Announcing Our Next Head of School

Dear Maret Community,

The Head of School Search Committee has a few exciting updates to report. We have just completed our interviews of all of the semifinalist candidates and carefully reviewed the entirety of their application materials. These candidates were all tremendously impressive and very much interested in the opportunity to lead Maret. Following a thoughtful and highly deliberative process guided by our consultants, we have unanimously selected three outstanding finalists who will visit campus during the following times:

Finalist #1: April 17, 18, 19
Finalist #2: April 24, 25, 26
Finalist #3: May 3, 4, 5

From the beginning, we committed to engaging the entire community in the search process. Your participation has been invaluable—during the consultants’ visit to campus in December and in your responses to the online survey where so many of you provided insight and guidance into what you are seeking in a new Head of School. Now, we hope you’ll join us in welcoming our finalists to Maret’s campus.

As part of the finalist visits, we have scheduled All Community Meetings. Everyone is invited to come to these meetings to observe the candidates and ask questions. Please have your questions ready.

We will be livestreaming these meetings for our community members who cannot attend in person. If you intend to watch the livestream of these meetings, you must pre-register in advance to receive a link and password. Registration information will be sent two days in advance of each candidate’s visit.

For those attending in person, there is no need to pre-register. We hope that most of you will attend these meetings on campus so that the candidates can see our community and feel our energy. Not only are we evaluating the candidates, but they are also evaluating Maret and all of us.

ALL COMMUNITY MEETINGS

Bios for each candidate will be shared by email two days before the beginning of each visit. In addition, an online feedback survey will be shared after each All Community Meeting. Note: the bios and the online feedback survey will be available for only 24 hours following the end of each candidate's visit. The feedback survey will only take you a few minutes to complete and is very important in this process.

For members of our faculty, you will have your own designated All Faculty Meeting with each candidate on the second day of their visit. Information on the dates and times of those meetings has been sent to you directly.

You should know that during the visits, candidates will each have an opportunity to tour the campus, spend time with members of the senior administrative and leadership team, meet one-on-one with Marjo, and participate in meetings with our four Advisory Committees. We have also scheduled an additional meeting with the Search Committee and a social gathering with members of the Board of Trustees. By the conclusion of each visit, we expect to know the candidate and that the candidate will know us.

Now that we are in the home stretch, your continued engagement is especially important to the Search Committee and the Board of Trustees. We look forward to introducing you to our three outstanding candidates! Please closely watch your emails for more information.

Sylvia Davis White
Trustee; Chair, Head of School Search Committee

Dear Maret Community,

The HOS Search Committee has completed the work on compiling three of the Advisory Committees (Parent/Faculty/Alumni) who will meet each finalist during the campus visits. The makeup of the Student Advisory committee is in formation and will be finalized in the coming days. Although the Search Committee could not assign everyone who volunteered to an Advisory Committee, we hope you all will have confidence in those who have been assigned and feel represented by their participation.

We very much look forward to receiving feedback from these committees, which we will share with our full Board of Trustees. The Committee thanks everyone who volunteered to serve in this important work.

Our advisory committees are as follows:

As a reminder, all current parents and faculty members will have an opportunity to meet the finalist candidates during the all-community meetings and to share feedback with the Search Committee via a survey. More information on the finalist visits is coming soon.

Sylvia Davis White
Trustee; Chair, Head of School Search Committee

Dear Maret Community,

As we reach the halfway point in our timeline for the search for Maret’s next Head of School, we want to update you on the work ahead.

SURVEY
We are grateful to all of those who responded to our December survey; the response rate was high, and our search consultant, RG175, and the Search Committee have reviewed the results that will inform our efforts going forward. With your thoughtful comments and shared aspirations, the Search Committee has a clear roadmap of what our community seeks in its next leader.

PROCESSING OF APPLICATIONS
Since the search began in December, our consultant has identified and evaluated the best candidates for the Search Committee’s initial consideration. They have reported to the Committee that our candidate pool is robust, diverse, and eager to meet us in person.

REVIEW OF DOSSIERS/SEMIFINALISTS
The next step in the process begins in just a few weeks when the Search Committee reviews applications and narrows the long list of candidates to no more than six or eight semifinalists. We will invite each semifinalist to DC for in-person interviews in April. These interviews will be held off campus to protect the candidates’ privacy. After these interviews are completed, the Search Committee will invite three or four finalists to visit our campus in May for a final round of interviews.

ADVISORY COMMITTEES AND FINALIST VISITS
Wow…we are so very impressed by the interest in participating on one of our four Advisory Committees (Parent/Faculty/Student/Alumni)! The Advisory Committees play a critical role in the search process. They will meet each finalist during campus visits and provide feedback for the Search Committee and the Board of Trustees.

Advisory Committee Coordinators and Search Committee members are finalizing the composition of the four Advisory Committees to ensure that each committee reflects the varied voices and viewpoints included in our community. At the same time, for the committees to work efficiently, they must be of limited size. Therefore, not everyone who has expressed interest will serve on a committee. We plan to contact all volunteers about Advisory Committee membership prior to spring break.

Finally, all members of the community, whether on an Advisory Committee or not, will be able to meet finalists during the open community meetings.

We hope you continue to check the Head of School Search page for further developments and updates. We are very excited about the initial candidate interest we are seeing, and we look forward to introducing an impressive slate of finalists to the community in the spring. We appreciate your ongoing confidence in the Search Committee and the Board of Trustees.

Sincerely,

Sylvia Davis White
Trustee; Chair, Head of School Search Committee
 

Dear Maret Community,

We hope by now you have all had an opportunity to visit the Head of School Search page located on the school’s website. To date, we have completed a successful two-day campus visit with search consultants from RG175. Following that visit, everyone in the community was sent a link to our online survey. Thank you to all who submitted responses. The results from the survey are vital in our search for Maret’s next Head of School. Now, we turn to the initial work of forming our four Advisory Committees.

As a framework, the Search Committee will be working very closely with RG175 beginning in March to narrow down the list of candidates to three or four finalists.  Once we have identified our finalists, all interested community members will have an opportunity to attend open meetings with each candidate. 

Advisory Committee members will have an additional opportunity to spend time in a smaller setting with each finalist. Between the open meetings and the smaller Advisory Committee meetings, we plan to cover all of the questions and topics that our community deems most important. Data and feedback gained from the open meetings and the Advisory Committee meetings will be used to inform the Search Committee process. 

We are beginning the work of identifying potential Advisory Committee members now. This will ensure that we have adequate time to constitute Advisory Committees with members diverse in experience and background who are as representative as possible of our community. We seek Committee members who are able to apply a broad understanding of Maret’s various constituent groups in their assessment of the finalists. 

We value and respect everyone’s time and, therefore, will streamline the number of meetings that we hold. Members of the Advisory Committee will be expected to attend two meetings, one to prepare for the process and another to debrief and provide feedback. In addition, they will be expected to attend interviews of each of the finalists. The preparation meeting will take place in March and the other meetings will take place in late April and early May.

If you are interested in becoming a member of an Advisory Committee, please contact the coordinator of that Committee via the email links below. The coordinators will work with the Search Committee to find the right balance of perspectives while maintaining an overall Committee size conducive to intimate and in-depth discussion. We are sure to have more volunteers than spots available, and we ask for your patience and trust as we finalize the make-up of each group.  

• Parents Advisory Committee, coordinated by Lisa Brown (MPA President; Parent ’22 and ’27) and Sally Dunkelberger (Director of Development; Parent ’19) parentadvisory@maret.org
• Alumni Advisory Committee, coordinated by Dana Tignor (Director of Alumni Giving and Programs; Alumni ’99; Parent ’34) alumniadvisory@maret.org
• Faculty Advisory Committee, coordinated by María López (Assistant Head: Curriculum Development) facultyadvisory@maret.org

In addition to these Committees, Lynn Levinson (Assistant Head: Student Life; Parent ’18 and ’19) will organize the Student Advisory Committee and work with the Search Committee to identify a representative mix of student voices.

We ask that you make your interest in Advisory Committee work known to the respective coordinator no later than January 19, 2022. In the meantime, I wish everyone a joyous holiday season!

Sincerely,

Sylvia Davis White
Trustee; Chair, Head of School Search Committee

• Sylvia Davis White—Search Committee Chair; Parent ’24
• Sue Bosland—Educator (former Head of Kent Place School)
• Ian Cameron—President; Parent ’16 and ’21
• Leigh Comas—Vice President; Parent ’15, ’21, and ’28
• Sherlonda Goode-Jones—Parent ’27
• Rick Juneja—Parent ’30 and ’33
• Michael Kirshbaum—Treasurer; Parent ’27, ’29, and ’32; Alumnus ’94
• Lex Sant—Benefits Committee Chair; Parent ’22

• Parents Advisory Committee, coordinated by Lisa Brown (MPA President; Parent ’22 and ’27) and Sally Dunkelberger (Director of Development; Parent ’19)
• Alumni Advisory Committee, coordinated by Dana Tignor (Director of Alumni Giving and Programs; Alumni ’99; Parent ’34)
• Faculty Advisory Committee, coordinated by Maria Lopéz (Assistant Head: Curriculum Development)
• Student Advisory Committee, coordinated by Lynn Levinson (Assistant Head: Student Life; Parent ’18 and ’19)

Dear Maret Community,

Last night, Marjo informed the Board of Trustees that she will step down as our Head of School in June 2023. After tirelessly dedicating more than 28 years leading our School, Marjo wants more time for her family (especially her grandchildren!) and for travel. Marjo’s decision was not easy—next to her family, this School and its community are what she loves most. The good news is that Marjo still has much work to do and will lead the School for the next year and a half. The Board looks forward to continuing its partnership with Marjo as it conducts a thoughtful and thorough search for her successor.

When Marjo first arrived at Maret in the fall of 1994, The Washington Post called her “hands-on interactive approach” a “new style of leadership” for independent schools in Washington. Since then, she has transformed Maret from a “hidden gem” into a highly sought after and innovative independent school nationally recognized among its peers.

Marjo’s oft-repeated adjective for Maret is “nimble,” which reflects her understanding that Maret must evolve to prepare our students for the demands and opportunities of the 21st century. Marjo led the school’s drive for curriculum innovation through three strategic plans and co-founded the Malone Schools Online Network, which connects Maret students with students from 27 independent schools across the country through real-time online courses.

Marjo and her team of academic leaders have recruited and retained a high-performing diverse faculty; created the Case Institute for Curriculum Innovation & Excellence, which ensures faculty collaboration and ongoing curriculum renewal; developed a robust K-12 Wellness curriculum; and established the Center for Institutional Research in Independent Schools, already a national leader in mission-driven data analysis for independent schools. Maret became the first area school to host Horizons; launched a service-learning curriculum, now known as the Community Engagement Program; and created partnerships with Jelleff and the Episcopal Center for Children for much-needed athletic fields for Maret and the city.

Working with the Board of Trustees, Marjo established a lasting foundation to support our financial sustainability commitment. Maret’s endowment—$130,000 in 1994—is more than $40 million today. The Annual Fund raises more than $2 million a year. Maret’s substantial financial aid budget provides tuition assistance for one in four students, compared to one in ten in 1994. Under Marjo’s leadership, the School has added 50% more classroom and teaching space, built new athletic fields and the theatre, and renovated the campus.

What strikes me most about Marjo is her care for students and the well-being of our community. Marjo believes in strong bonds with faculty, parents, alumni, parents of alumni, grandparents, and friends. Her commitment to equity and inclusion is unyielding, and today, fifty-three percent of Maret students are students of color. With Deepening the Discussion about Race; the initiatives arising from recommendations of the Anti-Racism Task Force; Equity Learning Groups; and student, faculty, and family affinity and working groups, Marjo has nurtured a “whole school” effort to create an equitable and inclusive school environment. As Co-chair of the Anti-Racism Task Force, I witnessed Marjo approach this work with empathy, humility, and skill. In short, she lives Maret’s Core Values at every turn.

We are most indebted to Marjo for ensuring that Maret is a vibrant school, well-equipped for a smooth leadership transition. The process of hiring the Head of School is a fundamental responsibility of the over Board. Current trustee Sylvia Davis White has generously agreed to lead our Search Committee. We have retained the firm RG175 to help guide us and work with faculty, students, families, and alumni in the search process. I will provide you with more details about Committee membership and community participation in the coming weeks.

I hope you will join me in the days ahead to celebrate Marjo and thank her and her extraordinary husband, Mark Vershbow, for what they have given to Maret.

If I have learned one thing about Marjo in my 12 years as a Maret Trustee, it is this: she never rests. Always looking around the corner for the next opportunity or anticipating a bump in the road, Marjo herself is nimble. I have no doubt she will lead the School during the next 18 months with the same energy, creativity, and joy as she has for the past 28 years.

I look forward to working with you to fulfill our strategic priorities and select a new Head of School worthy of Maret and Marjo’s legacy.

Sincerely yours,

Ian Cameron
President, Maret Board of Trustees
 

Dear Maret Friends,

When I arrived at Maret in 1994, it would have been impossible to predict what this job, this school, and this community would mean to me and my family. Students, faculty, parents, alumni, and Board members welcomed me, my husband, Mark, and our daughters, Rebecca ’02 and Kelley ’08, to Maret with open and loving arms; and they have continued to support me both professionally and personally.
How fortunate my family has been!

While I am very excited about my job, I can no longer ignore my growing desire for more opportunities to spend time with my grandchildren and travel with friends and family. Thus, after much thoughtful consideration, I have come to the conclusion that the school year 2022-23 will be my final year as Maret’s Head of School.

It is not yet time to look backwards. For now, I will content myself with noting how proud I am to be part of this institution’s unique history and legacy of long leadership tenures, fulfilling the founding Maret sisters’ motto, “Noscere Vivere Est”—“To Learn is to Live.”

I still delight in one of the things that originally attracted me to Maret—our students from Kindergarten through Grade 12 sharing a single campus. They are curious, joyful, dedicated, and willing to take risks. Our program remains uniquely collaborative and innovative, even as enrollment has grown from 500 to 650 students. Maret has boldly met the test of continually reinventing itself in the face of demands that no one could have imagined 28 years ago. While doing so, we have remained true to our Core Values and evolved into an ever more robust community that can embrace a more inclusive future for everyone.

Maret is made up of truly good people with a wonderful variety of perspectives and backgrounds. Those who have shared this journey with me have become incredible friends and mentors. I marvel at the dedication of our faculty, whether they have been at Maret for decades or arrived only recently. Their generosity of spirit is palpable, and I am inspired by their wisdom and deep knowledge and commitment
to the whole child.

“Inspirational” also describes Maret’s families, who have demonstrated a similar commitment to our Mission by working with us hand in hand to sustain a healthy and thriving educational institution.

None of our successes would have been possible without the extraordinary leadership shown by all of our Trustees, and especially Ian Cameron and his predecessors in the position of President of the Board.Their guidance and friendship have made it possible to surmount an unbelievable set of recent hurdles and embark on many exciting new initiatives. Few people will ever fully understand how any success I have enjoyed has been inextricably bound up with that support. I doubt that any independent school Head has ever experienced such a lucky streak.

I remain fully engaged in our important shared work, including building new athletic fields at ECC, completing Strategic Directions (our current five-year plan), continuing our Equity and Inclusion initiatives, and operating Maret’s outstanding educational program safely on campus. We have much to do between now and the end of June 2023. I know we are up to the task.

Sincerely,

Marjo Talbott
Head of School