Associate Head of School

Position Statement
Associate Head of School

Start Date: July 1, 2024

Moravian Academy
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

OVERVIEW

As the ninth oldest independent school in the
na/on and premier independent school in the
Lehigh Valley, Moravian Academy is seeking a
new Associate Head of School. Today’s Moravian
Academy offers every student more ways to
explore—and become—their most authen/c and
successful self. On three inten/onally dis/nct yet
philosophically united campuses, we celebrate,
support, challenge, and learn from each other,
preparing young people to step confidently
toward the college and the future of their choice,
and to make a meaningful difference in their local
and global communi/es.

Founded in 1742, Moravian Academy is a
Preschool through Grade 12 coeduca/onal
college preparatory school comprising over 900
students and 200 faculty and staff on three
dis/nct campuses across the Lehigh Valley, each
tailored to a dis/nct student experience and
culture:

• The Historic Downtown Campus

(preschool-grade 8), situated alongside
the na/onal historic landmark in the
heart of the City of Bethlehem.

• The Swain Campus (preschool-grade 8), a

22-acre contemporary campus in the
beau/ful west end of Allentown.

• The Merle-Smith campus (grades 9-12)

situated on 120 acres of bucolic green
expanse in Bethlehem township.

The Associate Head of School at Moravian
Academy will inherit a special opportunity.
Moravian is a school with a storied history and is
commiZed to /meless tradi/ons and values, with
its sights on the future. There is a visionary,
strategic, and experienced head of school. There
is a talented and dedicated faculty. There are
mo/vated, curious, and compassionate students
who take pride in both accep/ng and celebra/ng
one another in a warm inclusive community.
There are signature academic and experien/al
programs including, a Spanish Immersion
program on the Historic Downtown Campus,
Public Speaking and Experien/al Learning on the
Swain Campus, and the Comenius Project
(honors independent study) on the Merle-Smith
Campus. In addi/on, a robust number of co-
curricular and extracurricular ac/vi/es are
available for students across all three campuses.

Moravian Academy
Associate Head of School Position Statement

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MISSION

Moravian Academy’s mission empowers us to become
limitless learners as we discover new ideas and create
new self-expressions. We do more than check boxes; we
celebrate the unique poten/al of every individual. Our
path to academic excellence harnesses the teachable
moments of both success and failure, as we explore the
complexi/es of our world with curiosity, confidence, and
compassion. Our commitment to courageous
conversa/ons means that we ac/vely learn from and
support the different iden//es we embody, we respect
each other’s views, and we lead with head and heart.
Immersed in an environment of love and understanding,
our students answer the ques/ons: “Who am I and who
can I become?

• Note: A mission-vision task force is working on an

updated, more succinct mission and vision for the
Academy that will be rolled out later this year.

DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION, &
JUSTICE

The Moravian Academy Board of Trustees believes
that educa/onal excellence depends upon
understanding and valuing the unique way each
member of the Moravian Academy community
experiences our shared human journey. To that end,
the Board is commiZed to ensuring that all families
and staff feel welcomed as members of the
community and suppor/ng efforts of the school to
provide students with the skills needed to process
mul/ple perspec/ves with civility and respect in the
spirit of love and understanding. As part of the
Board-specific strategic plan, the Board of Trustees
has created a Board DEIB commiZee to lead trustee
educa/on on the topic of DEIB and support the
administra/on in this work in a comprehensive
way. During the 2023-24 school year, the school is
partnering with a consultant to work with the
administra/on to complete a DEIB audit, which
includes educa/on for administrators, trustees and
employees, and a review of curriculum, policies and
procedures with a goal to strengthen a community of
belonging.

A Director of Community, Inclusion and Belonging
works with faculty Diversity Coordinators on each
campus to promote a community of belonging. The
all-campus theme for the 2023-24 school year is
“Architects of Belonging” and faculty and staff across
all three campuses are commiZed to suppor/ng an
environment where all individuals feel valued,
respected and psychologically safe as members of
the community. A new Bias Educa/on & Response
System has been developed to create a response and
system that is equally proac/ve and responsive to
incidents of bias and iden/ty-based harms. It seeks to
create an “upstander” culture on our campuses. This
new system centers preven/ve, inten/onal and
research based best prac/ces for psychological safety
and rela/onal discipline protocols. It provides clear
protocols for repor/ng incidents of bias and
interrup/ng bias when it is occurring.

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Moravian Academy
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Moravian Academy
Associate Head of School Position Statement

A NEW STRATEGIC PLAN

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Associate Head of School Position Statement

A year in the making, the strategic plan was developed to
provide a long-range view of future school priori/es
created through a highly inclusive and par/cipatory
process. A sixteen-member Strategic Planning Execu/ve
CommiZee, comprised of faculty, trustees,
administrators, alumni and students led the process.
They then invited over 100 community members to
par/cipate on design teams to propose ini/a/ves for
considera/on rooted in research. The final strategic plan
has been organized into three key areas of focus:
Enhance Our Founda/on; Expand Our Impact; and
Elevate Our Sustainability.

Key academic ini/a/ves in the strategic plan include:

• Establish key indicators of academic outcomes

and consistency across campuses aiming to
provide the best founda/onal framework for
developing future leaders.

• Enhance the quality and effec/veness of project-

based and experien/al learning across our
campuses to improve learning outcomes and
prepare students for the future.

• Design and establish a Center for Civic Leadership

and Innova/on with signature programs in:

o leadership training and development,
o civil discourse,
o exponen/al technologies, and
o environmental and climate change studies.

• Design and implement learning support for giked

and non-tradi/onal learners.

The Associate Head of School will play a key role in the
development and implementa/on of these academic
ini/a/ves.

Visit the school’s website to learn more about the
strategic plan.

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Associate Head of School Position Statement

THE ACADEMIC PROGRAM

With three campuses–one for high school students
and two that each support students in preschool-8th
grade, Moravian Academy offers programs that are
inten/onally dis/nct, yet philosophically united.
In inspiring spaces resounding with our na/on’s
history, Historic Downtown Campus students build
academic prowess and personal character
simultaneously. Students are challenged by
transforma/ve, engaging signature programs, like
Spanish Immersion and Suzuki Strings. They are
embraced by the warmth of the community and
Moravian tradi/ons, including a weekly chapel service
in a historic building where George Washington and
Samuel Adams once worshiped.

On the twenty beau/ful acres of the Swain Campus on
the west end of Allentown, children delve into
energizing outdoor experiences and confidence-
building performances. This secular, project-based
curriculum fosters academic exper/se, crea/ve
problem-solving, compassionate leadership, and a
profound love of learning.

The programs of the Historic Downtown and Swain
Campuses ensure students emerge as ethical,
proac/ve, and thoughmul learners and leaders,
thoroughly prepared for our Upper School. The
dis/nc/ve college-like atmosphere of our Merle-
Smith Campus provides a seong in which students
pursue their own interests, talents, ambi/ons, and
leadership capaci/es. Guided and inspired by expert
faculty members, students engage in complex
coopera/ve projects and advanced independent
research. Students celebrate beloved tradi/ons and
further develop personal passions and curiosi/es,
stretching beyond their comfort zone to explore
academics, the arts, athle/cs, affinity groups—or all
of them at once. Students increasingly take charge of
their educa/on and graduate ready to excel in the
college and future of their choice. Moravian Academy
offers Upper School students a challenging college
preparatory program. The Upper School offers fikeen
Advanced Placement courses and several addi/onal
Honors elec/ves. This past year, seven Moravian
students achieved finalist or semifinalist status in the
Na/onal Merit Scholarship compe//on. The School’s
college placement record is strong but, more
importantly, Moravian students excel at any college
and university at which they find themselves. A
Moravian senior recently commented, “Moravian
prepares students for the workload, expecta/ons of
wri/ng and knowledge, and academic performance
of college."

Moravian Academy takes full advantage of
opportuni/es generated by being a Preschool
through Grade 12 ins/tu/on. While the Merle-Smith
Campus is dedicated to upper school students, there
are numerous opportuni/es for upper school
students to engage with the younger students from
the other campuses and for younger students to have
access to outstanding role models. All Moravian
seniors serve as buddies for first grade students and
pair up with them for the annual Red, White & Gold
games, Halloween Parade, and other events. There
are also numerous addi/onal mentoring
opportuni/es that span from extracurricular to co-
curricular programs.

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Associate Head of School Position Statement

The Educa/onal Leadership Team collaborates to lead and
advance the academic program and student experience
across all campuses. The team ensures that while the
student experience may be different across the campuses,
the overarching values of the school, skill building, and
support are consistent. A key component to ensure
consistency in the skill building will be guided by the
Portrait of a Graduate, which is in the process of being
finalized. The portrait, along with the school’s core values,
will soon be finalized and are slated to be approved by the
Board of Trustees in November with a community roll out
in January. It represents our aspira/ons for all our
students, and highlights the skills and habits of mind that
we believe are crucial for success in a rapidly changing and
complex world. While mastering all of these skills is a loky
goal, we believe that striving, failing, and recommiong to
them is an essen/al component of personal growth. Key
skill sets in the portrait are likely to include: Resilient &
Adventurous Learners; Cri/cal & Crea/ve Thinkers;
Collabora/ve & Confident Communicators; Empathe/c &
Compassionate Leaders; and Ethical, Inclusive & Global
Ci/zens.

Moravian Academy is proud of its long track
record of success guiding its students through
the college placement process and the
current college counseling staff has earned
the plaudits of the Moravian parents. The
college counselors, recently called by one
Moravian senior as “AMAZING”, view
themselves as educators, first and foremost,
who use the college admission process as yet
another opportunity to empower Moravian
students to grow, explore and take ownership
of their search, eventually making informed
decisions about a college or university that
will suit their talents, interests, and career
plans. College counseling staff also offer
parents comprehensive and informed
assistance about the latest trends in order to
ease the anxiety and demys/fy the college
admissions process. They do so by offering a
series of developmentally appropriate
seminars, parent informa/on nights, guest
speakers, panel discussions, individual
student and family mee/ngs, and other
programming.

Moravian graduates enroll in renowned
colleges and universi/es across the country
and, more importantly, flourish at even the
most rigorous of them as a result of their
academic prepara/on, their habits of mind,
their character, and their experience as
inveterate contributors on a campus. In short,
Moravian graduates serve to encourage these
selec/ve schools to give Moravian candidates
careful considera/on every year.

COLLEGE PLACEMENT

ATHLETICS AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION

Moravian Academy believes that athle/cs and physical
educa/on are an integral part of the Upper School
student experience. Students are expected to become
knowledgeable about and commiZed to maintaining a
sound, healthy body, and to develop physical skills that
will permit them to enjoy compe//ve sports. The
School’s strong physical educa/on programs are
complemented by 48 teams across 15 sports and begin
in middle school. The program provides the opportunity
to improve skills, build confidence, learn teamwork,
prac/ce good sportsmanship and enjoy healthy
compe//on. The par/cipa/on rate in team sports is
high (80%); a separate health and physical educa/on
class is required of all students. The Athle/c Director,
who reports to the Head of School, oversees Physical
Educa/on and Athle/cs across all three campuses and
works with Athle/c Coordinators on the Historic
Downtown and Swain Campuses to implement middle
school programs.

Moravian Academy is a member of the Colonial League,
District XI, and the Pennsylvania Interscholas/c Athle/c
Associa/on (PIAA). Moravian Upper School teams and

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Associate Head of School Position Statement

students have garnered considerable recent success.
In the 2022-23 school year, the Boys soccer team, for
example, won the State Championship and both the
Boys and Girls soccer teams won the Districts. The
Girls field hockey team were District semifinalists. The
Boys Golf team is the reigning Colonial League
Champions. A Moravian senior golfer was the Colonial
League and District champion and finished 4th in the
State. The Girls tennis team were District Champions.
A Moravian senior Girls tennis player won the
Districts. A Moravian freshman Girls Cross Country
runner was crowned State champion.

Athle/c facili/es on the Merle-Smith campus are
outstanding. The 40,000 square foot Athle/c and
Wellness Center includes two basketball courts, a
mul/-purpose gym, and a well-equipped fitness center
with strength and cardiovascular training equipment,
as well as athle/c training facili/es staffed by St.
Luke’s Health Network. Outdoor facili/es include
game fields for soccer, field hockey, and lacrosse,
baseball and sokball diamonds, tennis courts, and
associated prac/ce fields.

THE ARTS
In a recent survey, when students were asked for
their feedback on the values that were most
important to them, the number one choice was
“crea/vity.” Moravian Academy students are curious
and crea/ve. There are opportuni/es for students on
all three campuses to engage in ar/s/c pursuits, be
they visual or performing arts. The Swain Campus has
a robust theatre, music, and makerspace and art
program, including elec/ves for middle school
students to par/cipate in rock bands. The annual 8th
grade chair project is a beloved tradi/on, where
students create ar/s/c representa/ons to convey
perspec/ve and philosophy. The Historic Downtown
Campus has a long history of an excep/onal Suzuki
strings program, along with concert and jazz bands, a
handbell choir and chorus. Other visual and
performing arts opportuni/es round out the program
on the Historic Downtown Campus. When students

SUSTAINABILITY
Moravian Academy recognizes that it must do its part to
foster a more sustainable world. On the Merle-Smith
Campus, in addi/on to recycling and compos/ng of food,
there is a buZerfly garden, a robust apiary, and a
community garden. The 40,000 square foot Athle/c and
Wellness Center is LEED cer/fied and the driveway is
constructed with sustainable materials. Wildlife is
abundant on campus, in par/cular bird life including
raptors, migra/ng geese, and owls who enjoy the
environment of Green Pond on campus, a resource that is
available to students to enhance their studies of the
aqua/c environment.

THE POSITION
The Associate Head of School reports directly to the
Head of School serving as the Chief Academic Officer
responsible for providing leadership for the School’s
overall academic program. The Associate Head of
School sits on both the Senior Leadership Team (led
by the Head of School), and the Educa/onal
Leadership Team (that the Associate Head leads with
par/cipa/on by the Head of School). The Head of
School and Associate Head of School maintain a
highly collabora/ve working rela/onship and work
closely together to support members of the
Educa/onal Leadership Team who collec/vely
implement the academic vision and student
experience at Moravian Academy. The Associate
Head of School should have deep experience as an
academic leader with the ability to provide counsel
and mentorship to Campus Directors as they
implement the program on their campuses.

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matriculate to the Merle-Smith Campus, their performing
and visual arts opportuni/es progress toward mastery
with abundant experiences in public performance and
selec/ve performing arts groups. In addi/on, students can
par/cipate in the annual Coffeehouse tradi/on, a
beloved–high end talent show that features diverse
performances to sellout crowds for two nights in a
row. Musicals and Plays are supported by the
community. An annual art show features the talents of the
upper school students, including the pieces produced in
the professional woodshop course—currently featuring
handmade guitars—and pormolio photography, 3D pieces,
and pain/ng and drawing.

Please visit the Moravian Academy website at:
hZps://www.moravianacademy.org to learn more
about the School’s history, mission, tradi/ons,
faculty and students, facili/es, curriculum, co-
curricular and extracurricular programs,
commitment to diversity, equity, and belonging and
commitment to environmental
sustainability.

Du5es and Responsibili5es
The primary du/es and responsibili/es of the Associate
Head of School will include all of the following:

• Guides and leads all aspects of the

Preschool-12th grade academic program
schoolwide.

• Supervises and supports 3 campus directors,

who also maintain a doZed line repor/ng
func/on to the Head of School

• In collabora/on with the Campus Directors,

oversees all facets of faculty recruitment and
hiring to achieve mission-driven hiring
outcomes.

• Collaborates with the Campus Directors to

create and implement a professional growth-
oriented faculty evalua/on program.

• Provides strategic programma/c and budget

oversight for and management of a robust,
mul/-campus faculty professional development
program.

• In collabora/on with the Head of School and

Campus Directors, co-develop and
communicate across cons/tuencies a curricular
vision for the School.

• Leads Educa/onal Leadership Team (Campus

Directors and Assistant Directors) to strengthen
academic con/nuity, enhance curricular and

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Associate Head of School Position Statement

extracurricular programs, and foster curricular
alignment across campuses, divisions and
disciplines.

• Work with campus leadership teams to refine

and finalize Portrait of a Graduate. Use Portrait
of a Graduate to guide the crea/on of Signature
Programs unique to each campus.

• Collaborates with Educa/onal Leadership Team

to assess, document, and develop the curricular
program and recommend teacher professional
development to support the vision, goals and
strategies for school improvement.

• Collaborates with Campus Directors to ensure

appropriate transi/ons for students between
divisions and campuses.

• Collaborates with Campus Directors to guide

department leaders school-wide to include
assistant directors, department chairs, student
support, nursing staff, etc., ensuring they meet
regularly for purposes of coordina/on and
program development.

• Provide support to Campus Directors as needed

with respect to student well-being, behavior,
development and performance.

• Serves as a consultant to Campus Directors in

maZers of classroom management, teaching
methods and school procedures.

• In collabora/on with the Campus Directors,

designs a new teacher orienta/on and support
program, inclusive of a robust year-round
mentoring program.

• AZends special events, officiates at school

events and assemblies.

• Collaborates with the Head of School and

Leadership Team to update the Student and
Parent Handbook and Employee Handbook.

• Maintains exper/se through Professional

Development.

• Iden/fies and builds rela/onships with partner

organiza/ons in support of the school’s mission.

• Partners closely with the Head of School and

stands in for them when necessary.

• Performs other du/es as assigned by the Head

of School.

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Associate Head of School Position Statement

CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES

The next Associate Head of School should be
prepared to support a dynamic and innova/ve Head
of School and collaborate with a forward thinking and
devoted school community to fulfill the School’s
mission and to lead wisely and boldly by embracing
current challenges and seizing new opportuni/es.
These challenges and opportuni/es include but are
not limited to the following:

• A key value of faculty, students and parents is

community. The Associate Head of School
will need to build rela/onships with these
cons/tuencies that enhance the sense of
community through appropriate
communica/on, facilita/ng events and
ac/vi/es, and holding all accountable to
fostering an environment of Belonging.
Working with the Director of Community,
Inclusion and Belonging as well as the
Campus Directors will be essen/al, as will
being a highly visible leader, including
welcoming students at carline, and aZending
student athle/c events and performances.

• Moravian Academy is known throughout the

Lehigh Valley as the premier educa/onal
ins/tu/on in the area due to a long history of
high achieving students matricula/ng to top
colleges and universi/es around the country.
With the changing landscape of college
admissions, along with the evolving skill sets
needed to thrive in a complex world
impacted by climate change, ar/ficial
intelligence and poli/cal discord, the next
Associate Head of School will need to partner
with the Head of School, Campus Directors
and other collaborators to examine the
curriculum and create signature programs to
respond to this new reality while maintaining
the school’s reputa/on for academic
excellence.

• The Associate Head of School has the unique

opportunity of serving as the educa/onal
leader of a three-campus school, while

having the support and collabora/on of a Head
of School, and Educa/onal Leadership Team. A
key challenge ahead is to work with these team
members to strengthen the overall academic
program at Moravian Academy, including
ensuring ver/cal curriculum alignment from
Preschool through Grade 12.

• The Moravian Academy faculty includes many

individuals who have taught at Moravian
Academy for decades, along with a number of
rela/ve newcomers. The Associate Head of
School will need to form authen/c rela/onships
with this diverse group of faculty and staff,
mo/va/ng and inspiring them to engage in
ongoing professional growth, evolve in response
to the global challenges that young people face,
and design new innova/ve curriculum and
programs.

• With the 2020 merger of Swain School with

Moravian Academy, there is an opportunity to
strengthen matricula/on from the Swain 8th
grade to the Merle-Smith Campus. In addi/on,
there is an opportunity to raise the visibility of
Moravian Academy’s excellent Upper School
program in the Lehigh Valley. The next Associate
Head of School should be prepared to support
overall enrollment goals by ar/cula/ng the
school’s value proposi/on, communica/ng
regularly with prospec/ve families, and
par/cipa/ng in community events to raise the
profile of the school in the Lehigh Valley.

• Moravian Academy has many high achieving

students, some of who would benefit from the
support of Learning Specialists, others who
would achieve more through the support of a
Giked Coordinator. The next Associate Head of
School will need to assess the current makeup
of the student body to determine how best to
help each student to reach their unique
poten/al and make recommenda/ons to the
Head of School to create a first in class
individualized support program with
appropriate differen/a/on, however, addi/onal
staffing and professional development will be
key.

KEY QUALIFICATIONS AND QUALITIES

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Moravian Academy
Associate Head of School Position Statement

The successful candidate to become the next
Associate Head of School will be a mission and
values driven leader, an experienced academic
administrator and teacher, and will embody and
demonstrate most, if not all, of the following
quali/es, competencies, characteris/cs, and
experiences:

• Master’s Degree or post graduate work in

subject maZer or equivalent with a
preference in educa/on, educa/onal
administra/on, or instruc/on.

• A minimum of five years teaching and

leadership experience in an independent
school environment.

• Demonstrated leadership and facilita/ve

skills.

• Possesses a passion for independent school

educa/on and has demonstrated experience
balancing strong leadership/ discipline of
students in an engaging environment built
on respect and community.

• Ability to balance and priori/ze the needs of

the school.

• A leader and team builder who brings joy,

kindness, maturity, and flexibility to the
school environment, calling individuals into
the work and suppor/ng them in their
development.

• Superb interpersonal, wriZen, and verbal

communica/on skills as well as a proven
ability to work with a diversity of colleagues
and stakeholders at all levels.

• High integrity, commitment to

confiden/ality, and the ability to handle
sensi/ve informa/on with a high degree of
discre/on.

• Ability to supervise and manage mul/ple

func/ons and ac/vi/es.

• Talent for iden/fying, selec/ng, and

retaining outstanding administrators, faculty
and staff as well as supervising and
developing them and encouraging their
professional growth.

• Experience with building and suppor/ng

diverse, equitable, and inclusive
communi/es.

• Personally commiZed to diversity, inclusion,

and belonging, and holding individuals
accountable for discriminatory behaviors or
ac/ons.

• A strategic thinker who sees the larger

picture, can iden/fy and define problems
and implement appropriate
solu/ons.

• Willingness to lead in alignment with the

mission, values, and history of the
school.

• Pedagogical background to evaluate

curriculum and course materials.

• Collaborates well with colleagues of diverse

backgrounds on pedagogical approaches,
curricular alignment and instruc/onal
strategies.

• A very high level of energy, crea/vity, and

flexibility.

• Enthusiasm for personal and professional

growth.

TO APPLY

The deadline for receipt of full applica/on materials is Friday, December 15th. For any ques/ons, please
contact John Green of RG175 at: john.green@rg175.com

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