Head of School Search

The Austin Waldorf Board of Trustees launched a thoughtful and inclusive process to successfully find the next Head of School. The search process engaged members of our community – including families, faculty, staff, and alumni – to help guide this mission-critical work.

In finding our new Head of School, we looked to build upon the amazing work our founders and second generation of builders have accomplished to create and expand our school over the last 43 years. Every step of the search process was marked by careful deliberation and thoughtfulness, all with the aim of having the next Head of School selected for a term that will begin in the Summer of 2024.

We retained Carney Sandoe & Associates to shepherd the search process and ensure we identified mission-aligned candidates with the skills and experience necessary to lead our dynamic community, uphold our commitment to Austin Waldorf pedagogy, and continue to deliver on our mission to nurture, inspire, and engage: enlightening the journey toward a more humane, just, and sustainable future.

Please do not hesitate to reach out to us with any questions at searchcommittee@austinwaldorf.org. Thank you in advance for your time and commitment to Austin Waldorf School.

Head of School Search Committee

The Board has formed a search committee of the following members:

  • Tina DeSaussure: Co-Chair and College of Teachers (G2)
  • Micah Nicolo: Co-chair / Board
  • Bryan Carruthers: Board
  • Kathy Rogers: College (G4)
  • Hans Staats: College (HS)
  • Joshua Whisenhunt: College (HS)
  • Michael Johnson: Board
  • Raghda Daftedar: Board
  • Jayme Bomben: Board

In addition, our Interim Head of School Mark Gerhardstein and College of Teachers Co-Chair Carole Toole will work with the committee as advisors on various aspects of the efforts. We are grateful to each of the individuals and their willingness to serve.

Search Committee Updates

March 7, 2024: New Head of School Announced

On behalf of the Austin Waldorf School Board of Trustees and the Search Committee, we are pleased to announce that Dr. Michelle Purghart has been enthusiastically
recommended by the Search Committee and unanimously consented by the Austin Waldorf Board of Trustees to serve as our next Head of School, beginning July 1, 2024.

You can read the full letter to the community here.

February 7, 2024: Head of School Search Committee Update

Dear Austin Waldorf Community,

On behalf of the Head of School Search Committee it is our pleasure to inform you that we have confirmed campus visits with our four finalist candidates. Candidates will be on campus for two-day visits over the next two weeks from February 12 to February 23.

As you may recall, the Search Committee (composed of a broad cross-section of our community) had the pleasure of interviewing ten exceptional candidates that had been brought to us by our executive search consultant. Following a series of very thorough and balanced discussions, the Search Committee selected four finalists whom we think are best positioned to lead Austin Waldorf into our future.

Candidate visits will include two full days of engagements on campus with parents, faculty, staff, students, Search Committee members, and our Board of Trustees. These meetings will be both for the candidates to get a sense of who we are and what we strive to be, and for all of us to better understand how each candidate might fit our community and help us achieve our ambitions.

As part of our Search Committee’s effort to gain a broad and balanced perspective on each candidate, we will provide opportunities to listen to feedback via an anonymous surveys managed by our search consultant from all who are able to interact with the candidates. Community views expressed via the compiled surveys will greatly help the Search Committee better understand our candidates and will be an important aspect of our extensive review and evaluation process.

Please click here to access the candidate visit schedules highlighting engagements with certain larger stakeholder groups to support your advance planning. Just prior to each candidate’s visit to campus we will share background information about the candidate and the candidate-specific survey link.

Our Head of School selection process is an important step into our future together. We are grateful for your interest and participation in this process.

Warm regards,

Tina DeSaussure, Grade 2 Teacher
Search Committee Co-Chair

Micah Nicolo, Board of Trustees Member
Search Committee Co-Chair

January 24, 2024: Head of School Search Committee Update

Dear Austin Waldorf Community,

As you are all aware, Mark Gerhardstein has served as our Interim Head of School through the 2023-2024 school year. Mark is a grandparent of four Waldorf students, a Board of Trustee member, and the school’s beekeeper. Mark has been thoughtful, structured, and caring in his approach as our Head of School. It is with sincere gratitude that we thank Mark for his dedicated service to our school and our community.

It is also with great earnestness that we have taken on the task of finding the right leader to serve as our next Austin Waldorf Head of School. Please let us update you on our progress.

Over the past few months Carney, Sandoe, and Associates, our executive search firm, has actively been recruiting Head of School candidates on our behalf. Our search consultant spent considerable time carefully reviewing each application and speaking directly to the candidates before referring to us a select set of ten exceptional candidates for the committee to consider.

The search committee has reviewed these applications and is now preparing to conduct virtual interviews with each of the candidates over the next few days. These interviews will help us gain a better understanding of each of their unique strengths, experiences, and visions for our school, and ultimately help us select the set of candidates that we will invite for on-campus visits in February.

After this step is completed, the search committee will invite this smaller pool of finalists for an extended on-campus visit in February. These visits will give the candidates an opportunity to experience Austin Waldorf School in action. Additionally there will be opportunities for various groups of our community to engage with them during their visits.

These February on-campus visits (dates still to be confirmed) will give both the candidates an opportunity to experience Austin Waldorf School in action and allow our community to engage with them. Please look forward to more correspondence regarding possible events to get to know our candidates.

Following the on-campus visits and final interviews, the search committee will make a recommendation to our Board of Trustees, the body which has the ultimate responsibility of employing the Head of School. We are confident that we will find a candidate who shares our commitment to the principles of Waldorf Education, as well as our dedication to academic excellence, student and faculty engagement, and community involvement. We anticipate having our new Head of School on board by this summer.

Please note that the entire selection process must be undertaken with the utmost confidentiality. Our committee members must maintain strict confidentiality throughout this process about the candidates and the screening process.

Please continue to look for updates from us. You can also refer to the Head of School Search page on the Austin Waldorf School website for up-to-date information on the search. We appreciate your dedication to our school and our community and look forward to working with and for you to ensure a bright and promising future for the Austin Waldorf School.

With warm regards and on behalf of the entire search committee,

Tina DeSaussure, Grade 2 Teacher
Search Committee Co-Chair

Micah Nicolo, Board of Trustees Member
Search Committee Co-Chair

November 29, 2023: Carney Sandoe & Associates Posts Position Description

With input from the Austin Waldorf Community, Carney Sandoe & Associates posted the HOS Position Description on their website.

November 8, 2023: Board of Trustees Announces New Head of School Search

Dear Austin Waldorf Community,

It is hard to believe Michaelmas is behind us, lantern walks are in full swing, and winter sports are about to begin. We are energized by the buzz of activity on campus and the joyful sounds of learning children across our campus and we are grateful to Mark Gerhardstein for taking on the role of Interim Head of School. This letter will share our plans for filling the role with the next permanent Head of School.

The Board has been busy making plans to have a new Head of School in place and ready to start next Summer (2024). To that end, we have formed a Search Committee to research and vet candidates and make a recommendation to the Board. The Search Committee consists of a diverse and inclusive mix of individuals from across our community:

  1. Tina DeSaussure: Co-Chair and College of Teachers (G2)
  2. Bryan Carruthers: Co-chair / Board
  3. Kathy Rogers: College (G4)
  4. Hans Staats: College (HS)
  5. Joshua Wisenhunt: College (HS)
  6. Katie Moran: Board & College
  7. Michael Johnson: Board
  8. Micah Nicolo: Board
  9. Raghda Daftedar: Board
  10. Jayme Bomben: Board

In addition, our Interim Head of School Mark Gerhardstein and our College Co-Chair Carol Toole are working with the committee as advisors on various aspects of the efforts. We are grateful to each of the individuals and their willingness to serve.

After considering whether the School should engage an external search firm or lead the search process without engaging outside support, we concluded that our school would benefit from having a nationally recognized search firm engaged. After evaluating a comprehensive list of consultants, we have retained Carney, Sandoe & Associates (CS&A) to partner with us on the search. CS&A is a national firm recognized as a leader in search work for independent schools.

Our lead consultant from CS&A is Skip Kotkins, who has worked with many Waldorf Schools on search assignments, including Austin Waldorf. His familiarity with our school’s experience and leadership needs, coupled with his experience working with Waldorf schools nationally, will give him the context to support us in identifying candidates that meet our expectations and to help us find the right HOS for our future.

The first step in the process is to create a position description that reflects our community’s hopes for the future of our school and what personal characteristics we desire in our next Head. We want to hear from you. Please take a few moments to fill out the our online survey at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/AustinWaldorfSurvey.

The survey is open now and will close on Thursday, November 16, so please do not delay. In addition, Skip will have hold Zoom calls across with our Board, College, faculty, Parent Ssociety members, and our Administrative team to add additional detail and color.

While your input now is very important in helping craft the position description, you will also play an important role toward the end of the process when our final candidates visit our school. At that time, you will be invited to forums where you can meet the candidates, ask them questions, and provide your impressions as important input to the Search Committee as they deliberate among candidates. Those visits will take place after the first of the new year, and we hope to complete the process by February 2024.

If you would like to recommend candidates, or otherwise get in contact with the search Search Committee, please send us a message to: searchcommittee@austinwaldorf.org with “HOS Search Committee” in the title of the email.

Thanks in advance for your important role and participation in this process. We are excited about the bright future for Austin Waldorf and are confident that we will find the right leader, and that together, we can take the school to our exciting future.

Warm regards,

Bryan Carruthers
President, Board of Trustees
Austin Waldorf School

“I appreciate the respect for one another that is fostered, the values that are taught, the community for both children and parents, and the spirit of play and creativity evoked in every child.”