Head of School Search
With Head of School Marie Leary’s announcement that she will be departing at the end of June 2025, the Board of Trustees has launched a national search for her successor. As you will read below, the Board has appointed a Head of School Search Committee that includes trustees, parents, and staff who will shepherd the process with the assistance of our search consultant, Jay Underwood of Educational Directions. We will keep this page updated as the search progresses, and we invite you to contact Jay if you have any questions or would like to suggest great educators who might be interested in becoming Sage’s next Head of School.
Head of School Search September 19 Update
Dear Sage School Community Members,
We are excited to share an update on the search for our next Head of School. This past weekend, after an extensive nationwide search over the summer with the assistance of Jay Underwood (EduDx), the Head of School Search Committee interviewed six semi-finalist Head of School candidates on the Sage campus. From these interviews, we selected three finalists: Scott Mattoon, Sandy Lizaire-Duff and Kim Waite. These three professionals emerged as exceptional candidates whom the Search Committee believes hold the highest potential to be an outstanding match for Sage. Please click here to learn more about them.
Families, Trustees, Faculty, and staff will also host the candidates in small group and individual meetings over the course of their visits and will be offered a survey as well to give important feedback about each of them.
We are grateful to you in advance for participating in this process, one that represents the beginning of an exciting new era for The Sage School. We remain grateful always to Marie Leary who continues to lead Sage as we prepare for this transition next summer.
Sincerely on behalf of the Head of School Search Committee,
Trinidad Grange-Kyner
Chair, Board of Trustees
Head of School Search Committee Chair
Head of School Search September 6 Update
Dear Sage School Community,
We hope you had a wonderful summer vacation – it is certainly a joy to have our children back at school!
I write on behalf of the Head of School Search Committee to provide you with an update on our Head of School search. The process is moving forward quickly, and the upcoming weeks will be full of activity.
For parents new to our Sage Community this year, we embarked upon a search with guidance from Jay Underwood of Educational Directions to find our next Head of School who will begin in July 2025 following Marie Leary’s departure next year. As we shared with the community earlier this year, when Marie Leary stepped into the position as Head of School at Sage in 2016, we couldn’t begin to know the incredible impact she would have on our school. We have all benefited from her strong leadership and positive influence on The Sage School community, and the Board of Trustees is so grateful for the years of notice she gave us of her intent to leave at the end of the 2024-2025 school year as it has allowed us to prepare for this search. Marie will continue to lead the school through June 2025. We are so thankful for her continued contributions and look forward to more opportunities to thank Marie between now and her departure in June 2025. If you wish to learn more, you can find information about the search on the Sage website.
Most recently, this past Wednesday, the Head of School Search Committee met to discuss several high-potential candidates, and we have selected 6 semi-finalists with whom the committee will meet on September 14 and 15. Shortly thereafter, we anticipate choosing 2-3 finalists who will visit our Sage campus at the end of September and the beginning of October.
We will include opportunities for your participation in the selection process by inviting you to meet the finalists at Community Coffees at 8:30 am during each of the finalist’s visits. For planning purposes, please pencil in the following dates during which we welcome you to meet with our finalists and provide your feedback prior to the Board’s selection in early October.
Community Coffee Dates
- Tuesday, September 24, 8:30am - 9:15am
- Friday, September 27, 8:30am - 9:15am
- Tuesday, October 1, 8:30am - 9:15am
We will share more information with you after we select our finalists in the middle of September and we look forward to keeping you updated as this exciting process unfolds!
On behalf of the Head of School Search Committee, thank you for your involvement in this process and ongoing support of The Sage School.
Sincerely,
Trinidad Grange-Kyner
Chair, Head of School Search Committee
Chair, The Sage School Board of Trustees
Head of School Search July 8 Update
Dear Sage School Community,
With summer in full swing, I want to share a brief update on the search for Sage’s next Head of School beginning in July 2025.
Our search consultant, Jay Underwood of Educational Directions, has been busy interviewing multiple prospects and has begun to narrow the list to a handful of “high-potential” candidates who will be presented to the search committee for review. Jay tells us the group represents a broad range of independent school leaders from a wide variety of schools, and they are all excited about the prospect of becoming Sage’s next head of school.
Looking ahead, here is a general timeline of the search process:
- July-August: Recruitment and candidate development
- End of August: Search Committee receives high-potential candidate applications
- September: Search Committee selects and interviews semifinalists and chooses finalists
- Late September-Early October: 2-3 finalists visit Sage for two days each to meet and interview with the school community
- Mid-October: Search Committee selects one candidate to recommend to the Board; Board of Trustees meets to approve successful candidate
- Early November: The next Head of The Sage School is announced
I will provide another update on the search’s progress when we return in the fall. On behalf of the Head of School Search Committee, thank you for your commitment to The Sage School and we wish you and your family a wonderful summer.
Sincerely,
Trinidad Grange-Kyner
Head of School Search Committee Chair
Letters From The Head of School and Board Chair
Dear Families,
I write to you today with a mix of emotions as I share some bittersweet news. Back in 2020, I informed the Board of Trustees of my decision to leave Sage at the end of the 2024–2025 school year. With my youngest child preparing to head off to college, it's time for me to embark on the next chapter of my life.
In the years since, the Board and I have been diligently preparing for this transition to ensure that Sage is well-positioned to welcome a new head upon my departure. Succession planning has been a top priority and will remain so over the next 18 months.
I want to express how deeply I will miss Sage and the incredible community we have built together. Below, I've included some sentiments that I shared in a recent email, in case you haven't had the opportunity to read them yet.
As I reflect on my journey spanning more than a decade within the Sage community, I am filled with a sense of gratitude and awe for the exceptional and impactful place it is. Sage stands out not for one single aspect, but for the remarkable synergy among teachers, who see themselves in their students and often express sentiments like, "I wish there was a school like Sage when I was a child." It's the authentic relationships among educators that transcend collegiality, evolving into deep and genuine friendships grounded in shared passions, struggles, and the ultimate goal of nurturing students to be their best selves.
Our administrative team, supported by the Board, is bold and visionary, continually challenging conventional wisdom to explore innovative ways to serve our unique student population. Our families, filled with gratitude for discovering a place where their children thrive, co-create an educational environment that offers endless possibilities.
I recently received an email from a former Sage student who eloquently expressed how Sage instilled in him the confidence to dare as a person and learner, unlike any other school he attended. This testimonial underscores our commitment to creating a nurturing and enriching environment where every child has the opportunity to thrive academically, socially, and emotionally.
Our dedicated faculty and staff are committed to fostering a love for learning while instilling values of integrity, compassion, and curiosity in our students. We understand that sitting with ambiguity and appropriate discomfort is integral to growth, and we equip our students with the resilience and problem-solving skills necessary to navigate significant obstacles now and later in life.
To maintain our competitive edge, we continuously rethink teaching and learning to address the evolving needs of students in a rapidly changing world. Sage is fortunate to reside on over 15 acres of beautiful, wooded land, and through our latest strategic plan, we were able to secure the funds to add The Morahan Low Ropes Elements Course; these new campus features are already being incorporated into the curriculum at every grade level, and beginning in the fall, you will see evidence of these enhancements. The improvements to our facilities are just the beginning of how we are enhancing the overall experience for our community. We look forward to sharing more exciting developments with you.
Daily, I have the privilege to observe student discovery, the excitement inherent in learning, and children who have found friends who appreciate them for their unique contributions. I’m so proud to know that Sage is helping these children on a path to making their part of the world a better place. We are aware and so very grateful that it begins with your commitment to what we do.
I am as invested as ever in the ongoing success of Sage, and look forward to finishing out the next 18 months on a high note.
Warm regards,
Marie
Dear Sage School Community,
When Marie Leary stepped into the position as Head of School at Sage in 2016, we couldn’t begin to know the incredible impact she would have on our school. We have all benefited from her strong leadership and positive influence on The Sage School community. When Marie signed her current contract in 2020, she informed the Board of Trustees at that time of her intent to leave at the end of the 2024-2025 school year. Marie will continue to lead the school through June 2025. By recently completing our reaccreditation process, Marie, her administrative team, and the Board have worked closely to pave the way for Sage to be in an amazing position to welcome in a new future Head of School. The Board is determined to capitalize on this momentum and move forward into this next exciting chapter in the school’s strategic plan, which will further build on Sage’s legacy of achievement.
Under Marie’s exceptional leadership, Sage has firmly established itself as a premier gifted school with a vibrant student body and an expanded local and national presence. Marie's visionary initiatives have not only attracted top-tier faculty but have also led to the establishment of a comprehensive student support team, prioritizing students' mental health and academic access. Furthermore, her strategic decisions have fueled the expansion of campus facilities, including the strategic purchase of the administrative building, allowing for the creation of more flexible learning spaces within the main academic building.
Marie's dedication to enriching experiential education is evident in her successful efforts to secure funds and oversee the construction of a low ropes elements course on campus. Additionally, her collaborative approach to crafting a comprehensive strategic plan has propelled the school into its second year of successful implementation, guiding the community toward ambitious goals related to market expansion and fostering global partnerships.
In partnership with the Board of Trustees, Marie has made remarkable strides in ensuring broader access to Sage through a robust financial aid program. Her unwavering commitment to inclusivity is demonstrated by her efforts to enhance diversity among the faculty, resulting in a notable increase in the number of teachers of color on campus. Furthermore, Marie has instilled a heartwarming culture of kindness through innovative initiatives like the gratitude speech program, empowering every 8th grader to demonstrate leadership by sharing their heartfelt expressions of gratitude with the entire community.
Marie's transformative leadership extends to restructuring the leadership team, creating opportunities for internal advancement. Additionally, she has spearheaded a comprehensive overhaul of the business office, laying the foundation for growth, creativity, and expansion to flourish within the school community. Marie's dedication to academic excellence is further exemplified by her successful leadership in the accreditation process, resulting in commendations for academic excellence and institutional effectiveness.
We are so thankful for these contributions, and look forward to more opportunities to thank Marie between now and her departure in June 2025. More information on our Head of School search will be forthcoming. In the meantime, the Board of Trustees has formed a Head of School Search Committee, which will be working closely with an outside consultant, Educational Directions, to find the best possible candidate to lead Sage after Marie’s departure. We are pleased to announce that Trinidad Grange-Kyner, incoming Board Chair and current parent, will chair that committee with select members of the Board and administration. The Search Committee brings diverse experience, varied skills, and broad community representation to the process, assuring we find the right candidate for Sage. We will strive to run a process that provides many opportunities for various constituent viewpoints, including yours, to be heard. The committee will update community members throughout the process over the coming months.
We look forward to finding our next Head of School to build upon the almost decade of leadership by Marie.
Best regards,
Corinne Morahan, Chair of The Board of Trustees
Head of School Search Committee Members
| Melanie Levesque | Faculty/Staff |
| Lisa Downs | Faculty/Staff |
| Lizzie Inglis | Parent |
| Aswood Bousseau | Parent |
| Jon Hall | Trustee |
| Jessica LeClair | Trustee |
| Donald Edmond | Trustee |
| Lorraine Liebenberg | Trustee |
| Trinidad Grange-Kyner | Trustee |