Letter from Board Chair, Sarah L. Houston

Much has transpired since Amy’s arrival in July of 2019. At that time, the largest capital campaign in Woodlynde’s history was underway. Both the campaign and campus transformation project were brought to a successful close in 2021 under Amy’s guidance, and the new facilities have had an incredibly positive impact on the life of the school for students, colleagues, and the community at large.

While driving that project forward, Amy led us through a global pandemic, even leveraging the campus’s new spaces to maximize in-person learning early while minimizing risk to our community.

Innovative new curricular approaches like The Writing Revolution have been added to the school’s repertoire alongside several new spaces, including a ceramics studio and an outdoor classroom to enable more hands-on learning and direct instruction. Plans for a makerspace scheduled to open in the fall of 2024 are also fully formed thanks in no small part to Amy’s guidance.

Woodlynde’s expert leadership in social-emotional learning has continued to flourish as well with an expanded team and the newly launched Connections program serving students at times when they have needed it the most.

As I reflect on what has been accomplished in these nearly five years under Amy’s leadership, I also look ahead to the possibilities available to us over the next five years or more. The Board of Trustees’ job is to govern for the future. On many fronts, Woodlynde is in a position of strength. We are clear on our mission. Amy has embraced a model of distributive leadership, empowering a talented team of administrators in the process. We continue to recruit and retain teachers and staff of the highest caliber, colleagues who transform the lives of students and their families daily through their expertise, their genuine care for their students, and the partnerships they forge with our families. We have a diverse and vibrant parent community that is generous with their time and financial resources. New relationships with universities are extending Woodlynde’s reach and expertise. The future looks, in a word, bright.

Both the Board and Amy are committed to ensuring a smooth transition. The Head of School Search Committee, which will be led by Trustee Elizabeth Maglio, is in the process of being formed. Many of you know Elizabeth as a trustee and from her  time as Assistant Head for Lower and Middle Schools here at Woodlynde. We are finalizing the selection of a nationally recognized search firm to assist in the search for our next head. In the coming days and weeks, we will announce both the full committee membership and search firm that has been chosen while sharing more about the search process itself. Please rest assured that we are committed to an inclusive process and that there will be many opportunities for your voice to be heard as we make this important decision. While the final decision and responsibility to appoint the next Head of School rests solely with the Board of Trustees, the voices of all constituencies of Woodlynde’s community serve as essential input.

We will find many opportunities in the coming months to celebrate Amy and her service to Woodlynde. For now, I hope you will join me and the Board of Trustees in expressing our gratitude to her. I look forward to working with you in shaping the Woodlynde of today and the Woodlynde of tomorrow.

Sincerely,

Sarah L. Houston P’25
Chair, Board of Trustees