February 5, 2026

Dear Harbor Community,

On behalf of the Search Committee, I am excited to share with you some important updates on our next Head of School search process.

As noted in our last update, the Search Committee, in partnership with André Withers, our search consultant, has spent the past few weeks reviewing candidates’ resumes and educational philosophies, and, critically, conducting in-depth interviews with our semifinalist pool. Through this process, selected candidates also had meaningful opportunities to learn more about Harbor and what makes our school and community so unique.

As a result of our detailed and rigorous process, we are extremely pleased to announce that we have identified three highly qualified candidates as finalists for our next Head of School. Each finalist will visit Harbor for a day and a half of meetings, including gatherings with faculty, parents, and the Board of Trustees, as well as individual meetings with the administrative team and HFSA leadership.

These visits are your opportunity to get to know these leaders and ask them questions. They are primed to share their personal biographies and high interest in Harbor, in hopes of providing us all with a fuller sense of their alignment with Harbor and our community. As well, they are very interested to meet you all and see for themselves what Harbor is beyond our website and reputation.

Your input is very important, so please mark your calendars and plan to be an active participant in this important step in our search process. At the conclusion of each finalist’s visit, you will receive a brief form to anonymously share your feedback with the Search Committee to support our deliberations.

Below is the schedule for the finalist visits:

• Finalist #1: February 9 – 10, with a Parent Session on Tuesday, Feb. 10 at 9 – 9:45 am in the Chesapeake Room
• Finalist #2: February 17 – 18, with a Parent Session on Wednesday, Feb. 18 at 9 – 9:45 am in the Chesapeake Room
• Finalist #3: February 19 – 20, with a Parent Session on Friday, Feb. 20 at 9 – 9:45 am in the Chesapeake Room

In advance of each finalist’s campus visit, I will send out their brief bios. On behalf of the Search Committee, I ask that you be mindful to respect the confidentiality of our finalists. While it is generally recognized that, at the finalist stage, each candidate’s involvement may no longer be confidential, it is important to remember that the finalists are still connected and committed to their current professional networks. So we ask that you honor their current standing and allow them time to share their own news.

The Search Committee and I sincerely hope that you enjoy the time with each incredible finalist. You all will undoubtedly be a huge selling point for them and, with that in mind, it is vitally important that we welcome them warmly.

I want to extend my profound thanks to André Withers and to our dedicated Search Committee members for the many hours of service they have volunteered to our community to make this a strong selection process. As a result of our thoughtful and diligent efforts, we anticipate being able to announce our next Head of School by the end of this month!

Please do not hesitate to reach out to André or me with any questions.

Sincerely,
Naomi Senkeeto
Chair, Board of Trustees
Co-chair, Search Committee

January 20, 2026

Harbor Community,

With New Year’s behind us and re-entry to the second half of the school year successfully underway, we’d like to provide you with an update on our new Head of School search. 

You’ll recall that we formally launched the search in early December and since then, the leadership opportunity at Harbor has been shared extensively across educational networks throughout the country. As anticipated, interest has been robust. Education leaders from a wide range of schools have submitted their names and credentials, resulting in a diverse and talented pool of Head of School candidates. 

The Harbor Search Committee has been engaged in deep understanding of the mechanics of the search process, establishing the Leadership Profile, participating in implicit bias training and generating Harbor-specific interview questions. With all of that as foundation setting, the Committee is ready for the yeoman’s portion of the search process, which is the getting to know and discerning of candidates. 

A general illustration of the road ahead looks like this…

• The Search Committee will review dossiers the week of January 19.
• They will then meet to deliberate and decide on the slate of semifinalists to interview during the week of February 2.
• The Search Committee will narrow the semifinalists down to three finalists, who will be invited to visit our Harbor campus in mid-February. During these visits, there will be opportunities for everyone, including families, faculty and staff, to meet the finalists. Prior to the campus visits, we will send out brief bios of each finalist. Following each visit, we will send out a brief survey to gather your feedback to share with the Search Committee. 
• Currently, we are anticipating that the search will conclude before March. 

As we move into February, we will provide additional updates and details of the finalist visits. As we’ve established, you can continue to not only find updates here but you’re invited to reach out to Naomi Senkeeto or André Withers should you have any clarifying questions.