August 8, 2022

Dear Doane Academy Community,

I write today with an update on the progress of the Doane Academy Head of School search. First, I would like to welcome the students, families, staff, and faculty who are new to this conversation. This academic year will be the eighth and final year of George Sanderson’s tenure as Head of School and we are in the midst of a search for a new school leader.

Since commencing in March, our Head of School search has produced an accomplished slate of candidates from across the country and around the world. Along with our partners at the consulting firm RG175, the search committee has rigorously vetted the applications of many highly qualified leaders. The process has been extensive, deliberative, and guided by the feedback provided by members of the Doane community. That feedback has been and will continue to be the lodestar that directs our work.

The committee reviewed and evaluated Head of School applications earlier this summer. Last week, we concluded a round of in-person interviews with a cohort of six outstanding semi-finalists. Today, I am excited to announce that we will welcome three finalists to campus, each for several days during the final three weeks of September. During their visits, there will be a variety of opportunities for faculty, staff, trustees, students, and families to engage with each candidate.

These visits represent important and exhilarating moments for our school. They give the candidates essential opportunities to meet the people of our school, to understand what makes Doane special and unique, and to explore the environment in and around Burlington with their families. Moreover, on-campus visitations allow us to show these candidates the best of who we are and what matters most to us. I know that you all will join me in welcoming each of these candidates to campus and in showing them what we value as a community.

A few days prior to each visit, the committee will post a biographical profile of that candidate on the Doane website. As was the case in the drafting of the position statement, the committee, through the assistance of RG175, will survey the Doane community on each of these candidates following their visits. My hope today is that our community will mobilize yet again for these visits to continue to provide the rich commentary that has been essential to the work of the committee throughout the search.

Among the many conversations that we will all have over the next several weeks are those that focus on what it means to learn, teach, and work in “a community where all are known, loved, and strongly encouraged to discover their unique potential.” We invite all members of the Doane community to join in those conversations as we search for our next Head of School.

Right Onward!

Heather M. Buzick
Chair, Head of School Search Committee

May 12, 2022

Dear Doane Academy Community,

I would like to thank all of you who contributed your perspectives recently on Doane’s strengths and
opportunities for growth and change, as well as the professional and personal qualities you would like to
see in our next Head of School. Your engagement and insights reaffirmed Doane’s mission and core
values. Your words and ideas were important to us as we articulated the qualities of successful Doane
Academy Head of School candidates.

I am pleased to share with you our description of Doane Academy and the position of Head of School. Our search committee and consultants will use this document to recruit applicants and as a guide when we review candidates’ application materials. I encourage you to read it, so that we all have a shared understanding of our vision for our future leader. We also welcome you to share it if you know someone
who would be a great fit to lead our school.

Finally, I would like to point you to our Head of School Search website. There, you can find
information about the search, the description of the position, and past communications about the search.

Right Onward!
Heather M. Buzick
Chair, Head of School Search Committee    

April 13, 2022

Dear Doane Academy Community,

I’m writing to you to provide an overview of the head of school search process and to inform you of an upcoming opportunity for community involvement.

Search Overview

Doane’s Board of Trustees is responsible for selecting and hiring the next head of school. Board President Adam Paglione and Vice-President Heather Buzick have appointed a search committee to recruit and recommend a candidate to the Board of Trustees. The Board of Trustees has also retained a search firm to advise the search committee. The Board of Trustees has targeted late fall 2022 for appointing the next head of school. Mr. Sanderson will continue to lead the school until June 2023.

Search Committee

The charge of the Board of Trustees to the search committee is to define the position and qualities of the ideal candidate, recruit and rigorously evaluate candidates, recommend one candidate to the Board of Trustees, and inform the community throughout the search process. The committee members are:

• Heather Buzick (Chair) ’97, Trustee, Alumna, Lower School Parent
• Jeanette Cureton ’63, Trustee, Alumna
• Christine Harris, Lower School Faculty, Dean of Lower School, Past Parent
• Adam Paglione ’91, President of the Board of Trustees, Alumnus, Middle and Upper School Parent
• The Reverend David Snyder, Trustee, Lower School and Upper School Grandparent
• Alita Wingfield, Trustee, Lower and Middle School Parent

Search Consultants

The Board of Trustees has engaged a well-known educational leadership consulting firm, RG175, to assist with the search. RG175 consultants, John Green and Robert (Bob) Henderson, are working with our search committee.  

Campus Visit and Community Online Survey

We are undertaking a thorough discovery process designed to identify broad themes that reflect the strengths and qualities of Doane that must be preserved during the pending leadership transition, the challenges and opportunities the next head of school will encounter, and the professional and personal leadership attributes of strong candidates. John and Bob will be visiting Doane Academy on April 19th and 20th to interview key constituents. Shortly after their visit, an online survey will be distributed via email to all members of the Doane community. The questions asked during the interviews and in the survey will serve to highlight these aforementioned themes. Our search committee and consultants will use information gathered from the discovery process to develop a shared understanding of the current reality at Doane, the immediate and strategic challenges, Doane’s aspirations, and the portrait of an ideal candidate. 

In advance of these information gathering activities, I thank you for your support and participation.

Heather M. Buzick
Chair, Head of School Search Committee

March 24, 2022

Dear Doane Family,

Next year will be my eighth year serving as head of school at Doane Academy, and with deep gratitude to every member of our community I am writing to inform you that I will be concluding my service to our school at the end of the 2022-2023 academic year. When I first visited Doane in the fall of 2014, I immediately understood that the school was distinct – in its intentionally small size, its cherished history, its clear mission, and its profound sense of community. Since that initial visit, I have grown to love everything about our school. Leaving behind all of you will not be easy, but I believe that it is time for Doane to embrace new leadership that will carry our great school forward in the years to come.

I am blessed to have been given the opportunity to lead Doane and grateful for those that came before me, especially my predecessor John McGee, who passed on to me a school with such a remarkable past and bright future. I am proud of what we have accomplished together – the development of a caring, focused middle school; the creation of a wonderfully supportive and dedicated Parents Association; the acquisition of the Boudinot property and the formulation of plans for its use; the creation of the black box theater; the management of the school during an unprecedented time; the hiring of trusted, talented educators; the increase in our enrollment and our endowment; the changes to our curriculum and programs to serve the needs of all of our students; and the preservation and celebration of our shared culture and values. The last seven years have brought with them immense leadership challenges, and I want to thank my colleagues, our Board of Trustees, our faculty and staff, our families, our graduates, and our students for the guidance that all of you have given me. Moreover, I am deeply grateful for the support that my family members – Carolyn, James, Katie, and Peter – have provided me. Their abiding love means the world to me.

At their best, all schools – and especially Doane – are caring, loving communities. From the moment I stepped on our beautiful campus, I have been embraced by the Doane family. I have met hundreds of students, graduates, families, colleagues, and friends – and I have been touched by your kindness, warmth, and love of our school. Schools are also, at their most fundamental, places of learning and I am proud of our deep commitment to the teaching and learning that takes place on our campus every day. Moreover, I am grateful for the education you have given me to become a better leader, teacher, and person.

I look forward to working with you over the coming 15 months to continue the progress we have made together. I am confident that the Board of Trustees will choose a talented educator and leader to carry on Doane’s outstanding legacy. And while I will be moving on to explore new opportunities, Carolyn and I will forever be members of the Doane family. Right Onward.

With my sincere gratitude,

George B. Sanderson
Head of School

March 24, 2022

Dear Doane Family,

George Sanderson recently informed the Doane Academy Board of Trustees that the 2022-2023 academic year, his eighth, will be his final year as head of school. Members of the Doane community will all recognize the many roles that Mr. Sanderson has played in shepherding the school through some of the most transformative – and challenging – periods in our 185-year history. From the moment of the opening of Rowan Hall, and through the adversity of the pandemic, George Sanderson has enriched student life at Doane with his dedication, intellect, and leadership. 

The byword of Mr. Sanderson’s time at Doane has been “growth.” His arrival coincided with the inauguration of Rowan Hall as the new center of Doane campus life. He led the school in the reacquisition of the Boudinot School property and in formulating plans for its use. Both the student body and the endowment have appreciably increased in size during Mr. Sanderson’s tenure, thanks in no small part to the roles that he played in the development of a new middle school division, the introduction of a black box theater in the old library (and gymnasium!), the creation of a robust Parents Association, and the hiring of a diverse, talented, and student-centered faculty. Because of Mr. Sanderson’s stewardship of our curriculum, programs, and traditions and his steady leadership through an unprecedented time, Doane Academy is ready to meet the challenges of the next moment, true to our shared culture and values.

We will continue to rely on Mr. Sanderson’s care and leadership this year and next and appreciate his commitment to support us during the transition. We are forming a search committee, chaired by trustee Vice President Heather Buzick, ’97, P’29, ’32, and will be hiring an executive search firm to support us in identifying and selecting an outstanding educator and leader who will carry us right onward. The Doane family will play an important role in assisting with our search. We will be engaging parents, faculty and staff, alumni, and students to help define the characteristics we will be looking for in our next head of school. Information on the search process and opportunities for community involvement will be shared in the months ahead. 

Times of transformation, as uncertain as they are, nevertheless often represent new opportunities. This inflection point offers Doane an opportunity to come together in search of new leadership. Our search committee, with support from our community, will dedicate their time and expertise to finding a new head of school who will continue to fulfill the school’s mission to develop intelligent, capable individuals within a community where all are known, loved, and strongly encouraged to discover their unique potential. 

I know that everyone in the Doane family joins me in thanking George Sanderson for his service to our school and fidelity to its mission. 

Sincerely,

Adam Paglione, ’91, P’25, ‘27

President, Board of Trustees