Head of School Search

Dear Malvern Prep Community, I am sending this note to give a detailed update on the ongoing Head of School search. On the weekend of December 11 and 12, semi-finalist candidates from our national search were each interviewed virtually by six members of the Head of School Search Committee (HOSSC), including myself, Dave Frank ’91 P’20’25, Kathy Oates P’18, Marissa Cherian P’22, Mike Meehan ’03, and Michael Riordan ’73. With the permission of the candidates, the interviews were recorded so that other members of the HOSSC could watch the interviews prior to our finalist selection meeting on Thursday, December 16th. Each semi-finalist candidate was asked the same set of questions by the same HOSSC members. The interview questions were aligned to the criteria that were prioritized and selected by all of us earlier this year in the Malvern Prep community survey. Specifically, the questions were as follows: Strategic vision for Malvern Prep and interest in the Malvern role: What is your overall assessment (including key strengths and developmental areas) of Malvern Prep and your vision for it? Why Malvern for you? And why you for Malvern?  Strong alignment with the Augustinian Mission and Catholic values: Tell us about what the Malvern mission means to you. Moreover, tell us how you live in accordance with this mission currently and how you would inspire and hold others accountable for doing so as Head of School.  Academic excellence and the Malvern academic model: What is your vision for the next step in student-centered learning and pedagogy? How should a private school like Malvern measure the "success" of education? Please be specific, and discuss your experience in this area. How would you define and refine the value proposition of an all-boys, independent, and Augustinian school? People leadership: Imagine completing your first year at Malvern Prep as Head of School. How would the various stakeholders describe your leadership style?  How would your references and others that know you well describe your leadership style? Operational excellence: What does operational excellence look like to you? What aspect of our growth plan most energizes you? What aspect gives you the greatest pause regarding your ability to deliver desired results? Related, how would you leverage your leadership team to drive results? Please give specifics from your professional experience. Financial sustainability - value, affordability, and financial flexibility: Independent schools are increasingly focused on financial sustainability. How would you imagine partnering with the Board of Trustees to ensure Malvern's financial sustainability? What would be your top 3 areas of focus to achieve financial sustainability? Why? This rich set of questions led to productive conversations with each of our semi-finalist candidates. The HOSSC ranked candidates based on the responses to these questions, and individual rankings were discussed when we convened on Thursday, December 16th. I am happy to report that in that meeting the HOSSC selected finalist candidates to make in-person visits to campus for their final interviews. The campus visits will occur on non-overlapping days in early to mid-January. The campus visits will include meetings with various stakeholders in the Malvern community.  The HOSSC is approaching the final phase in this search process, and I thank each of its members for their tireless love of and commitment to Malvern Prep.  My wife Elizabeth and I wish you and your family and friends a most Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.  Sincerely,

Joe Davis '90 P’21 Chair, Malvern Prep Board of Trustees

Dear Malvern Community,

In our continuing effort to keep you up to date on the efforts with the search for our next Head of School, I am happy to share with you the following.

Throughout the fall our consultants have been hard at work recruiting high-quality candidates for our consideration to become the next Head of School. A particular strength of Carney Sandoe and Associates is its knowledge of educational leaders across the country. As part of their vetting of individuals, our consultants ask several questions, here are two examples:

The Head of School will be expected to be a practicing Catholic who will serve as a spiritual leader within the community and promote and exemplify their values. How does your own spiritual background connect you to the Augustinian values?

Malvern Prep's students and teachers talk about the brotherhood that exists at the school. Could you please highlight the advantages of an all-boys school and discuss the areas that may need close attention to make sure that every boy feels a sense of belonging. 

The Search Committee is poised to review the selected group of files in early December at which point it will decide which candidates will undergo a 75-minute interview. As part of the planning for these interviews, the Committee has focused on formulating questions that will identify the individuals with the qualities who can lead our school. It is critical that we identify a person with vision, who embraces Augustinian pedagogy and who will inspire all members of our community.

We expect to invite finalists to campus in early January where each will meet with different representative groups. Consistent with our timeline, we expect to be able to announce our next Head of School to the community in February.

This schedule allows for the school to operate as normal, gives us ample time to plan a transition and capacity to honor and celebrate the great work of Father Reilly.

Please feel free to reach out to me or any member of the HOS Search Committee should you have any questions.  Best wishes for a peaceful and restful Thanksgiving.

Thank you,

Joe Davis '90 P’21
Chair, Malvern Prep Board of Trustees

Dear Malvern Community,

In our continuing effort to keep you up to date on the Board's efforts with the search for our next Head of School I am happy to share with you the following.

At the Board meeting on Tuesday September 28, our Carney Sandoe consultants, Bob Vitalo and Brandon Jacobs, met with the entire Board to update them on the progress so far, to hear from Trustees their thoughts on the challenges ahead for the school, and to gather their input on the qualities needed in the next head of school. It was a fruitful and productive session and Bob and Brandon left with a clear vision of what is needed to implement our vision of Augustinian education.

As you know we invited the entire Malvern community to take part in this process by participating in an online survey. I am very proud to report that over 500 members of our community took the time to thoughtfully communicate their views and hopes about the school and its next leader. The results were studied by our consultants who used the information to further refine the position description which will be shared with potential candidates.  Survey findings were also shared with members of the Search Committee and the Board of Trustees. 

We want to share with you the important takeaways from the survey:

Asked which three phrases best describe what you value most about Malvern Prep, the community answered:

• Academic excellence in student centered learning
• The School's sense of community
• Teaching of Augustinian Catholic values

When asked what the most important professional experience for the next Head of Malvern Prep to have, over 75% of respondents answered:

• Educational leadership and administration

When asked what the three priorities for improvement should be for the next Head of Malvern Prep, the community answered:

• Enhancing academic excellence and student academic outcomes
• Recruiting, retaining, and compensating high-quality teachers
• Strategic planning for the future, including financial sustainability

These results were very gratifying and will fuel our efforts.  

After spending two days on campus,  studying the online survey results,  and meeting with Trustees our consultants have prepared the position description which can be accessed here.

We are committed to making sure that you are aware of the latest activities in filling this most important position. 

Please feel free to reach out to me or any member of the HOS search Committee should you have any questions.

Thank you,

Joe Davis '90 P’21
Chair, Malvern Prep Board of Trustees

Dear Malvern Community,

I hope you have had a restful summer. Now that Malvern Prep is back in session, it is wonderful to see the boys on campus again. 

I’d like to provide you with an update on several items about the Head of School search. 

A Head of School (HOS) Search Committee commenced meetings in August with the ultimate responsibility of recommending a candidate to the Board of Trustees for approval as the next Head of School for Malvern Prep. This recommendation will be made in conjunction with the Prior Provincial.

The HOS Search Committee is comprised of 11 members of the Malvern Prep community. The criteria for selection on the committee were: (a) being an active representative of two or more critical Malvern Prep constituencies (including, Faculty and Staff, Parents, Alumni, Board of Trustees, and the Augustinian Order), and/or (b) being familiar with the latest advances in Malvern’s academic student-centered learning model and willing to commit significant time to the committee.

I am grateful to the following individuals for being part of the HOS Search Committee along with myself:

• Father Rob Hagan, O.S.A. T (representative of the Prior Provincial, deep experience in the educational sector, experience in HOS search, and Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees);
• Neha Morrison P’23 (Director of Human Resources, Parent, and deep experience leading executive search in the educational sector);
• Dave Frank '91 P'20’25 T (Alumnus, Parent, and Co-Vice Chair of Board of Trustees);
• Kevin Traynor, Jr. '86 P'14'16'18'21'22 T (Alumnus, Parent, and Co-Vice Chair of Board of Trustees);
• Marissa Cherian P’22 T (Parent, Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees, and experience in executive search);
• Kathy Oates P’18 T (Former Parent, Board of Trustees, and deep industry experience in executive search);
• Ann Coia (Faculty-elected representative for Malvern Prep);
• Shonda Little P’23 T (Parent and Board of Trustees member);
• Michael Meehan ’03 (Alumnus and President of the Alumni Association);
• Michael Riordan ‘73 PT (Alumnus, former Board of Trustee, experience in HOS search, and active participant in Malvern’s student-centered learning, taught several J-terms at Malvern)

Secondly, I wish to let you know that a subcommittee of the HOS Search Committee researched and interviewed several professional search firms to assist with our HOS search. After some deep research, Carney Sandoe & Associates has been selected to help lead our search with Mr. Bob Vitalo as the lead consultant. 

Carney Sandoe brings a depth of knowledge to the independent and Catholic market and the Delaware Valley. The firm has led searches for many of our direct competitors, including The Haverford School, Saint Joseph’s Prep, La Salle, as well as other Inter-Ac schools. Carney Sandoe is deeply experienced with handling searches for top independent, private, Catholic schools like ourselves and ones that have strong internal candidates.

More details will be forthcoming, but I wanted to ensure you were aware of the latest activities in filling this most important position. 

Please feel free to reach out to me or any member of the HOS search Committee should you have any questions.

Thank you,

Joe Davis '90 P’21
Chair, Malvern Prep Board of Trustees

Dear Malvern Prep community:

For those of you I have not yet had the privilege of meeting, my name is Joe Davis and I was recently elected Chair of the Board of Trustees for Malvern Prep. I am a 1990 graduate of Malvern Prep and a proud parent of a recent Class of 2021 graduate. Like yourself, Malvern holds a special place in my heart. 

I write today knowing that you, no doubt, have read Father Reilly’s message yesterday regarding his decision to step down as Head of School at the end of this coming academic year.  By June 2022, we will have benefitted from five years of his vision and leadership. On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I can say wholeheartedly that we are incredibly grateful for Father Reilly’s contributions, which have manifested themselves in myriad ways, physically and spiritually, throughout our school community.  It is our commitment as stewards of Malvern Prep to ensure that the process we pursue in our search for the next Head of School builds on his extraordinary legacy and all that we’ve accomplished together as a community.

While this news may come as a surprise, rest assured that Father Reilly and the Board of Trustees have been discussing succession planning as a matter of course at our regular Board of Trustee meetings. In the months ahead, the Board of Trustees will follow a thorough and thoughtful process in identifying the most desired criteria and qualifications for our next Head of School. This process will solicit input from all stakeholders of the Malvern Prep community. You will be able to find pertinent updates to the search process on our dedicated Head of School Search page.

The good news in all of this is that we will be making this year-long transition at a time of considerable strength and vitality, and that is due, in large part, to Father Reilly’s leadership. I believe Saint Augustine was smiling on Malvern Prep nearly five years ago when Father Reilly accepted the position as our Head of School. Malvern has been blessed to have such a strong and empathetic leader during COVID-19, and the extraordinary engagement of Malvern students and the faculty is a reflection of the community and team that Father has helped lead these past four years. It is not a coincidence that, under Father Reilly’s tenure, Malvern is increasingly viewed as the leading Independent, Catholic, and Augustinian school in the country. 

As we move forward with this transition in Malvern’s centennial anniversary of our beautiful school and campus, we will look forward to many opportunities to celebrate and thank Father Reilly for his tremendous service and contributions over the coming year.

In the meantime, I wish you a safe and relaxing summer and look forward to seeing you back on our campus this fall.

Sincerely,

Joe Davis ’90 P’21
Chair, Malvern Prep Board of Trustees

Dear Malvern Community,

I hope these long-awaited days of summer find you and your family enjoying what we missed last summer-extended family gatherings, travel, ceremonies postponed, and all the things that bind us to one another. Four years ago this month, I began my journey as Head of School of Malvern Prep. Around the time of my installation in the fall of 2017, I wrote that it is a sacred and privileged task to create an environment in which young men learn about the world in which they live, come to know themselves and God in the process, and live a life with and for others. I said then that this labor of love is modeled in our patron, St. Augustine, and it is supported by my brother Augustinians, dedicated colleagues on our Board of Trustees, the Leadership Team, Faculty, Staff, and all of you; and that I was honored to play a part, at the behest of the Board, in elevating and enhancing Malvern’s Independent, Catholic, and Augustinian identity.

Reflecting on these last several years, all of that remains true, even more so.  Our mission as an Independent Augustinian School is strongly centered on academics, self-knowing, God’s presence in our lives, service, Brotherhood, and a love of lifelong learning. We have unpacked the words and writings of St. Augustine to guide us through every day. From the opening of the St. Augustine Center for Social Impact and a transformation of our campus to our focus on student-centered, project-based learning supported by an academy model of Faculty and Staff to addressing our communally shared need for diversity, inclusivity, and equity, Malvern has met important challenges to preserve its place as an outstanding academic institution. Managing through a pandemic together was, of course, no small feat, but we’ve done that, keeping our young men safely engaged in the classroom, in their athletic pursuits, and in their service to one another and the community. 

For these reasons and the fact that I will be seventy-five on my next birthday, a personal reflection on my current role at Malvern presented itself.  As a result of that reflection, and in consultation with the Prior Provincial of the Province of St. Thomas of Villanova and the Board of Trustees of Malvern, I have reached the decision to bring my tenure as Head of School to a close at the conclusion of the 2021-2022 Academic Year. My time at Malvern has been an extraordinary experience thanks to the exceptional people in our community-my fellow Augustinians, our young Friars and their families, Alumni, Benefactors, Faculty, Staff, Board members, and countless others who give of themselves for the betterment of our school.  I look forward to the coming academic year with great anticipation. I commit myself to a year of continued growth in all dimensions of our school so that my successor will be able to approach new horizons for our beloved school with courage and confidence. I know our Board will be as thorough and thoughtful in their selection process for the next Head of School as they were nearly five years ago when I was fortunate enough to come to this important work.  

At the beginning of my journey at Malvern, I said that I hoped to have a positive impact upon our communal values of character development and faith formation while relentlessly pursuing the best academic experience possible for our students. I was also looking forward to playing a small part in having our Students, Families, Faculty, and Staff enjoy being in the company of one another.  I believe we’ve done that, and my thanks go to all of you for making it true. As always, I ask for your prayers and I assure you of mine.

In Augustine,
Fr. Reilly