October 14, 2022

Dear members of the Seattle Prep community,

We would like to take this opportunity to provide an update on the presidential search process.

Recently, the search committee met and interviewed a number of candidates for the position. Each offered broad skills, talents and experiences. After thoughtful deliberation, the search committee reached unanimous consensus to invite back four candidates for additional meetings and interviews and to meet with various members of our community.

Each finalist will be on campus for separate day-and-a half visits in October. During this time, finalists will visit classes, meet with faculty, administration, staff, parents, students, board members and alumni. This is an opportunity for our community to learn more about each finalist and for each finalist to learn more about us.

The Seattle Prep community will have an opportunity to meet each of these individuals. Dates for faculty and staff, current parents, and alumni to meet each finalist are: 

Monday, Oct 24 — Finalist #1
Faculty & Staff: 7:45-8:45AM* 
Parents & Alumni: 6:00-6:45PM* 

Wednesday, Oct 26 — Finalist #2
Faculty & Staff: 7:45-8:45AM* 
Parents & Alumni: 6:00-6:45PM* 

Friday, Oct 28 — Finalist #3
Faculty & Staff: 7:45-8:45AM* 
Parents & Alumni: 6:00-6:45PM* 

Monday, Oct 31 — Finalist #4
Faculty & Staff: 7:45-8:45AM* 
Parents & Alumni: 6:00-6:45PM*

*All visits will take place in Our Lady of Montserrat Chapel.

Faculty, staff, and administration will receive an additional email with more details. Information on each candidate will be sent prior to their respective visits. For those who attend these sessions, a link to an online feedback form will be made available to share your thoughts on each finalist with the search committee.

Please note that the search committee will be thoroughly investigating references for each finalist. Due to the serious nature of this process and the professional courtesies we must provide to the candidates, we ask that you allow the search committee, and the search committee only, to conduct these reference checks. In keeping with the respectful and professional protocol we have agreed to with the candidates, if you know someone who would be appropriate for the committee to speak with, please contact us so we may reach out to the person directly.

We would like to briefly remind you of the overall process for the hiring of our next president. Hiring the president is one of the most important responsibilities of the board. To assist in the process, an ad hoc search committee was established. This group is responsible for doing all of the work associated with the search. They have gathered all the data necessary through evaluation of candidate materials, interviews, reference checks, observations, analysis, etc., to find the right person to lead Seattle Prep. Ultimately, based on this work, the committee will be presenting its recommendation to the board for its review and decision. Since Seattle Prep is a Jesuit institution within the Jesuit West Province, the Provincial must also approve the candidates. Once this is complete, the board will make an announcement regarding the new president as soon as possible.

This is an exciting time for our community, and we look forward to the final phases of our search for the next president of Seattle Prep. As stated above, we will provide you with more details just prior to the finalists’ respective visits.

Sincerely,

Jaylene Howard
Board Chair/Search Chair

May 26, 2022 Dear members of the Seattle Prep community, I would like to provide you with a brief update on our president search. As noted in our prior communication, our search professionals, Mathew Heersche and Risa Oganesoff Heersche, and the search committee worked in collaboration to develop a position profile which speaks to what makes Seattle Prep the special community that it is as well as outlining the opportunities for our next president. Mathew and Risa have been reaching out to Catholic educational leaders both nationally and internationally, utilizing a variety of resources to recruit the most promising individuals who most closely align with what we are looking for in our next leader. Their efforts will continue over the course of the summer and will involve extensive evaluation of those individuals interested in this opportunity, including multiple conversations, video interviews and preliminary reference checking. Ultimately, they will present a group of top prospects to the search committee at the beginning of the new school year. The committee, with the assistance from Mathew and Risa, will review the candidates and determine whom they would like to invite for semi-finalist interviews in Seattle. It is important to note that this select group will be interviewed only by the search committee to preserve candidates’ confidentiality until the end of the semi-finalist stage. This is the norm and is done primarily to avoid unnecessary repercussions for candidates who have not informed their respective school communities of their interest in pursuing other opportunities. At the conclusion of the semi-finalist interviews, the search committee will deliberate and select finalists. The names of the finalists will be announced in an appropriate way in preparation for introductions to the entire school community. Each finalist will spend time with various stakeholders in one-on-one meetings, small group meetings and larger forums. The overall purpose of the finalist visits is to allow our community to get a sense of the individual and, just as importantly, to allow the finalist to get a sense of us. We must keep in mind that finalists are also discerning whether they see themselves as part of our community. Ultimately, both the school and the finalists are trying to determine “fit.” The search committee and our search professionals will be working diligently during these final phases to further evaluate candidates, conduct extensive reference and background checks and collect community feedback to determine whom they will recommend to the board and the Provincial for final review and approval. At this point, it will be relatively quiet for us as Mathew and Risa go about their work of developing a pool of quality candidates. They will keep me appropriately informed about their work on a regular basis over the next months. It will become busy for us in September and October as we move into the semi-finalist and finalist phases. Again, our calendar calls for the engagement of the next president of Seattle Prep to be completed by the end of October 2022. There will be an organized transition process culminating with the new head commencing work July 2023. We know that this is a very attractive opportunity because Seattle Prep is operating from a position of strength. We have a strong community, grounded in our Jesuit identity and guided by our core values, and have been blessed with stable leadership and committed faculty who are truly dedicated to our students. We are also financially strong and continue to focus on moving forward strategically. We will keep all members of our school community informed as we proceed. Sincerely, Jaylene Howard Board Chair/Search Chair Please refer to our website for ongoing updates on the presidential search.

April 11, 2022

Dear Members of the Seattle Prep Community,

As you are probably aware, our president search professionals from Educational Directions, Mathew Heersche and Risa Oganesoff Heersche, recently visited campus to learn about the Seattle Prep community, our culture, the opportunities for the new president, and the qualities sought in our new leader. Mathew and Risa enjoyed engaging with the various constituents and appreciated the very warm welcome they received.

If you did not have the chance to meet with them or would like to share additional thoughts, there is still an opportunity to complete our online survey. The survey is available by clicking on the following link: President Search Survey. The survey will remain open until Friday, April 15.

Mathew and Risa, using the information gathered during their visit as well as the survey, and in collaboration with the search committee, will develop a position profile which, among other things, will articulate the key areas of focus for the new president and the qualities sought, both personal and professional.

The position profile will be used as part of the recruitment efforts. Risa and Mathew will be reaching out locally and nationally to individual Catholic/Jesuit educational leaders, executive directors of educational organizations as well as other organizations, a variety of Catholic/Jesuit educational leadership programs, and regional school associations. Over the next months, they will be identifying and evaluating top prospects. Our goal is to ascertain a group of top-level candidates and then narrow that number down to five to seven individuals. As a reminder, from that group will come three finalists who will be visiting us sometime in late September/early October. School community members will have opportunities to meet each finalist. After the search committee has completed its evaluation of all data gathered (including deep reference checking) and deliberates, it will be presenting its recommendation to the Board. Since Seattle Prep is a Jesuit institution within the Jesuit West Province, the Provincial must also approve the candidate. Once this is complete, the Board will make an announcement regarding the new president.

Our calendar calls for identification and engagement of the next president of Seattle Prep to be completed late October 2022. There will be an organized transition process culminating with the new president commencing work July 2023.

We will continue to provide updates. Thank you for your continued support of Seattle Prep.

Sincerely,

Jaylene Howard
Board Chair/Search Chair

March 16, 2022

Dear Seattle Prep Community,

On behalf of the Search Committee, I would like to take this opportunity to remind you that our search professionals Risa Oganesoff Heersche and Mathew Heersche will be visiting Seattle Prep as part of the presidential search process. They are scheduled to visit campus Monday, April 4 and Tuesday, April 5. The purpose of their visit is to learn as much as possible about our community as well as identify the opportunities for the new president and the qualities sought in this individual.

Risa and Matt will be spending time with members of various groups within the school and will be asking us what we seek in our next leader. Among the key questions they will ask of all of us are:

• What are the unique characteristics of Seattle Prep, i.e. what differentiates it from other schools;
• What are Seattle Prep’s aspirations;
• What are the perceived challenges and opportunities for the school at this time; and
• What experience/leadership styles/personality traits will best meet those needs within our Jesuit culture. 

Below is the detailed agenda for the 2-day campus visit. We recognize there are many of you in multiple roles. Please prioritize your position as faculty, staff or administrator, and attend those forums.

Monday, April 4:

1) Administrator and President Cabinet Meetings 1:1 Meetings

2) Faculty Staff Meeting: 10:45AM – 11:20AM (Healy Chapel & Theater)

3) Parent Meeting:  6:30PM (Healy Chapel & Theater)

Tuesday April 5

1) Administrator 1:1 Meetings continued

2) Faculty Staff Meeting: 11:45AM – 12:25PM (Healy Chapel & Theater)

3) Board of Trustees Meeting:  4:00PM Library Conference Room

4) Alumni Meeting: 6:00PM (Healy Chapel & Theater)

(Alumni and parents will receive separate emails with their respective schedules.)

In addition to the in-person meetings, we are providing an additional opportunity for your input through an online survey. The survey can be accessed at the following link: Seattle Prep President Search Survey.

From all of the information gathered through this process, Risa and Matt, along with the search committee, will develop a position profile which will be used as a marketing tool for this wonderful opportunity. Once it is completed, the position profile will be shared with school community through the Leadership at Prep page on the school’s website.

Sincerely,

Jaylene Howard
Board Chair/Search Chair

 

1-28-22

Seattle Prep is pleased to announce the appointment of George Hofbauer as Acting President, effective February 1, 2022. George will join the Board of Trustees and School Leadership Team in overseeing the operations of the school, as well as managing critical projects such as the construction of the Merlino Center, school accreditation, and our Jesuit sponsorship. 

George is no stranger to Jesuit education. He is a graduate of Seattle University and brings 35 years of experience as a former principal of St. Joes School, a nearby Jesuit grade school. Furthering his commitment to Catholic education, George served as the founding executive director of the Fulcrum Foundation, a Seattle non-profit established to provide financial support to Catholic schools and student throughout the Seattle Archdiocese. George has also chaired the Rainbow Schools Coalition, a collaborative effort with inner-city Catholic pastors and principals, which provides Catholic education to under-resourced communities. Numerous organizations have recognized George's contributions to education as recipient of the NCEA Distinguished Principal Award, the Archbishop’s Award, The Fulcrum Lifetime Achievement Award and ironically, the Magis Award, presented to him by Seattle Prep in 2011.

Please join us in welcoming George to the Seattle Prep community. George always says, “Thank you for all you do, and all you are about to do.” Well, now it is our turn to thank George for providing his leadership and wealth of expertise to Seattle Prep. His storied expertise in education and respected reputation are a great asset to Seattle Prep. We encourage you to stop by and say hello to him or introduce yourself if you see him around campus.  

With the acting president in place, we will begin initial steps for a permanent president. We recognize that the selection of the new president is one of the most important responsibilities of the Board of Trustees and that we will want an exceptional individual who believes in our mission and shares a love for our students. The first action in the process was to identify and engage a search firm to assist us in this all-important task. We have selected Educational Directions of Portsmouth, Rhode Island, as our partner. Educational Directions was founded in 1987 and is a highly respected national firm. The search will be led by Mathew Heersche and Risa Oganesoff Heersche. Mathew and Risa bring deep experience both as educational leaders in Catholic education and as search professionals as well as expertise and enthusiasm to our search. In addition, they have worked with a number of Jesuit schools in their search for new leadership and are very familiar with the Jesuit charism as well as governance and leadership structures. 

Seattle Prep is well-positioned to attract a highly qualified pool of candidates and Educational Directions will assist us in a national search to find a president who can lead an exceptional faculty and staff, a driven student-body and a community dedicated to our Jesuit mission.

We will keep all members of our school community informed as to the search’s process and progress via regular updates. All information pertaining to the search will be posted on the president search page on our website. We are excited for this next phase of Prep history and look forward to our community coming together this spring as we support the many endeavors of our students. #rollPrep 

With gratitude,

Jaylene Howard
Chair, Seattle Prep Board of Trustees

12-30-21

Dear Seattle Prep Friends,

I let close friends and family know in the fall that this year would likely be my last at Seattle Prep. I felt that 15 years was certainly long enough, and that a change would be good for both me and Prep.

Though I continue to thoroughly enjoy teaching and leading Seattle Prep, for many months now I have felt more heavily the challenging decisions and disruptions during this time of COVID. After 23 years as the head of two Catholic high schools, combined with the long work hours and anxiety over a recent health scare, I feel that I am running on empty. Prep and all of you deserve more than I can now give of myself. I do not know what is next for me.

I do plan to take time I have never taken before to be with my family and focus on improving my health and well-being. This is advice I have given to others in the past, and I need to now follow that advice myself.

I have let the Board know that I stand ready to assist in upcoming transitions when and where needed. And I look forward to re-connecting with members of the community at future functions, including the Merlino Center grand opening this fall!

Please know that Seattle Prep will always remain very much in my thoughts and prayers.

AMDG, Kent Hickey

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