A coed, independent day school in Boston's Back Bay for students in grades 9-12
Head of School Search
Headmaster Bill Wharton has announced that he will retire as headmaster of Commonwealth School at the end of the 2020-2021 academic year. He will have completed 36 years of service, 21 of those years as headmaster. The Search Committee has engaged Bob Henderson and Tony Featherston from the consulting firm RG175 to lead the search for the new Head of School. This page will be updated to share the news and information regarding the progress of the search.
I write to announce publicly that I will be leaving Commonwealth at the end of the 2020-2021 academic year. As you know, I have been talking with you and other trustees for some time about the timing of my retirement. I count myself uncommonly fortunate that I will have been part of this extraordinary community for thirty-six years, twenty-one as Headmaster. The time for transition is right, however, both for the school and for me.
The custom in letters like this is to list the accomplishments of one’s tenure. My efforts have all aimed at, and realized, one achievement: Commonwealth is a place that attracts and retains a remarkable and devoted group of teachers, dedicated staff, and lively, curious students. I have always seen my main job as Headmaster to facilitate the work that goes on in the classroom, making sure that teachers have the independence, resources, and support they need to challenge and inspire the students. As teaching and learning at Commonwealth continue to excite and delight teachers and students, I feel gratitude and satisfaction.
Running so small a school involves a series of balancing acts: between hard institutional needs and the effort to treat all with dignity and respect; between this small school’s financial constraints and the desire to reward great work and fully serve our students; and between a rapidly changing world and our founding commitments to intellectual distinction, equity, and inclusion. I have managed some of those balancing acts well, and at times have fallen short. Looking back, I am nonetheless proud of the way that the school has been able to meet these various challenges. It has been a good run.
As I look ahead to stepping away, I am deeply grateful to have enjoyed a full and varied career teaching and leading at Commonwealth. I went into education to share my love for the Classics with young people, so that they might draw from that tradition the resources to live fuller, more reflective lives. When I accepted the offer to teach at Commonwealth, I knew that I would learn here whether such teaching would prove as rewarding as I had hoped. (One distinguished professor told me that teaching here would be more exciting than 90% of the college jobs in my field.) My hopes were more than realized. Being part of a community in which enthusiasm for ideas, language, arts, and sciences is unabashed and open—and where hard work is taken on more out of interest than obligation—has been an incredible privilege.
In my remaining months at the school, I look forward to helping the transition to new leadership proceed smoothly and successfully, and to working with my wonderful colleagues to ensure that Commonwealth continues to flourish.
Your announcement elicits mixed feelings. Many will share, I’m sure, sadness at the prospect of your departure, happiness that you will enjoy respite from a very demanding job, and confidence about Commonwealth’s future.
Commonwealth has achieved a great deal under your leadership, while staying true to its founding vision. You have raised the school’s stature in the community: Commonwealth is widely regarded as one of the premier schools in the region. Its academic program is second to none, and its faculty, as the Malone Foundation put it some years ago, “would be the envy of most colleges in the area.” The last two decades have seen the strongest enrollment in the school’s history, and our graduates continue to matriculate at the most distinguished colleges and universities, even as that process has grown more competitive.
In line with the school’s commitment to shared responsibility, you have worked tirelessly with colleagues to increase the support for students receiving financial aid and scholarships, shepherd the Homework Project, and expand support services for all students. You oversaw the much-needed renovation and renewal of our buildings over four challenging summers. Under your leadership the school has raised over $35 million since 2000 for two capital campaigns and a steadily growing annual Commonwealth Fund. In the last few years, you worked with the Board and colleagues to develop a new leadership structure that preserves the school’s collaborative spirit, and oversaw the successful launch of Dive In Commonwealth to attract more students from underserved backgrounds. These and other accomplishments leave Commonwealth poised to thrive for years to come.
You have earned the deep respect and loyalty of trustees, parents, alumni/ae, and faculty and staff, a testament to your leadership. You have been an eloquent voice for the school at open houses, alumni/ae gatherings, parent events, graduations, and board meetings. The coming year will be a time for celebration of the school and your leadership, and for reflection on Commonwealth’s strengths and the opportunities ahead. The Board has engaged Bob Henderson and Tony Featherston of Resource Group 175 to guide us through a thoughtful and transparent nationwide search for Commonwealth’s next Head. We have assembled a Search Committee of trustees and will very soon follow up with a message from that group about the planning and schedule for your succession. I speak for myself and the three previous Board Chairs with whom you have worked—Polly Chatfield, Bill Sherden, and Karen Firestone—in thanking you.
With utmost gratitude for keeping Commonwealth’s spirit and academic rigor alive and true to its mission, we can now all look back and appreciate how much has been accomplished under your leadership. You have earned a well-deserved rest from what I can only characterize as the hardest job in the world.
Best wishes,
Therese Hendricks
Chair, Board of Trustees
Commonwealth School
The primary responsibility of the Board of Trustees is to hire the Head of School.
The Board selected and hired Bob Henderson and Tony Featherston of Resource Group 175 to support the search for Commonwealth's next Head of School. Bob and Tony will visit Commonwealth in February to interview and survey the faculty, staff, students, alumni/ae, and parents to write a position statement for the Head of School.
In the fall of 2020, the Trustees will meet and interview the finalists, and once the Search Committee offers a recommendation for a finalist, the Board of Trustees will approve the appointment of Commonwealth's next Head of School.
The Board will assemble a transition team, with the support of RG175, that will manage the leadership transition.
In January 2020, Commonwealth School publicly announced Bill's departure and the search process. In February 2020, a survey will be distributed to the Commonwealth School community. The consulting firm RG175 will visit the school and will publish the position statement. In late February, the active search begins.
By early May through August 2020, the Search Committee will refine and narrow the pool of candidates. In early Fall 2020, the finalists will visit the school and community.
The Board of Trustees will select and announce the new Head of School in Fall 2020. There will be a transition period from December 2020 - June 2021 and the new Head of School will begin on July 1, 2021 for the 2021-2022 academic year.
The role of the Search Committee is to steer the Head of School search at every stage of the process.
The Search Committee is responsible for vetting all highly qualified candidates presented by RG175, keeping the Commonwealth community informed and engaged throughout the process while maintaining the confidentiality of the recruitment process, and facilitating the leadership transition into the school.
The Search Committee will arrange and conduct interviews with the semifinalists and finalists. We anticipate 3-4 finalists will visit Commonwealth in Fall 2020. After the visits, the Search Committee will identify and recommend its finalist to be confirmed by the Board of Trustees.
The Search Committee is composed of members who have a wide range of perspectives, involvement, and backgrounds and share a deep commitment to Commonwealth's mission and core values. The members of the search committee are:
Fred Ewald P ’21, trustee and committee co-chair
Julia Holloway ‘82, trustee and committee co-chair
Marie Lossky P ’10, ‘11, trustee and committee co-chair
Therese Hendricks P ’05, ’07, trustee & board chair
Bob Murchison P ’10, trustee
Judith Sanford-Harris ’70, trustee
Jonathan Sheffi ’99, trustee
The Search Committee will communicate progress and updates throughout the search process. Please note that most of the search process must be confidential.
Students, faculty, staff, alumni/ae, trustees, and parents have the opportunity to meet with RG175 to share feedback and commentary. At the final stage of the search process, there will be open meetings with each of the finalists.
