Head of School Search

Dear OES Families,

On behalf of the Head of School Search Committee, I am happy to present you with the three finalists we will be meeting with in person over the next couple of weeks. You can read about each finalist in a link that was sent to your email. Login to the Veracross Parent Portal and find this email in your inbox to see the link. All three candidates have strong backgrounds and experience which we believe would make them effective Head of School leaders for OES.

As mentioned in my earlier updates, we have followed a rigorous process beginning with seeking input from the entire OES community on what’s important for our new Head of School. That research and input was compiled into a position profile prepared by our search firm that was used to advertise the open role. From there, we conducted a global search which resulted in significant interest in the position.

Over the last few months, we narrowed down the field of applicants, first to 11 quarter-finalists and then to six semi-finalists. This past weekend, we met with all six semi-finalists and selected three people to come to campus for two-day campus visits. We are moving quickly and are busy this week selecting dates and times with everyone and putting together an intensive schedule for each finalist. Their two-day visits will be filled with tours of campus and various programs, including several meetings with board members, administrators, faculty, department teams, parents, and students. All employees will have the opportunity to join a meeting in the OES Chapel to meet each candidate, and all parents are invited to attend a Zoom session with each finalist.

After each candidate visit concludes, we will solicit feedback from parents by sending an online survey intended for those who had the opportunity to meet them. The Search Committee will meet for the last time and consider all of our interactions with the candidates, survey responses, and reference checks to determine which candidate to recommend to the Board of Trustees to be our next Head of School.

Parent Zoom meeting opportunities with all three finalists are listed in the email sent to parents on April 21. You can find the Zoom meeting links in your inbox in the Veracross Parent Portal, or on your calendar in Veracross. Out of respect for the privacy of this process, these sessions will not be recorded.

As always, please reach out with any questions or feedback. You may contact me anytime at headsearch@oes.edu.

Sincerely,

Paul Ehrlich
Member, OES Board of Trustees
Chair, Head of School Search CommitteeOregon Episcopal School

Dear OES Community,

On behalf of the OES Head of School Search Committee, I want to send you a quick note to let you know that our search is progressing very well. Right before spring break, we narrowed the pool of many strong applicants down to 11 semi-finalists. At the end of March, we further narrowed the list down to six people whom we’d like to get to know further.

In the next couple of weeks, we will be meeting with all six candidates with the goal of selecting three finalists to come to the school and meet with all our key stakeholders, including faculty, staff, students, parents, alumni, and the full Board in May.

Once the finalist is selected and the Board of Trustees votes on the recommended candidate, we will announce our new head in June of this year. Mo Copeland remains our Head of School through June 2023 with the new head beginning in July of that year.

We appreciate all of the input we receive and I welcome your questions about the search process. You may contact me anytime at headsearch@oes.edu.

Sincerely,

Paul Ehrlich
Member, OES Board of Trustees
Chair, Head of School Search Committee
Oregon Episcopal School

Dear OES Community:

I am writing to provide all of you a summary of what has happened since our last update a couple of months ago regarding the OES Head of School Search. I want to start by thanking everyone who participated in one of the listening sessions, completed the online survey, or shared their individual thoughts with me or another member of the Search Committee. We appreciate and value all of the feedback received—thank you!

OES Head Search Committee
I’m pleased to report the Search Committee is coming together well as a team. We met for the first time in October over dinner with the purpose to get to know each other better and build stronger connections. Since then, we have met a few times, most recently to hear feedback from our search consultant’s various listening sessions and online survey results. The seven-member committee brings a variety of perspectives and experiences to the table, and I am confident we will work effectively together in the coming months.

Over 25 Listen and Learn Sessions with OES Community Members
In the first phase of the search, our consultants engaged the OES community in discussions about the School’s future priorities and about the desired profile of the next Head of School. The Board Workshop on October 4 was an important part of their outreach. In addition, the consultants held 10 Listen and Learn sessions for employees, 11 meetings with individual administrators, two open parent sessions, one session with the leadership of the All School Parent Partnership, two meetings with groups of students, and a session for OES alumni.

Community Survey
The online community survey provided another opportunity for the OES community to share their thoughts. For a school our size, our consultants were pleased with the over 200-person response rate of 61 employees and 152 parents.

Overview of Responses
As we reviewed the comments from the Listening Sessions and the Community Survey, it was heartening to see that the OES community shares a love of OES and there is tremendous consistency in what different groups describe as the school’s strengths: a deep appreciation for teachers. They create a caring community in which academic excellence is achieved by attending to the social-emotional learning needs of each child while stimulating their minds intellectually with the opportunity to engage in inquiry-based learning.

There is also a shared belief that, at OES, teachers and students feel known and valued as individuals. Students and their parents often praised the teachers for knowing their children deeply and actively seeking opportunities to help them grow into their unique selves. Teachers noted their appreciation for the sense of collegiality that pervades the School. Parents, many of whom moved to Portland from elsewhere, expressed sincere gratitude for the strong sense of community.

Naturally, OES is also an aspirational school. Community members shared dozens of ways they hope the school will continue to improve. The Position Profile the Carney Sandoe & Associates is finishing up now will focus on the aspirations and the expectations that all constituent groups will have for our next Head.
Stated succinctly, the consultants felt that OES is clearly thriving and well positioned for an exciting future.

The Search Committee has shared their feedback on the Position Profile that our consultants are creating to promote interest in the OES search. Once the Position Profile is completed, we will share it with the Board and post it on the website. A special thank you to Marketing & Communications Director Karen Crandal who has done an excellent job working with me and the consultants to ensure that the Head Search section of the website is informative and welcoming.

Here’s the timeline we are working with now.

November through February: This is a busy time for our consultants and a less busy time for the Search Committee.

• Draft of Position Profile to the Search Committee for Review
• Posting of the Position Profile on the OES Search Web page 
• Candidate Outreach, nationally and internationally
• Targeted outreach to Candidates
• Assessment of candidates using the Position Profile
• Search Committee to participate in Implicit Bias Training 

March through May: This will be a very busy time for the Search Committee.

• Continued Candidate Outreach and Assessment
• Review of Candidate Dossiers by Search Committee and selection of 5-8 Semifinalists - Early March
• Confidential Interview of Semifinalists on April 8-9. The names of the semifinalists will be known only to the Committee.
• Search Committee Selects 3-4 Finalists: April 9
• Finalist visits: April 18-29. Finalists will meet with every OES constituency. Confidential Feedback Invited. Board Sessions with each Finalist will be scheduled as soon as the dates are set. 
• Search Committee reviews feedback from reference calls and Finalist Visits to recommend to the Board the appointment of the candidate that shows the greatest potential to help OES fulfill its aspirations: May 2022.

If you have any questions, please let me know.

Thank you,

Paul Ehrlich on behalf of the Search Committee

Carol Bull
Daniel Drinkward '95
Karen Seder
Bishop Diana Akiyama
Lucy Reynolds
Vj Sathyaraj

A similar letter was also sent to all OES Employees.

Dear OES Families:

I am honored to be a part of the Search Committee to lead the Board of Trustees efforts to select the next Head of School. For any school, this is an important moment to find strong and forward looking leadership for our school. We are fortunate that OES is in a great place to attract significant interest from experienced candidates.

As the first step in the process, our consultants at Carney, Sandoe and Associates (CSA) are engaging members of the OES community in discussions about the school’s future leadership needs. This work has already begun and will continue throughout the fall. There will be opportunities for all OES community constituents to provide input on the qualities you most value in our next Head of School directly to our search consultants at CSA: Bob Fricker, Jennifer Christiansen, and Tom Marlitt.

All OES parents are invited to share their thoughts at one of two listening sessions coming up in the next couple of weeks. We want to hear from you! Please RSVP for one of the dates below and with your RSVP, we will share the Zoom meeting link ahead of the meeting date.

• Wednesday, Oct. 27 at 11 a.m.
• Thursday, Nov. 4 at 6:30 p.m.

All parents are also invited to respond to this confidential survey. We hope that you will all participate in some way, so that our consultants will come away with a deeper understanding of OES, what makes us special, and our hopes for our next leader. This confidential survey will be open until Friday, Nov. 5.

As we launch an international search for our next Head of School, our goal is to be as inclusive and transparent as possible throughout the process while recognizing the importance of maintaining confidentiality for any interested candidates. We fully anticipate attracting the most talented candidates from around the country, and they will want assurances of confidentiality until the finalist stage. It is likely that our strongest candidates will all hold current positions at other institutions and not want to jeopardize their standing earlier in the process. This is crucial, and we hope you will understand this needed balance.

The search committee is responsible for ensuring a thorough process, vetting potential candidates, and making a recommendation to the Board of Trustees for the final hiring decision. We welcome your thoughts, questions, and suggestions throughout the year. As our timeline and other search-related details evolve, we invite you to visit www.oes.edu/head-search to find contact information and updates on our progress.

OES is an extraordinary school and this is an exciting time in our history. On behalf of our Head of School Search Committee, we look forward to collaborating with you on this endeavor. Thank you for being part of our school community. I invite any questions or comments at headsearch@oes.edu.

For more information and a translation of all community letters on this topic, please go to oes.edu/head-search.

Sincerely,

Paul Ehrlich
Chair of Head of School Search Committee & OES Trustee
Oregon Episcopal School

Dear OES Community,

I am writing today to give you an update on our work around the search for our next Head of School. Since we last reported the news of Mo’s intention to retire in June of 2023, I have been recruiting community members to serve on the search committee, and the search group Carney, Sandoe and Associates has visited our campus to meet with a number of our key constituents.

Head of School Search Committee Announced
I am pleased to announce that we have seven fantastic people deeply connected to the OES community who have agreed to serve on the search committee over the next eight months, holding roles such as board member, employee, parent, former parent, and alum. In addition, I have asked fellow OES trustee and parent Paul Ehrlich to take over leadership of the committee itself. Our members include:
 

• Paul Ehrlich, Chair of Head of School Search Committee, OES Trustee, OES Parent, and General Counsel, Global Brands & Americas, adidas
• The Rt. Rev. Diana Akiyama M.Div., Ph.D., Chair of the OES Board, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Oregon
• Carol Bull, All School Parent Partnership Chair and OES Parent
• Dan Drinkward ’95, OES Board President, OES Parent, alumnus, and Vice President of Hoffman Construction Company
• Lucy Reynolds, OES Trustee, OES Parent, and Owner & Coach, Olerai Leadership
• The Rev. Vijendran (VJ) Sathyaraj, Religion & Philosophy Department Chair, Upper School Religion Teacher, current grandparent, and grandparent of two OES Alumni
• Karen Seder, Middle School Math Teacher, parent of two OES Alumni

I am thrilled that Paul was willing to take on this important role. He is a longtime OES parent, terrific leader, and has a deep love for Oregon Episcopal School. I’ve been privileged to work alongside Paul for many years. He is a thoughtful person and an attentive listener--always ready to hear and consider new ideas, even ones that may challenge his own. Paul will act as the point person working with the search firm Carney, Sandoe & Associates, run the meetings of the committee, offer periodic updates on our progress, and ensure we are running an inclusive and thorough process involving all key constituents. We are in good hands with Paul at the helm.

Working with Carney, Sandoe & Associates
We had the pleasure of working with three members of the Carney, Sandoe & Associates team earlier this week to begin the process of learning the hopes and dreams of the OES community for its next Head. During their two-day visit, members of OES administration, faculty, and staff were invited into conversations with the CS&A team to share their thoughts. They were also present at the October Board of Trustees meeting. One thing that was incredibly clear during their time here is that OES is in a great position to attract a wide pool of candidates from around the world for this leadership role. You can read more about the CS&A team below:

• Bob Fricker
• Jennifer Christensen
• Tom Marlitt

Your next update will come later next week directly from Chair of the Head Search Committee Paul Ehrlich. He will be sharing dates in October when our key constituents are invited to meet directly with Carney, Sandoe & Associates for a series of listening sessions over Zoom. Paul will also be requesting input via a community survey created by Carney Sandoe. Thank you to everyone for your positive thoughts and constructive feedback as we embark on this journey together.

For more information and a translation of all community letters on this topic, please go to oes.edu/head-search.

Sincerely,

Dan Drinkward ’95
Board President
Oregon Episcopal School

Dear OES Community,

As President of the OES Board of Trustees, I am humbled to share that our longtime Head of School Mo Copeland has announced her intention to leave her post in June of 2023 after more than 40 years in education and 23 years of headship, with the last 10 years leading Oregon Episcopal School. Please join me in congratulating her and her tremendous accomplishments. 

Before Mo arrived in the summer of 2011, the school had, over the previous decade, gone through a number of leadership transitions. Mo provided the long-term vision and execution that the school deserved, and OES has thrived. Her stability and professionalism over the last decade has put the school in the position of strength that it is today, not only making OES an ideal choice for Portland-area students, but for students around the world who seek a global education and the desire to use their power for good. 

Back in fall of 2019, Mo shared with me her plan to retire from her career in education in June of 2022. With this in mind, we had hoped to start a Head of School search in the fall of 2020, but as the work of operating a school during a pandemic became incredibly complex, Mo generously offered to extend her contract for an additional year to help see us through to the other side. As we are learning to live with this health crisis and find new ways to fulfill our mission, I am confident our community is ready to begin the process of searching for our next Head of School. 

As sad as we may be to let go of a trusted leader at the helm, what an exciting opportunity it is to begin the ultimate inquiry process of choosing the next person to guide Oregon Episcopal School into the next era—building on the already incredible foundation of growth and change that Mo has provided for us as a school community. 

We have retained Carney Sandoe, a search firm that works with independent schools around the world to attract and retain top leaders. This is the same company that found Mo back in 2011 so they know OES well. Carney Sandoe runs a thorough and transparent search process that gives OES community members a chance to engage and give input into the search, even helping identify what qualities the school needs in its next Head. I am in the process now of building a search committee to be comprised of board members, faculty, staff, parents, and alumni. Later this month, we will be announcing members of that committee by sharing their names on this Head Search hub of our website.

In preparation for making this announcement, I’ve been reflecting a lot on Mo’s many accomplishments. While there are so many I could share, perhaps the most poignant for me is the impact she has had on our campus. Mo’s steady leadership enabled us to build two amazing new buildings: the Lower School and the Athletic Center. These buildings are more than just added space. The Lower School allows students and teachers to collaborate and interact in ways that were impossible in the old buildings allowing us to more effectively deliver our inquiry model. The Athletic Center creates a space where the whole community can gather and provides the room for us to continue our no-cut athletic program. These buildings are central to our mission and will ensure Mo’s legacy at OES lives on long after the people she directly interacted with have left. She has made OES a better place, not just during her time here, but for the next 50 years.   

No matter what kind of day or week Mo is having, she is continually energized by the school’s mission to create lifelong learners who want to use their power for good. It truly is what gets her up in the morning. A lover of the outdoors, Mo finds meaning in exploring the world and relating it to her work in education. Some days it is hard to know the exact next best step to take, but her eyes are always on the horizon pointing toward our mission. I’ve heard her say she is not afraid of getting lost because she knows she will find the trail again, and she has patience with that process. Her legacy of excellence will guide us as we begin this search. Please look for more information in the coming weeks for how you can be involved.

In the meantime, I welcome your thoughts and feedback.
 

Sincerely,

Dan Drinkward ’95
President, OES Board of Trustees
 

Dear Friends, 

Ten years ago, I spoke at our Opening Belltower for the first time as the OES Head of School. At that gathering, I talked about the first time I had ever driven onto the campus, many years earlier, likely in 2003, for a conference. My first impression was the one we have all had: coming upon a lovely oasis at the end of the long Nicol Road. Seemingly out of nowhere, you feel as though you have found a hidden gem with so many lovely and welcoming spots—wetlands, courtyards, fields, and a forest—all nestled in the rolling hills of southwest Portland. 

That first Belltower was in the fall of 2011, at the beginning of my tenure at OES. It was the era when we talked about “leaning in”—which I did—and urged all of us to do so for the coming school year: to embrace new ideas, engage in new activities, act boldly and generously. There was a sense from everyone on campus of both the mystery and potential in the school—and a huge hunger to not just commit to, but to share, our inquiry-based program and our connected community, much more widely in order to engage and influence the educational landscape. To lean into what we knew and did so well—rooted in being an Episcopal School, nourished through the Reggio program in the early years, and brought to life through our science research and rich writing programs, in a community of learners. 

In the years since then, we have seen remarkable change in the world and at the school—and it has been my honor and privilege to oversee this extraordinary school through this ever-evolving time.

Also in Fall of 2011, I shared with the board a vision for the next decade—which included a reimagining of campus, and a recommitment to inquiry throughout our program. The school should not be a hidden oasis, but part of the greater educational landscape, connected to the community, and welcoming and inclusive to all. We needed a campus master plan to accommodate the growing number of students and programs, with buildings designed around our inquiry-based program, and a robust philanthropic base to do all the above, to ensure the long term financial sustainability of the school. In the last decade, we have done all of this and so much more. 

This letter is to let you know that next year’s Belltower will be my last. I will retire from OES in June 2023, after 12 years as head. This is an important moment for the school. So much great infrastructure is in place—we have a strong board and board leadership with significant diversity among our trustees; we have an amazing leadership team with three terrific division heads and experienced directors of finance, enrollment management, facilities, philanthropy, and equity and inclusion. Now is the time for a passionate and visionary leader who can inspire our community to engage in the important work ahead. 

The next decade for independent schools is pivotal. We are all, and OES in particular, looking out and realizing what students need to navigate our complex current world. In addition to the essential competencies, students will need to engage in conversations around race, around privilege, around justice. They will need skills to manage global crises like pandemics and climate change—ways to understand data and information that flows continually. They will need to be ready to act and to lead so we can continue to be optimistic about our future. 

I am full of hope and gratitude for OES. The strength of the community that drew me here and was apparent at that very first Belltower gathering, is still the beating heart of the school. The faculty is incredibly strong—and so much more diverse than a decade ago. We are serving close to 50% students of color across the school. We are connecting to families around the world in new and important ways. This is truly a wonderful school for all of us—and the future is bright indeed. 

I am grateful to all of you for your full engagement in the school and community, your frank and open communication, your constant belief that we can be better. You have made the school the gem it is today through your time and passion and connection, and you have made me a better thinker and leader. We have almost two years to continue our good work together which I look forward to . . . and we will all be ready to embrace new opportunities and adventures in summer 2023.

Warmly, 

Mo Copeland
Head of School