Head of School
Start Date: July 1, 2024
Co-ed Day School, Grades 7-12, 196 students
7 Highfield Drive, Falmouth, MA
About the School
Falmouth Academy is a rigorous academic day school for approximately 200 students in grades 7 through 12 who hail from 23 area towns across Cape Cod, the Islands, and the South Shore/Coast. The school offers a curriculum that is intentionally structured and fully responsive to the changing world, preparing its students to address the many pressing challenges of their times. FA believes that education should be personal and collaborative. There are “no back rows” here: classes are taught in the round with an average class size of 12.
Campus Facilities
FA is situated on 34 acres abutting 300+ acres of conservation land in the heart of the Town of Falmouth on Cape Cod. Its well-maintained facilities and grounds include state-of-the-art science labs, a black box performing arts center with adjacent music room, green room, and stage prep area, two studio art rooms, a dark room and digital photography lab, a library and learning resource center, a gymnasium, ample classroom and office space, a 275-person meeting hall, three athletic fields and a cross country course that winds its way through campus.
The school’s commitment to sustainability is evident by the solar panels that will soon provide 100% of its electrical needs, as well as its large vegetable garden, greenhouse, beehives, vernal pool, pollinator gardens, and outdoor classroom areas.
Curriculum
FA’s core curriculum requires every student to study history, English, math, science, and modern language (Spanish, German, or French). In addition, students have the opportunity to participate in more than 40 electives including art, music, technology, theater, farm and garden, community service, Latin, chess, and curling, just to name a few.
Arts-Across-the-Curriculum (AAC), Science in the Real World (SRW), and Changing Earth are among FA’s signature programs. Teachers collaborate across disciplines as part of AAC to provide artistic experiences that complement scholarship. SRW provides an unparalleled science program enabling students to explore real-world problems, often in the field. The new interdisciplinary 9th-grade Changing Earth program incorporates global change education into science, history, and English classes.
FA’s science program is recognized for producing student scientists whose work has been honored with awards at local, regional, national and even international science and engineering fairs. Over the years students have won more than 163 top prizes at the State Science Fair, received 19 invitations to compete at the International Science and Engineering Fair, and garnered 15 semi finalist and finalist spots in national research-based science competitions, including Intel, Siemens, and Westinghouse. Falmouth Academy maintains close connections with the nearby scientific community of Woods Hole, providing students with unique educational opportunities including internships and mentorships with world-class scientists at institutions and businesses like the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, the Marine Biological Laboratory and McLane Laboratories.
Extended Inquiry is a required 11th-grade experiential capstone, which allows students time and space to delve deeply into an area of interest and produce a tangible final product. Those with a keen interest in science and engineering could choose to fulfill this requirement by participating in the FA Science and Engineering Fair.
Athletics
Falmouth Academy has achieved remarkable success in interscholastic competition. Students of all abilities are encouraged to join teams and participate. The school fields middle school, junior varsity, and varsity teams for both boys and girls in soccer (fall), basketball (winter), and lacrosse (spring). A cross country team was added to the roster in the fall of 2020. Varsity teams compete against local schools in the Cape and Islands League, and many FA graduates have gone on to play interscholastic sports.
Falmouth Academy’s program is centered on the physical and mental health of the student-athletes, the common thread that each season’s sport provides to the community, and the lessons of teamwork, sportsmanship, and grace under pressure that can be learned through competitive athletics.
Community
The school is noted for being a positive force in the community. Students and teachers are actively involved both in school and out. Being of service to others is a foundational value. FA hosts a number of public events, some in partnership with other organizations, at various venues on campus including the Simon Center for the Arts. It services the Cape community as a destination for world-class musicians and lecturers from various academic and artistic disciplines.
Every day at 11:00 a.m., the whole school comes together for All-School Meeting. This is a special time where the community shares information, affirms school values, and celebrates communal milestones.
Strategic Plan and "Forward to Fifty" Campaign
In the spring of 2020, FA published a strategic plan that provides an exciting and ambitious roadmap for the future as the school looks to its 50th anniversary in 2027. To support the effort, the school has begun the quiet phase of an $8M comprehensive campaign designed to raise critical capital, endowment and current use funds to ensure that FA continues to be the area’s best small independent school and has the resources needed to prepare and propel itself, its faculty, and its students forward.
About the Position
The Board of Trustees seeks a Head of School to begin July 1, 2024. Significant experience in a senior leadership position and outstanding personal qualities are required. An advanced degree is preferred.
How to Apply
Candidates interested in the position should submit the following materials by July 15, 2023:
- EC Candidate Summary Sheet (contact Deirdre Ling or Mary Seppala for this document)
- Cover letter addressed to the Search Committee
- Resume
- Statement of educational leadership philosophy
- A list of five or more references with contact information (including phone numbers and email addresses)
- Up to three letters of reference (optional)
Please address any inquiries or expressions of interest to:
Deirdre A. Ling, Partner, Educators Collaborative, daling@comcast.net
Mary Seppala, Partner, Educators Collaborative, maryseppala@gmail.com
Listing Date: June 6, 2023
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