MIAMI COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL MIAMI, FLORIDA HEAD OF SCHOOL POSITION START DATE: JULY 2019 miamicountryday.org OVERVIEW “Every student. Every day.” For nearly eight decades, Miami Country Day School (MCDS) has lived out its motto, delivering an exceptional college-preparatory curriculum that educates the whole person. Currently serving 1,350 students in PreK3 through Grade 12, MCDS has undergone remarkable changes since its founding in 1938. Nonetheless, the faculty and student Mission body at this FCIS-accredited coeducational day school Miami Country Day School is are united in their appreciation and continued respect a college preparatory learning for the school’s mission, philosophy, and traditions. community committed to educating Across all grades and divisions, MCDS’s students the whole child. Through the core present themselves as creative, poised, confident, multi-talented, and enthusiastic—truly thriving in an values of honor, respect, wisdom, environment that nurtures their intellectual, physical, and compassion, we prepare emotional, social, aesthetic, and spiritual potentials. students to be lifelong learners. From its nationally-ranked chess club to its national- We inspire our children to develop champion girls’ basketball team, from its environmental their intellectual, physical, aesthetic, studies center to its Comprehensive Outdoor Education social, emotional, and spiritual Program, Miami Country Day School’s offerings are as potentials by valuing every student exceptional as they are varied. every day. Today, MCDS finds itself in an enviable position, adding new facilities and enjoying tremendous enrollment growth. Core Values Just this past year alone, the student enrollment grew by At Miami Country Day School we 100 students and the new Center for the Arts and World prepare children for college and Language Center opened. The school’s strong standing for life by embracing four core and reputation are due in large part to the successful leadership of the longstanding Head of School and a values: honor, respect, wisdom, and positive, forward-thinking, and judicious Board of Trustees. compassion. Students, faculty, and parents are encouraged to live by The Board seeks a new Head of School effective 2019. a set of core values and to act as The ideal candidate will be a collaborative leader and models for action and behavior. a strategic thinker who has substantial experience in a complex, urban PS-12 school. Strong candidates Fast Facts will bring a comfort level and pleasure in relationship building in a diverse, international community and the Founded: 1938 ability to nurture collaboration while bravely taking Type: Coeducational, day actions that consistently support the mission. The Grades Served: PreK3 - 12 new Head of School should be an involved presence Enrolled: 1,350 in the daily life of the school, an advocate for faculty Campus Size: 20 acres and students, and above all, a fierce proponent of the Student-Teacher Ratio: 10:1 school’s mission and vision as a college-preparatory Faculty w/ Adv. Degrees: 66% institution. S/he will also be prepared to support ongoing Students of Color: 47% efforts to build a culture of philanthropy. The Head will Students on Fin. Aid: 18% lead the development of curriculum and programs that will fully engage all students and prepare them for future Admission Yield: 67% academic success in a rapidly changing world. The Search Group | Carney, Sandoe & Associates 1 [email protected] | www.carneysandoe.com SCHOOL HISTORY In 1938, Mr. Luther “L.B.” Sommers and Mr. C.W. “Doc” Abele opened The Miami Country Day and Resident School for Boys in what was then still a young and developing city. Originally an elementary boarding school, MCDS grew quickly in both size and reputation. The transition to its coeducational day program came in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s, as the school began admitting female students and boarding rooms were turned into classrooms to accommodate rising enrollment. The Upper School was added in the late 1970s and MCDS graduated its first senior class in 1981. Miami Country Day School still occupies its original campus north of downtown Miami, but the facilities inhabited by the founding class of seven boys were quite different from what MCDS students enjoy today. While much has changed at MCDS since 1938, the school has retained the holistic approach to learning embraced by its founders, balancing rigorous academics with athletics and cultural enrichment to produce well-rounded and civic-minded young adults. THE SCHOOL Over the course of 80 years, Miami Country Day School has built a reputation of excellence in South Florida. The dedicated team of 130 faculty at MCDS is composed of committed stakeholders; teachers appreciate small class sizes, cherish autonomy in the classroom, and feel fully supported by the administration. Across all divisions, a classical liberal arts curriculum is enhanced by a number of specialty programs that promote hands-on learning and whole-child engagement. With the rise of new media in recent decades, MCDS has embraced technology as an invaluable tool to improve educational practices, while holding fast to its commitment to imbue every student with a lifelong love of learning. The Search Group | Carney, Sandoe & Associates 2 [email protected] | www.carneysandoe.com As students advance from their early years in the Lower School through the Upper School’s strong college-preparatory program, they not only learn the academic content and critical thinking skills necessary to lead successful lives, but also develop the core values of honor, respect, wisdom, and compassion. MCDS is accredited by FCIS and SACS; active membership is maintained in NACAC, SACAC, ACCIS, NAIS, SAIS, FKC, CASE, CRIS, ERB, American Library Association, and the College Board. ACADEMIcs Miami Country Day School offers a college-preparatory curriculum that seeks to educate the whole person. Across all divisions, classical liberal arts coursework is supplemented by experiential programs that offer students the opportunity to apply their classroom instruction in real-world contexts while also developing skills essential for thinking through and tackling tough problems. From early childhood through 12th grade, students’ social and emotional intelligences are developed and nurtured in a Life Skills curriculum, while robust art and physical education programs foster students’ creativity and health and wellness. The Lower School curriculum provides students with academic knowledge in conjunction with critical and creative thinking skills and habits of mind essential to success, such as managing impulses, empathetic listening, and clear communication. The Early Childhood program lays the groundwork for literacy and mathematical reasoning while maintaining a strong emphasis on free, play-based learning and exploration. The academic curriculum expands in Grades 1-5, as students begin to learn technology, science, art, P.E., and a foreign language in addition to literacy and math. Thematic units The Search Group | Carney, Sandoe & Associates 3 [email protected] | www.carneysandoe.com specific to each grade level deepen students’ learning and retention. Teachers and administrators in the Lower School strive to instill in students curiosity and creativity to become lifelong learners, looking beyond quantitative assessments to prepare their young students to lead fulfilling, enriching lives. The Middle School program at Miami Country Day School is purposefully structured to support students during the unique period of early adolescence. A challenging curriculum in the core subjects of English, history, mathematics, science, technology, and world languages is enhanced by an array of electives designed to encourage students to experiment and explore different interests. Teachers in the Middle School are deeply devoted to working with this age group and work hard to draw connections between the lessons they deliver in the classroom and the real world their students inhabit. Each year, students are required to meet a community service requirement that culminates with a written reflection on the experience. Every Middle School student also receives academic and personal support from an advisor, who serves as the primary point of contact between the student’s home and school. Students in the Upper School are challenged in a strong college-preparatory program that encourages independent thinking, active engagement in the learning process, and the formation of strong bonds between teachers and students. The school offers 23 Advanced Placement courses, and nearly all academic courses in the Upper School are offered at the honors level. Students are required to take three years of a foreign language (French, Spanish, or Chinese) as well as at least one year in both fine arts and physical education. A breadth of electives allows students to expand their knowledge in the humanities, STEM, music, and visual and performing arts. Upper School students must also complete 25 hours of community service per year to graduate. The Search Group | Carney, Sandoe & Associates 4 [email protected] | www.carneysandoe.com College Matriculation The following is a list of schools to which the Class of 2017 matriculated. American University Arizona State University – Barrett Honors College Babson College Bard College Boston College Boston University Brandeis University Broward College Carnegie Mellon University University of Central Florida Columbia University Cornell University Duke