Campus Voices
All School
I’m thrilled to share with the full BB&N community the news that Geoffrey S. Theobald has agreed to become our new Upper School Director, starting the next academic year. We were blessed to have a truly exceptional group of candidates vying to succeed Mr. Jack Knapp as director, and for Mr. Theobald to stand out among them really points to the extraordinary leadership skills, temperament, and connection with students that he possesses.
Mr. Theobald has worked the past five years with high-school students and teachers as head of the Senior Program at Yale University for the Exploration School, a highly regarded non-profit summer enrichment program. (Proving that many great things have BB&N roots, it’s interesting to note that Exploration School was founded by alumnus Arnie Singal ’54!) Mr. Theobald oversaw a faculty of 80 teachers and 40 staff members, was responsible for all academic and extracurricular programming, and built and maintained very successful relationships with students and parents originating from 40 different countries and 40 different states. He mentioned that perhaps his favorite aspect of his role at Explo was the headway he made in his focus on training teachers.
Prior to his tenure at Explo, Mr. Theobald served in a variety of leadership roles during 13 years of working and teaching at his alma mater, Milton Academy. During his last four years there, Mr. Theobald was Academic Dean of the Upper School, directing a robust academic program and ensuring a “high quality of academic life” for 680 students. Leading up to that, he had worked several years as Admissions Director and Financial Aid Director, an experience that played an important part in shaping his perspective of seeing independent schools through the most important lens of all—that of the students who sit in its classrooms. Among the other hats worn by Mr. Theobald were those of Mathematics Teacher, Assistant Dean of Students, and Director of Community Service. He built a formidable and honorable reputation over the course of 10 years as Head Coach of the girls’ soccer team (ISL champions three consecutive years in the late ’90s) and Assistant Coach of the golf team. As a former colleague notes, “Geoff was always the kind of coach who thought first about getting his players to work well together.”
Mr. Theobald holds a Master’s of Social Work degree from the University of North Carolina. He also received his Bachelor of Arts degree in History from UNC, where he was a Morehead Scholar.
As he noted during his visit here, “Independent schools are in my DNA.” True as that is, many people who met Mr. Theobald have remarked that while his talents and his educational philosophy have clearly been influenced in significant ways by his extensive independent school background, he is also not constrained by that experience. A good example of this would be the progressive educational approaches he has helped spearhead in the Explorations program: what one of our faculty members described as his willingness to explore and embrace “new areas of inquiry and engagement for young men and women.”
In his personal statement, Mr. Theobald wrote that “I see my responsibility as working to foster wide bands of excellence that permeate and radiate throughout a community.” What I see in him is a leader who not only understands and respects the myriad factors that make our School so special, but also possesses the vision and expertise that will guide a terrific faculty and student body assuredly into the future.
Of all the qualities demonstrated by Mr. Theobald during his visits and multiple interviews with many members of the BB&N community, we felt the one that most distinguished him was his interaction with our Upper School students. Mr. Theobald showed a rapport with our students, an understanding, that was simply remarkable. One of our students praised “Mr. Theobald’s air of confidence and likability, which is essential to an Upper School Director. Dr. Knapp’s best quality has been that he is accessible and friendly with the students, and I think Mr. Theobald would be a great candidate to fill those shoes.” As a former colleague said of Mr. Theobald, “Geoff is so good with kids and has a way of really bringing out their best and challenging them in ways they might not even know.”
I know that some of you had the chance to meet and talk with Mr. Theobald during his visit here. Your feedback was enormously helpful and, I should note, extremely enthusiastic about how outstanding a fit he is for the Upper School Director position. I’d like to take a moment to cite just a few of the comments we received: “has a deep understanding of the way schools work,” “brings a wonderful mix of ideas and pragmatism,” “very tuned-in to the affective side of students’ growth and education,” and “strikes a nice balance between being comfortable in his decisions but also being very willing to listen.”
I agree!
As you might imagine, Mr. Theobald shares our excitement: “I am simply thrilled to be joining the BB&N community,” he said. “I have been so impressed with the level of care, respect, and commitment all of its members consistently show for the process of learning, and I eagerly anticipate partnering with adults and students alike in helping the School continue to function at the forefront of educational excellence.”
I would like to thank the many people who dedicated their time and care to this important search. These include a host of teachers, staff members, students, trustees, and parents, with special thanks going to the Faculty Advisory Group and our “Blue” and “Gold” parent interview teams.
To sum it up, I am confident that what we have at the happy conclusion to our national search is a leader and a school meeting each other at the ideal time in their respective journeys. I’m quite sure I have a lot of company when I say that I look forward to introducing Mr. Theobald to the BB&N community.
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