HOS Search

The Board of Trustees is committed to making the search an inclusive process and will provide opportunities for community input through in-person and electronic means. The first opportunities will occur when the search consultants from Educators Collaborative conduct listening sessions to learn more about the School’s strengths, as well as the opportunities facing the school now and in the years ahead. There will be sessions for employees, alumni, the parent association, and students during this time. Additionally, all members of the school community will be invited to share their thoughts about the School and the search through a confidential online survey administered by Educators Collaborative consultants.

As the search nears its conclusion, members of the school community will also have an opportunity to meet the finalist candidates and provide feedback as to their impressions of each.

It is perhaps best to consider the search process in three general phases, with some overlap.

The primary purpose of the initial phase is for the Educators Collaborative consultants to “get the word out” about the search to prospective candidates and to learn more about the School. This will be done through the aforementioned listening sessions and online survey. In addition, the Educators' Collaborative consultants will familiarize themselves with school operations, programs, and policies through numerous documents provided by the School.

The next phase is conducted almost exclusively behind the scenes, as the Educators Collaborative consultants recruit and do the initial vetting of candidates through interviews and reference checks. While any qualified candidate will be considered until the completion of the search, interested candidates are asked to contact the search consultants so timely vetting can take place.

In the third phase, the Search Committee is highly active in learning more about candidates, conducting preliminary confidential interviews, selecting the finalists, and assuring that their visits to the School are successful. The work of the Search Committee concludes when it presents its nomination of the candidate of choice to the Board of Trustees.

The Head of School Search Committee is leading the search process and will make recommendations to the Board of Trustees, which ultimately bears responsibility for appointing the Head of School.

A Steering Committee of the Board of Trustees conducted broad research on national search firms. They reviewed proposals and conducted initial and follow-up interviews. Following reference checks, the group unanimously recommended to the Board of Trustees the selection of Educators Collaborative.

Educators Collaborative is a nationally-known search consulting firm, specializing in finding heads for independent schools like ours. André Withers and Mark Crotty have been engaged to assist with the search. The search consultants will provide guidance to the Search Committee on format, logistics, procedures, and best practices in the search process. In addition, they will interview candidates, check references, and support the Search Committee throughout the interview process. Educators Collaborative will also provide transition support to the New Head of School after they have been hired.

The search for the new Head of School is broad in scope. A primary goal is to make the search process as transparent as possible, with opportunities for community updates and feedback along the way. Confidentiality about individual candidates, however, remains a critical component for success. Some potential candidates may not be actively looking for a new position, and others may not want it known at their current institution that they are pursuing an interest in St. Paul's. As such, the Search Committee will not comment on candidates participating (or not participating) in the search.

The Search Committee encourages the application of all individuals who have a genuine interest in leading the School, including anyone who is currently employed at the School. To every extent possible, the Search Committee will attempt to create a level playing field, ensuring that the eventual nominee as Head of School-elect is assessed in the context of the entire field of candidates. In addition, the confidentiality of internal candidates is as important as that of candidates from outside the School.

Candidates will be evaluated based on how well their skills and characteristics match those desired by the school community. Those skills and characteristics will be identified drawing on the survey responses and constituent interviews conducted by Educators' Collaborative consultants. The Search Committee will go through multiple steps to acquaint themselves with the pool of candidates before narrowing that group down to a small group of finalists (likely three or four).

As the process draws to completion, the Board will review the recommendations of the Search Committee, formally resolve to pursue a candidate, bear responsibility for negotiating any terms of employment, and ultimately appoint the new Head of School. The Head of School is the only employee that is hired by and reports directly to the Board of Trustees, and, as a result, choosing a new Head of School is one of the Board's most important responsibilities.

The person selected by the Board of Trustees will officially become St. Paul's ’s Head of School on July 1, 2027. Until that time, Charleen will continue to lead the School, a role in which she has served exceptionally well. We anticipate that there will be opportunities during the 2026-2027 school year when the Head of School-Elect will be on campus and have a chance to learn more about the School, but it is a high probability that the selected individual will have ongoing professional responsibilities elsewhere.

No. All related information sessions, listening sessions, and interviews will be built around faculty, staff, and student schedules, so as not to disrupt the academic calendar and schedule.

Dear St. Paul’s Community,

What a tremendous two days Mark and I had visiting the St. Paul’s campus! We enjoyed listening to and learning from every constituency, seeing classrooms in action, viewing the amazing Chapel, orienting the committees, getting an historical perspective from Charleen, and appreciating the idiosyncrasies about the local area as it prepared for Mardi Gras.

As a refresher, when we visited each constituency, we delineated the stages of the process:

• Discovery: Deep listening about what makes St. Paul’s distinct (January/February)
• Community Engagement: Ensuring that community members are connected to the process (February-March)
• Communication Strategy Design: Building a routine of communicating the progress of the search and sharing general information about the process against the calendar (Ongoing)
• Pool Creation: The passive and active recruiting in order to build a robust pool (February to July)
• Screening/Interviewing: The process of vetting candidates in anticipation of their candidacy being presented to the Search Committee (June to July)

We are well-positioned to begin crafting a narrative for prospective candidates after the visit; however, the additional insight we’d like to capture involves a community survey. This survey helps us identify and quantify themes related to the skills, traits and attributes of the next Head of School. As well, it gives us thematic insights into what different constituencies consider as the most important strategic or operational initiatives that the school should pursue.

This is one of the major opportunities for the community to contribute. We want to garner significant participation so that we can best operate on your behalf. Please take the survey as soon as possible. It will close on Wednesday, March 4.

Mark and I will be sharing additional information via the school’s website and grade-level parent updates as appropriate. Should you need to be in touch with us prior, we can be reached at awithers@educatorscollaborative.com or mcrotty@educatorscollaborative.com.

It goes without saying that we are honored and grateful to be working with St. Paul’s. Our visit and our work with the Board has fueled our confidence and professional motivation in finding an outstanding next head of school.

Best,

André Withers, Partner
Mark Crotty, Partner

January 12, 2026

Dear Members of the St. Paul’s Episcopal School Community:

As you know, the 2026-2027 academic year will be Charleen Schwank’s last as Head of St. Paul’s Episcopal. We are deeply grateful for how she has served this community with distinction and great care for over 40 years. The Board of Trustees is also grateful to have ample time to identify a worthy successor.

The Board of Trustees has worked thoroughly, diligently, and collaboratively while exploring the work ahead of us. We are deeply committed to the ongoing and future well-being of our school and of you, our faculty, staff, families, and parishioners. Towards that end, a Search Committee composed of trustees and a former Board Chair has been appointed: Melinda Benson, Doris Farmer, Amy Fontenot, Ryann Gallois, Stephen Kepper, Andy LoCicero, and me as Chair. Once the Church welcomes a new Interim Rector, that individual will join as an ex-officio member. We intend to keep the community well-informed throughout the process, and we will rely on broad participation to ensure a successful outcome on behalf of St. Paul’s.

The Board has retained André Withers and Mark Crotty of Educators Collaborative to help us with our search. This firm has been conducting successful head of school searches since 1971. André has over two decades of experience in the independent school sector and is renowned for guiding institutions through complex issues with confidence and clarity. Mark was the Executive Director of the Northwest Association of Independent Schools, has worked in three different schools, and served as Head of an independent Episcopal school in Dallas. They have robust professional networks and excellent recommendations, and they are highly respected by educators throughout the country; their expertise will be paramount in assisting the Search Committee throughout this process.

Mark and André will be on campus on January 27–28. While visiting, they will meet extensively with various constituency groups to develop a leadership profile for St. Paul’s next Head of School and to gain a sense of the opportunities and challenges facing the next Head of School.

Our consultants will host a Town Hall information gathering session on Wednesday, January 28, from 8:00AM–8:45AM in O’Ferrall Hall. All parents are encouraged to attend. We fully realize not everyone will be able to participate in on-campus interviews. To make sure everyone has a chance to contribute their input, the consultants will make available an online survey sent shortly after their visit. Comments shared with the consultants will not be attributed to individuals, and your input will be extremely helpful in developing the leadership profile for the next Head of School.

Our consultants anticipate considerable interest from a strong group of candidates. They will be advertising the position extensively in the coming weeks and accessing their extensive database and professional networks to solicit and encourage applications from well-qualified prospective candidates. André and Mark will vet those applicants and present an initial pool of candidate dossiers to the search committee. Once the Search Committee has reviewed candidate dossiers, the top ranking candidates will be invited to semi-finalist interviews. The Search Committee, with the guidance of our consultants, will identify a small group of finalists whom we will invite to the school in mid to late September for full-day interviews. There will be opportunities for representatives from all constituencies in our community to meet the candidates and provide feedback to the Search Committee on their impressions. Ideally, a single candidate will emerge and be recommended to the Board for approval sometime in October. After the Board has voted on, approved, and reached an agreement with the candidate of choice, an announcement will be made to the community.

We appreciate your support and trust in us. We will continue to keep you informed about our progress via the website and periodic updates.

Sincerely,

Ami Falterman
Chair, Head of School Search Committee

January 8, 2026

Dear members of the St. Paul’s Episcopal School Community,

In 1983, a new college graduate chose St. Paul’s as the starting point of her teaching career and loved it so much that she chose to remain for 42 years! Mrs. Charleen Schwank’s devotion, expertise, and loving guidance have led to the education of thousands of children who live in the St. Paul’s way. Currently, she is the longest standing head of an I.S.A.S. school in the New Orleans area. As Mrs. Schwank shared in her letter, the 2026-27 school year, her sixteenth year as our Head of School, will be her last.

Since Mrs. Schwank’s first days as a teacher and later as our Head, she has provided caring and impactful leadership in a mission-driven program that focuses on nurturing and supporting our young learners and their teachers. Our students embrace academic challenges, work collaboratively, value inclusiveness, serve their community, and practice sustainability. Mrs. Schwank’s leadership has also given us the legacy of a community of parents, faculty, and staff committed to understanding and nurturing the unique potential of every child. Today, St. Paul’s is a thriving community with a solid foundation and a bright future. Its facilities are first-rate and its financial status is sound.

In the coming months, we will prepare to build on this foundation, and her unique legacy, as we conduct a search for our next Head of School. The Board of Trustees has formed a search committee, and the Chair of the committee is Mrs. Ami Falterman. As a trustee and current secretary of the board, as well as a parent and former Parent’s Association President, she is well suited for the task. Also, to help ensure the most comprehensive, transparent, and collaborative process, the board has selected a team of highly respected consultants from the firm Educator’s Collaborative, which has extensive experience in directing national and international leadership searches. You will receive more information regarding the head search process, and we look forward to your participation as we embark on this journey.

Mrs. Schwank will continue to lead our community with grace and professionalism as we begin this transition. There will be many opportunities to celebrate the legacy that she has created and look forward to the future. We are incredibly grateful for the immeasurable love that she has shown for our beloved school and wish her all the best in her retirement.

With warmest regards,

Mary S. Touzet
Chair, St. Paul’s Episcopal School Board of Trustees

January 8, 2026

Dear St. Paul’s Community,

It is with mixed emotions that I announce that the next school year, 2026-2027, will be my last as Head of School. I will be retiring after 16 years as Head of School and 42 years in total at St. Paul’s. While I am looking forward to more time with my family, my St. Paul’s family has been such an important part of my life, and I will miss so many of the things which make our school such a unique and special place.

My career here started as a tutor while I was still in college studying education. Before I had officially graduated, then Head of School, Charlie Hemenway, hired me in August 1981, as a second semester maternity sub for the 6th - 8th language arts teacher. St. Paul’s had 187 students then, with grades kindergarten — 8th. Now, with 300 students, babies — 8th, we have clearly grown. And yet, it has always been so vital to me for us to retain our strong family atmosphere, where caring for the individual student is always of the utmost importance, where excellent teachers are given an opportunity to thrive, and where flexibility and grace remain an integral part of who we are.

Over the years, with the support of our dedicated families, faculty and staff, board of trustees, and vestry, we rebuilt the campus and the population after Hurricane Katrina. During my tenure, we built the lower school building, acquired the parking lot as part of our campus, and began our endowment which continues to grow. We weathered a pandemic together, virtual learning, and appreciated all of our many in-person traditions so much more. After Hurricane Ida affected our campus, we continued to offer a St. Paul’s education, while being displaced for 6 months and during the second major reconstruction of our beautiful campus!

Our program expanded over these years, as well. As a new teacher in 1983, I participated in the school’s first year of qualifying for ISAS accreditation. Then in 1993, our school was accepted into SAES. Throughout these past 40 years of the school’s history, I have witnessed excellence in education, and our programs continue to grow. Our curriculum has now evolved to include one-to-one devices for students, robotics, and the use of AI in classrooms.

I am very grateful that my three sons, Thomas, Daniel, and Michael, all benefited from a St. Paul’s education. I feel much of their personal success can be attributed to those early, value-forming, elementary years. Now my 2 grandchildren, John and Frances, are developing a love for learning, and beginning to understand what it means to be a St. Paul’s student. I am eternally thankful to my husband, John, who has provided so many years of love and support. I am grateful to so many of you, who have enabled me to have a career that I have not only loved, but am proud of.

What I will miss most are the mission, the culture, and the people. These are the qualities that captured my love and dedication for all these years. Guided by the St. Paul’s Way, I have witnessed generations of students grow, learn, and become exceptional individuals.

I look forward to serving the St. Paul’s community in my final 18 months as Head of School and during its search for a new leader.

Sincerely,
Charleen Schwank