MSGH Board of Trustees: Head of School
December 6th, 2017
Dear MSGH Community Members,
On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I am delighted to announce the appointment of Ms. Beverly Smith as our next Head of School effective July 1, 2018. This decision followed a global search process led by our outstanding Search Committee and a thorough vetting of the finalist candidates by the Board. With 25 years of experience working in Montessori schools as a teacher, administrator and Head of School, the Board unanimously selected Beverly because of her outstanding qualifications to lead our school and her respect for the school's mission and culture.
As many of you were able to hear first-hand during her recent visit, Beverly has diverse and extensive Montessori experience. She worked as a middle school teacher and administrator for 20 years at Washington Montessori School in New Preston, CT. She next served as Head of School at Acorn Montessori in Lebanon, NJ for four years. During her tenure, she re-established an upper elementary program and significantly increased enrollment by implementing a targeted branding and digital marketing program. She effectively led a team of 23 faculty and staff and managed a balanced budget for a campus with four buildings. She currently serves as Assistant Head of School at West Side Montessori in NYC - a school serving 210 preschool age children.
With an MA in Counseling from the University of St. Joseph in West Hartford, Beverly has expertise and experience in providing parenting support and coaching and mentoring staff. She is committed to transparent and consistent parent communications. She has actively promoted parent inclusion in school activities, was instrumental in forming a Parent Association at Acorn and partnering with the Parent Association at Westside to deliver a parenting lecture series.Beverly has developed learning support systems for teachers to enhance problem solving, decision making and professional development. She is deeply committed to the training of future Montessori administrators as demonstrated by her 15 year involvement with the Center for Montessori Teacher Education in White Plains, NY where she has developed and delivered Montessori administrator training. She has also consulted with Montessori schools nationally and internationally to assess program effectiveness. Beverly has presented at AMS conferences and holds AMS certificates in Management and Middle School Teaching.
Beverly is uniquely qualified to articulate the value proposition for a Montessori education and stabilize and grow the school's enrollment in an ever challenging demographic and economic market. She has been committed to Montessori pedagogy both professionally and personally: her two adult children graduated from Washington Montessori School in New Preston. While Beverly's work experience has been in AMS schools, she is committed to our AMI mission and is eager to expand her knowledge of AMI principles. In fact, she will be attending the annual AMI conference this February before she assumes the Head of School role in July.
Beverly has selected us because she sees the strength of this community and the school's potential for even wider impact. The Board sees a strong cultural fit with Beverly and our diverse community. She will be an active and engaged leader. The Board was impressed when she returned for a second school visit specifically to spend time with the students - having lunch with the elementary students and sharing in chores at Millstream.
The Board thanks our community of parents, faculty and staff who participated in the process by: attending focus groups on the critical attributes of the next Head and school priorities; welcoming the final candidates at Meet and Greet receptions; and providing candidate feedback via an online survey. The Board is grateful for the engaged and supportive community - it is a key element in what makes our school so special and vital. The Board also thanks Kathy Aldridge for agreeing to lead the school during this interim year. She will continue in this role until Beverly starts and will assist in her transition.
Please join me in welcoming Bev to our community and supporting her as she assumes the leadership role. Bev is looking forward to returning to CT and the area where she grew up. The Board is confident that as the next Head of School, Bev is the right leader to strengthen and grow the school's reputation and legacy.
Ellen M. Brown
Board Chair
