We often hear wonderful stories about the accomplishments and plans of our alumni, and it is a source of pride and inspiration for the entire community. We’re always so thrilled to see you on the reunion trips and have welcomed hundreds of you on campus to share your talents and stories with our students. We thank you for the amazing example you continue to set for our community.
Beginning today, and in the years ahead, one of our priorities will be to deepen the communication and connection with you, and seek your guidance and feedback to help Harker continue to be the very best it can be for our current and future students. As former Harker students, you have so much we can learn from your experiences, either as relatively recent graduates, or from more distant perspectives.
To that end, we will be sending periodic surveys to you to get your valuable input. Here is our first survey.
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Our intent is to send this or a similar survey to each alumni class in five-year increments corresponding to reunion years, with a special survey at the end of the first year of college, so that we can see how your reflections on your Harker experience evolve over time. Over the years we have heard many reflections about ways in which Harker prepared you and your classmates for the lives you have today. Your feedback will help ensure that the Harker experience is one that our future alumni will look back on with pride and appreciation. This also creates a regular way to keep the lines of communication open for any suggestions and ideas you may have to help us be the best we can be.
We are happy to report that this first full year back to in-person learning has been fantastic. The energy and excitement continue to be palpable, and the joy of seeing each other again has not faded. Athletic competitions, student performances, spirit activities and the bustle of student life has returned and we couldn’t be more grateful. We also opened our new middle school campus this year, and we have acquired a new property near the old middle school campus on Blackford Avenue which we will be developing in the coming years, primarily as an athletic complex. At the upper school, Butch Keller is retiring after 15 wonderful years. We have just announced the news that Paul Barsky will be taking on the role next year (see excerpt below of the announcement to our current community).
Thank you for your part in building the incredible community that is The Harker School, and for taking a few minutes to give us your valuable feedback. As always, we love to see our alumni whenever they are in the area, and remember that a great Harker lunch awaits you!
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All our best,
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Kristina Alaniz, Director of Alumni Relations
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Brian Yager, Head of School
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Over the past two months we have undertaken a search to find our next upper school division head to follow in the footsteps of Butch Keller, who will be retiring at the end of this academic year. Jennifer Gargano has done an outstanding job leading the search process, and last week she shared the news with the upper school faculty and students that the position has been accepted by Paul Barsky. Mr. Barsky will be joining our community officially on July 1, 2022, and we anticipate that he will be able to visit school this spring as well.
Prior to his appointment at Harker, Mr. Barsky served as head of upper school at Francis Parker School in San Diego and at the Hewitt School in New York and was also head of school at the Pilgrim School in Los Angeles. Before his time in administration, Mr. Barsky taught humanities and worked in summer programs in Asia and in Europe.
During his interview process at Harker, Mr. Barsky met with upper school teachers, counselors, administrators and students. Comments from these groups – as well as from colleagues and parents from his previous schools – reflected a deep appreciation for his experience and leadership and excitement for his arrival at Harker.
As we explored this position during our search this year, we also had the opportunity to rethink the leadership structure at the upper school. In addition to sharing the news about the addition of Mr. Barsky, we are also pleased to share that Kelly Horan, who has been serving as academic dean and pre-college counselor for the upper school, will assume the role of assistant division head for the upper school. In this role, in addition to supporting the division and the students as she has previously done, Ms. Horan will be taking on the leadership of the upper school LIFE program and additional administrative oversight. Aspects of this role will be refined this spring as we review possibilities with the upper school staff.
We are very excited to share this news, though we are also sad to see Mr. Keller retire. Fortunately, we will continue to celebrate his time at Harker, and we have many opportunities ahead to wish him well.
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Copyright © The Harker School 2024. All Rights Reserved.
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