Dear LCDS Community,

As Co-Chairs of the Head of School Search Committee, we are excited to announce that our work has begun. The committee is made up of current and past trustees, alumni, faculty, staff and parents who we believe represent diverse community perspectives and seek nothing but the best for our school.

Additionally, with the approval and full support of the Board, we have partnered with RG175, a highly respected executive search firm specializing in leadership placement for independent schools. Led by experienced former school leaders, the firm takes a personalized approach to identifying candidates who align with a school’s mission, culture and long-term goals. RG175 has helped place heads and senior administrators in independent schools worldwide for more than 20 years.

An important goal in this search process is to ensure transparency and encourage participation from all stakeholders. As such, our first step will be to survey all community members, linked here. We ask that you please take the time to complete and return it as it will help us define our strengths and particular challenges facing the school right now. The deadline to complete the survey is Friday, January 31.

The next step will be two full days of Community Discovery Sessions, Feb. 3-4, 2025. Held at the school, these sessions will include one-on-one and town hall-style meetings with faculty, staff, students, parents, and alumni. More information on the schedule and logistics of these sessions will be shared in the days ahead.

The survey and these sessions will help our partners develop a deep understanding of our school community so that they can tailor their search to our specific needs.

An additional way we will include key stakeholders in the process is the formation of two advisory panels: a Faculty/Staff Panel and a Parent Panel. These panels will read the dossiers of and interview each of our semifinalists. They will then work as a committee to provide feedback to the Search Committee to help us select finalists. Sandra Urdaneta Hartmann (P’16, ’25, ’27) will chair the Parent Panel, and Jonathan Shultz, Director of Admissions, will chair the Faculty/Staff Panel. Look for the announcement of panel members in the week ahead.

Finally, the school’s new website will go live the first week in February. Included on the site will be a Head of School Search page that will be the go-to resource for all things related to the search. We will continue to utilize social media, Friday all-school emails, dedicated emails, and divisional emails to keep everyone informed and to encourage participation.

We are excited to be embarking on this ambitious process and look forward to involving our entire community.

Best regards,
Caitlin Rye Banta '06 & Tony Spleen '82
Co-Chairs, Head of School Search Committee
Lancaster Country Day School

Dear LCDS Community, 

As you are hopefully already aware, the work of the Head of School search has begun. We have partnered with RG175, a highly respected executive search firm specializing in leadership placement for independent schools. RG175 has helped place heads and senior administrators in independent schools worldwide for more than 20 years.

Consultants from RG175 joined us on campus last week, and engaged with a wide range of constituencies, including faculty, staff, students, parents and board members. We have received so much positive feedback about these conversations. RG175 seems to have truly distilled the school’s soul, challenges, opportunities, and priorities in a mere 48 hours. We sincerely appreciate everyone who took the time to participate in this process.

Thanks, too, to all of you who filled out the feedback survey we shared. We received more than 420 responses, and appreciate the passionate members of the LCDS community who gave very thoughtful, productive feedback to guide us in setting priorities and envisioning our next leader. This number of responses ensures that many voices will be part of our process. 

We’ve also had very productive meetings with the Faculty/Staff and Parent Panels, the Search Committee, and the Board of Trustees. Each group understands its role in the process and is eager for next steps, which will include things like reviewing candidates and meeting with semifinalists. 

As the consultants shared in their meetings, they will soon create a position statement which includes their estimate of when we will likely have a new head of school – either in July of this year or July 2026. The depth and availability of ideal candidates for our school at the present time will influence the start date, as we will not compromise on finding the best candidates. 

Please visit the “News” section of the website for continued updates. 

Thank you all again for your support as we proceed with this exciting process.

Best Regards,
Caitlin Rye Banta '06 & Tony Spleen '82
Co-Chairs, Head of School Search Committee
Lancaster Country Day School

Dear LCDS Community,

We wanted to provide a brief update on the work of the Head of School Search Committee. With the help of RG175 – a highly respected executive search firm specializing in leadership placement for independent schools – the HOS Search Committee, our Faculty/Staff Panel, and our Parent Panel came together earlier this week to participate in Bias Mitigation training.  

This training is designed to ensure that the committee is aware of how to navigate biases throughout the search process. We understand that bias is inevitable; every person has some level of bias, and awareness of these biases is what helps us mitigate their impact. 

Something we learned in the training that we found particularly noteworthy is that “biases for” tend to be stronger than “biases against” particular traits or characteristics found in searches for Heads of School. Regardless of the type of bias, it is important that all of us involved in the search process keep them in check, so that we select a Head with the best qualifications to meet our unique needs.

Once we have final candidates coming for on-site interviews, mitigating bias will be especially important for the entire community, so that our search is inclusive and, ultimately, successful.

Additionally, the committee’s updates are as follows:

• Dossier-reading training will take place for the HOS Search Committee in the second half of March.
• The HOS search application deadline is March 30.
• The HOS Search Committee will begin reviewing dossiers in April to narrow the field of candidates to 5-8 semifinalists.

Please visit the “News” section of the website for continued updates. 

Thank you all again for your support as we proceed with this exciting process!

Best Regards,

Caitlin Rye Banta '06 & Tony Spleen '82
Co-Chairs, Head of School Search Committee
Lancaster Country Day School

Dear LCDS Community,

The Head of School Search Committee met with our consultants this past Sunday afternoon and selected five semi-finalists from a larger pool of highly qualified candidates for Head of School.  

These candidates will come to campus later this month to tour the school and be interviewed by the Search Committee, the Faculty/Staff Panel and the Parent Panel.

After these meetings, the committee will select finalists who will be invited back to the school in May for two-and-a-half days of meetings with all constituent groups: students, parents, faculty, staff, alumni and other friends of the school.

We are truly excited about the quality, experience, and diversity of this candidate pool.  It is our sincere hope that, after these meetings in May, the Search Committee will recommend a candidate to the Board for a new Head of School to start in July 2025.

Many thanks to RG175, our highly respected consultants specializing in leadership placement for independent schools, for bringing to us such an excellent bench of experienced, talented and qualified candidates.  

Stay tuned for additional announcements soon.

Caitlin Rye Banta '06 & Tony Spleen '82
Co-Chairs, Head of School Search Committee
Lancaster Country Day School

Dear LCDS Community,

We are reaching out to you with some exciting news and updates regarding the search for a new Head of School.

A set of five semi-finalist candidates were interviewed by the Search Committee, Parent Panel, and Faculty/Staff Panel this past Saturday. In addition to the rigorous interviews, the candidates had the opportunity to see our beautiful campus and learn a bit more about what Lancaster has to offer. Their collective enthusiasm was contagious. We have such appreciation for the many members of our community who set aside their time on a holiday weekend to contribute to this process – thank you!

At the end of this marathon day, the Search Committee gathered to share feedback, including insights from the Panels. We had dynamic and productive discussions – and we are thrilled to share that we have narrowed the Head of School candidates to two finalists!

Our finalists will be on campus the week of May 4-8. We are currently working on a schedule that encompasses all constituencies of our community, so that our candidates can have the chance to meet as many of our wonderful students, employees, families, and friends as possible. It will certainly be a lively week!

Please stay tuned for additional details to come next week, as we will continue to share additional details about the agenda for each finalist. As always, thank you for your support throughout this journey!

Best Regards,

Caitlin Rye Banta '06 & Tony Spleen '82
Co-Chairs, Head of School Search Committee
Lancaster Country Day School

Dear LCDS Community,

We want to thank everyone in our community who has participated in the search for a new Head of School.

This exhaustive search began five months ago. With the help of our search firm, RG175, we began with a pool of 40 candidates which was narrowed down to eight. Then, in April, we invited five highly qualified semifinalists to our campus for comprehensive interviews with the search committee, parents, faculty and staff.     

This week we hosted two finalists. Each spent two and half days with us, meeting with students, faculty, staff, trustees and special friends of the school. We are so impressed and grateful for the broad cross section of constituents who took time out of their schedules to meet with each candidate or attended open forums or social events.  

Thank you to the more than 120 of you who provided us with written feedback on each candidate.  

Today, the search committee is assembled to review this feedback in addition to the dozens of reference checks and interviews we’ve conducted. We are engaged in a deeply deliberative and inclusive process, one that will yield a new Head of School.

Our school is in an enviable position: we have two outstanding candidates, either one of which could hit the ground running on July 1. Regardless of our selection, we are confident that we will have an excellent new leader.

Stay tuned. We anticipate making a recommendation to the Board of Trustees soon and announcing a new head next week.

Once again, many thanks to you for your continued support.

Best,

Caitlin Rye Banta '06 & Tony Spleen '82
Co-Chairs, Head of School Search Committee
Lancaster Country Day School

Dear LCDS Community,

On behalf of the LCDS Board of Trustees, it is with great enthusiasm that I share with you the selection of Emilie Davis Kosoff as our next Head of School. Emilie is a skilled administrator, a distinguished teacher, and a consummate community builder. After a comprehensive and deliberate national search process which included input from every constituency in our community, the Board of Trustees accepted the Search Committee’s recommendation and voted unanimously for Emilie’s appointment. 

For Emilie, joining our community as the next Head of School is a sort of coming home. Emilie grew up in Central Pennsylvania, attended Harrisburg Academy for 13 years, during which time she played numerous field hockey, basketball, tennis and softball games against LCDS. She went on to Colby College where she majored in history and continued as an excellent student athlete, again playing field hockey, basketball, and lacrosse, and serving as captain of the field hockey team for two years.

After graduation, Emilie began her teaching career at Hebron Academy in Maine, where she taught, coached, and ran a dorm for two years. In 1992, Emilie was hired by The Lawrenceville School where she has been a presence on campus in myriad roles ever since – save a brief time away to start a family and pursue and receive her MALS from St. John’s College in Sante Fe, New Mexico. 

Beginning at Lawrenceville as a history teacher, coach and advisor, over the course of her tenure Emilie’s responsibilities repeatedly expanded, to include roles as Chair of the History Department, 10th and 11th grade Director, Assistant Dean of Students, Associate Dean of Students, Dean of Faculty, and most recently, Assistant Head, and last fall, Acting Co-Head of School. A beloved member of the History Department, while at Lawrenceville, Emilie has been honored with two distinguished teaching chairs, a meritorious service award and was named an honorary member of six classes of Lawrentians.

Through conversations with Emilie it became clear that she approaches every challenge with a sense of purpose and determination. For example, she helped keep faculty turnover at Lawrenceville at a four-year low, with a consistent focus on the pace and quality of life for faculty, professional development opportunities, and compensation. Recently, she focused on their financial well being by helping to create and successfully solicit donations for a designated fund that is focused on faculty compensation. As Associate Dean of Students, Emilie created a Community Conversation series to provide a dedicated space for students and faculty to process current events both within and outside Lawrenceville that weigh on the mind and spirit. Emilie has deep experience with strategic planning and initiatives. She has been intimately involved with inclusion and diversity initiatives and most recently, in student well-being and the “House, Harkness, Heart” strategic plan for Lawrenceville with an emphasis on wellness.

With Emilie’s appointment, LCDS gains a leader described by current and former colleagues as calm, empathetic, steady, community-focused and respected by all. Without exception, they noted Emilie’s deep commitment and ability to build relationships with students, faculty and staff. One former colleague shared “Her empathy and compassion for her community instills trust.  She takes time to connect with people. She listens. She has your back. People follow her. She’s a hard worker. She’s a great partner. She is deliberate and thoughtful.” Another colleague spoke of her “balance of care,” her ability to “form deep relationship connections while also being able to lean into tough conversations without jeopardizing the relationship.”  

When I spoke with Steve Murray, Head of School at Lawrenceville, he shared that Emilie is “one of the greatest school people he has ever encountered.” He went on to say that Emilie “has lived and loved the life of the community” and noted that she leads and works relationally and that her compassion and deep care bolster her leadership capabilities in times of crisis and challenge.

During her visit to our campus meeting with parents, alums, faculty and staff, many of these same strengths were evident. In the survey conducted after her visit, the comments of many community members echoed the sentiments of this individual who said, “I appreciate her calm, professional demeanor. She is thoughtful in her responses. She has a quiet strength that we need right now.” Another observed her interest in the importance of community. Others appreciated her experience with balancing academic rigor with mental health and the sense that she would be a presence in the day to day life of the school.

I would like to thank our partners at RG175 for their incredible support and guidance during this process. Additionally, I am so grateful to the twelve members of the Search Committee, led so capably by Co-Chairs Caitlin Rye Banta ‘06 and Tony Spleen ‘82. Their commitment and dedication over the last five months ensured that we had an in-depth, inclusive, and thoughtful process that yielded a comprehensive pool of more than 40 candidates from around the country and five dynamic and talented semi-finalists from which Emilie was selected. 

The Board is thankful for the broad cross section of constituents – students, parents, alumni, faculty, staff, trustees and special friends of the school – who took the time to meet with the finalists or attend open forums. We are especially grateful for the efforts of the parents and faculty and staff who participated in the advisory panels that interviewed the semi-finalists. The insights and feedback, provided by more than 150 individuals, were invaluable to the Search Committee during this process.

Finally, I would like to thank and acknowledge Lewis Thayne for his contributions and his commitment to our community over the last six months. LCDS is better for his leadership and the Board is immensely grateful.

While Emilie’s tenure as LCDS’s twelfth Head of School officially begins on July 1, 2025, she will begin to work with members of the transition team and Lewis immediately. In addition, Emilie will attend our School Spirit Night with the Stormers on Tuesday, May 20, at Penn Medicine Park. We will keep you updated about additional opportunities to meet Emilie once she has settled in this summer. 

In the meantime, please see Emilie’s letter to the community below and join me in welcoming her to LCDS.

Sincerely,

L.J. Bloom '87
President, Board of Trustees
Lancaster Country Day School