The Board remains deeply grateful for the PA Community's love of our school, patience, and continuing support during this leadership transition. PA’s strong tradition of commitment to academics and the core values of Excellence, Integrity, Responsibility, and Respect remain the guiding principles in our decision-making process.
In January 2023, The Board formed a Heads Committee with members representing senior staff and each division of our school to share the responsibilities of leading our community and managing the school operationally. The leaders include:
- Don Swanson, Head of Finance & Investment
- Tiffany Knight, Head of Early Childhood School
- Noel Brewster, Head of Lower School
- Justin Robken, Head of Middle School
- Bill Topich, Upper School Social Studies Department Chair
- Jason Wyatt, Athletic Director
Further, former Head of School Arch McIntosh began serving in an advisory role to the Board and Heads Committee. Many may remember that Arch led our school from 1988-2001 and brings over 30 years of head experience with him.
In February 2023, The Board formed a search committee to direct the search process for Pulaski Academy’s next Head of School. This committee will be led by Keith Liesmann with full committee members identified below. The responsibility of the search committee is to vet applicants, identify and interview semifinalists, choose finalists, and coordinate finalist visits to campus. We have engaged a national search firm, The Education Group, to advise us.
In April 2023, The Board of Trustees were honored to announce that Rachel Stevens Deems had been appointed as the Interim Head of School for the 2023-2024 school year effective July 1, 2023. The search committee, chaired by Keith Liesmann, enthusiastically nominated Rachel and the Board of Trustees voted unanimously to appoint her. The response from the PA community to Rachel’s recent campus visit was overwhelmingly positive. As interim, Rachel will serve an instrumental role with the search committee, the Board, and The Education Group, in helping identify permanent Head of School candidates who align with Pulaski Academy's values, mission, and commitment to academic excellence.
Head of School Search Committee
For questions, please email [email protected]
For more information on Search Committee Members, visit our Board of Trustees page.
Head of School Search Profile
Communication Updates
- September 18, 2023
Kieth Liesmann: Message from the Head of School Search Committee
- April 25, 2023
Jay Caldwell: Message for PA Community from PA Trustees
- April 17, 2023
Keith Liesmann: Head of School Search Survey
- April 06, 2023
PA Board of Trustees: The Education Group Visit
- February 23, 2023
Jay Caldwell: Announcement of Head of School Search Committee
FAQs
Independent school leaders are usually on a very well-defined calendar related to the school year. Rushing a search in order to move forward quickly runs the risk of missing out on strong candidates who are not inclined to search in the “off-season”. An Interim Head can help balance finding the right person to fill the position for the long term while also keeping the school moving forward.
The school community will have several opportunities to share their views with the consultants and the Search Committee. Faculty, staff, parents, alumni, former trustees, donors, and school friends will receive regular updates throughout the process. In addition, early in the process, TEG will interview the Board, school leadership, faculty, parents, and students and provide an online survey for their input.
Towards the end of the search, the Board, school leadership, faculty, parents, and students will have opportunities to interview each finalist and share their thoughts on each through an online finalist evaluation survey containing areas for comments.
The primary responsibility of the Search Committee is to identify the qualities most desired and needed for the head and to then screen, review and evaluate candidates and recommend a head-elect to the Board of Trustees. The Search Committee and our consultants at The Education Group, TEG, are tasked with directing the Head of School search process from start to finish and through the leadership transition. The Search Committee will coordinate input from our School's various constituencies, work with TEG to develop the detailed school profile and position description, and review candidates.
In addition, the committee will conduct interviews with the semifinal and final candidates and coordinate the finalists' visit to the Pulaski Academy campus. At the end of the process, the Search Committee will present a qualified candidate to be confirmed by the Board of Trustees. Another primary function of the Search Committee is to keep our community informed and engaged throughout the process while balancing the importance of confidentiality.
The search will take 6 to 8 months.
Directly to the Search Consultants, the Search Chair, or identify prospects through the constituency survey.
Questions about the search process can be directed to the Search Committee at [email protected].
The search consultants at The Education Group welcome candidate suggestions. Please email them at: Dave Davies [email protected] or Allison Lorimer [email protected]
