensive document provides potential candidates with an overview of our school, an outline of the opportunities and challenges before us, and a profile of the skills and attributes we will look for in our next Head of School.
We would like to report back on what we heard from our community in the survey. Specifically:
Most valued aspects of Mackintosh Academy are commitment to gifted education (57%), close teacher-student relationships (50%), and the whole-child approach to learning (47%).
Priorities for the next Head of School include recruiting and retaining high quality faculty and staff (76%), nurturing a cohesive school culture (60%), and assuring financial stability (57%).
Professional skills believed most important for the next Head include independent school leadership/management experience (62%), recruitment, retention, support, and management of faculty (62%), and an understanding of gifted education (60%).
Most important personal attributes include honest, trustworthy, and transparent (60%), approachable, accessible, and collaborative (60%), intellectual curiosity and lifelong learner (25%), and diplomacy, negotiation, and conflict resolution skills (25%).
We look forward to sharing the position statement (IFC) in late spring and will keep you updated on our work. Throughout the process, input and involvement from faculty, staff, and our parent community will be highly valued, with opportunities provided for further input and participation when finalists visit our campus in the fall. Please do not hesitate to reach out to us with any questions, and thank you in advance for your time and continued commitment to Mack!
Sincerely,
Katie Bellon
Head of School Search Committee Chair, BoT Vice Chair, alum parent
Dear Mack Community,
Many thanks to all who were able to participate in the listening sessions hosted by our Head of School search consultant, Tracy Bennett, during her campus visit. She expressed her appreciation for the very warm welcome she received and for the thoughtful, informative feedback you offered.
We want to provide an opportunity for everyone (parents, faculty, staff, and trustees) to share input as we craft the desired leadership profile for prospective candidates for the permanent Head of School position. We hope you will take a moment to complete the Community Survey (the link was sent by email) your input is important and valued. Responses are anonymous and will go directly to Tracy. The information gathered will help shape the Information for Candidates (IFC) document, which will be circulated regionally and nationally to recruit a robust pool of qualified candidates. The survey will be open until Friday, March 14, at 6 pm.
Thank you for your support and continued engagement as we move forward in the coming months. We look forward to keeping you informed and welcome any questions you may have.
Sincerely,
Katie Bellon, Chair, Head of School Search Committee
Dear Mack Community,
On behalf of the Head of School Search Committee, I am pleased to provide an update on our progress. As I shared earlier this month, we will welcome our consultant, Tracy Bennett of Educators Collaborative, on March 4-5 for a visit to Mackintosh Academy. She will spend two days with us to learn more about Mack, our aspirations for the future, and our hopes for our next Head of School. Tracy will host listening sessions for parents, faculty, staff, and the Board of Trustees, as well as provide an online survey following her visit to solicit any additional feedback. (The survey link will be sent in an email on March 6.)
Parents should plan to attend one of the following listening sessions:
Tuesday, March 4 at 8:30-9:30 am in the Design Lab
Tuesday, March 4 at 5:00-5:45 pm virtual Zoom. Link was provided on an email we sent all parents. This session will not be recorded.
These conversations will focus on the following questions:
What are the strengths of Mackintosh Academy?
What are the most exciting opportunities ahead and the main challenges the school must address over the next three to five years?
What specific personal and professional qualities would you like to see in the next Head of Mack?
Later this spring, Tracy will draft a comprehensive document, Information for Candidates, that provides important background information about Mackintosh Academy, the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead, and the desired experiences, skills, and attributes for the next Head of School. Following approval by the Search Committee, the position statement will be posted regionally and nationally and the Educators Collaborative team will actively recruit a pool of qualified candidates. Our aim is to bring finalists to Mack for two-day campus visits in the fall and complete the search process by November.
We’re pleased to share that you can find information about the search and communication updates on our Head of School Search page. There you will see an FAQ that provides information about the search process and timeline. In the months ahead, Tracy and her Educators Collaborative colleagues will focus on generating a robust pool of candidates for our review.
We will continue to provide updates as we continue our work and appreciate your continued engagement. Please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions.
Sincerely,
Katie Bellon, Search Committee Chair, Board of Trustees (BoT) Vice Chair, alum parent
Jenn Lyman (BoT Treasurer, current parent)
Roger Knight (BoT member, alum parent)
Molly Brown ( BoT independent member)
Chris Brion (former BoT member, current parent)
Stephanie Gill-Kelly (former BoT Chair, alum parent)
Stacey Anderson (former Mack Head of School, teacher, and learning specialist)
As we shared in our State of the School message, the Board of Trustees (BoT) is preparing to begin the search process for a permanent Head of School for Mackintosh, whose tenure will begin in the 2026-2027 school year. Hiring and supporting our school’s leader is the Board’s single most important responsibility, and we look forward to a thoughtful, inclusive process and successful outcome.
We intend to keep the school community well informed throughout the search process and will rely on the broad participation of the community in a number of ways to ensure a successful outcome. As part of our commitment to keep the community informed, there will be a Head of School search page on the Mack website, where we will post information and updates.
The Board of Trustees, which has the ultimate responsibility for selecting the next Head of School, has appointed a Search Committee to conduct and manage the search process for our school’s next leader. I am honored to chair the Search Committee, and will be joined by the following Committee members:
Holding the mission of our school at the forefront, the Search Committee is charged with helping to develop a Leadership Profile articulating the desired skills and attributes we seek in our next Head of School. The committee will review all candidate applications, vet the pool of qualified applicants to identify semifinalists and then finalists, manage the on-campus visits for finalists, and solicit feedback from the entire Mackintosh community. The Search Committee will then make a recommendation to the Board of Trustees, who holds the ultimate hiring responsibility.
Having evaluated multiple top-tier search firms, we have retained the premier search firm Educators Collaborative to help us with our search. EC has conducted over 1,000 successful head of school searches since its founding in 1971. Leading our project will be EC partner Tracy Bennett. Tracy is an experienced search consultant who has also served as a head of school and is well respected and known by educators throughout the country.
Tracy will come to campus on Tuesday, March 4th and Wednesday, March 5th to hold extensive meetings and listening sessions with members of our community — students, faculty, staff, parents, and trustees — in order to develop a leadership profile for Mack’s next Head of School and to gain a thorough understanding of the opportunities and challenges facing the next Head. We will share more about that visit in the weeks to come.
We look forward to keeping you apprised of our work in the coming weeks and value your participation. Please do not hesitate to reach out to us with any questions, and thank you in advance for your time and commitment to Mackintosh!
Sincerely,
Katie Bellon
Search Committee Chair, BoT Vice Chair, alum parent
| Position posted | June |
| Semifinalist interviews | August/September |
| Finalist visits | October |
| Appointment | November |
| Start date | July 1, 2026 |
