Dear MFS community,

I am writing to let you know that Barbara Caldwell, a pillar of Quaker education for over 30 years, will be retiring at the end of this school year.

Barbara has served MFS with distinction since 1993, a time of great enrollment and programmatic growth at Moorestown Friends. For the past seven years, she has held the position of Associate Head of School and Academic Dean. In that role, she has been a central figure in the administration of the school, sharing broad duties with me and serving as the leader of the academic program, including curriculum development, faculty hiring and evaluation, and continuing professional education. Prior to serving in that capacity, she was equally successful as Upper School Director and, even earlier, as the Chester Reagan Chairholder in Religious Studies. Barbara makes a huge difference every day at MFS, and finding a worthy successor is a crucially important task.

The Academic Dean and Assistant/Associate Head has primary responsibility for the academic program at MFS (including, as noted above, faculty hiring and professional development), as well as many other important duties and responsibilities. To assist us in the national search for Barbara’s successor, we have retained the firm of Carney, Sandoe & Associates. CS&A is the largest independent school placement agency in the U.S. Our lead consultant at CS&A, Jake Dresden, is the former assistant head at William Penn Charter School, a Friends school in Philadelphia, and has also served as the headmaster of Collegiate School in NYC and Concord Academy in Massachusetts. Jake is a Westtown graduate and understands the Friends school ethos very well.

I am leading a search committee that will interview 6-8 candidates that have been screened for us by CS&A. Although the committee is small, it is broadly representative and includes teachers, staff members, parents, and a trustee. (I have listed below the members of the search committee.) Each of the candidates will visit MFS for a full (and grueling!) day of interviews this month. We anticipate narrowing the field to 2-3 finalists who will revisit the school in January and we hope to be able to make this appointment by February 1, if not sooner.

As our most recent Strategic Plan’s 21st century skills weave their way through the twin pillars of MFS—academic excellence and ethical & spiritual growth—Barbara’s position takes on even greater importance. This opportunity will attract many top candidates from around the country (and indeed from international schools as well), and I am confident we will find a worthy successor.

Please join me in wishing Barbara well in her upcoming retirement. We are beginning to gather memorable stories and reflections about the impact Barbara has had on past and current students, faculty, staff, parents and other members of our community. Please feel free to submit your own reflection.

Sincerely,

Laurence R. Van Meter
Head of School

P.S. We will be providing details later on our plans to honor Barbara Caldwell’s 19 years of outstanding service to MFS.

Search Committee:

Larry Van Meter, Clerk
Kathy Cook, 5th Grade Teacher
Mike Omilian, Math Department Chair
Morgan Gandal, Preschool Teacher
Kelly Goula, Lower School Director
Naoji Moriuchi ’94, School Committee Clerk
Priscilla Taylor-Williams, Chester Reagan Chair for Quaker and Religious Studies
Karen Washington, Director of Multicultural Affairs, English Teacher