Dear LMS Community,
It is with great delight and enthusiasm that the Lexington Montessori School Board of Directors announces that Kevin Clark will be our next Head of School beginning on July 1, 2023.
Kevin was selected from a diverse pool of more than one hundred candidates following a rigorous search process that engaged constituents from every corner of our community. Not only is Kevin’s experience noteworthy, but his passion for Montessori education and commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion resonate deeply with the values of our school. He is described by colleagues as an engaging, approachable, and collaborative leader—someone who engenders trust, builds community, and creates a culture where people feel heard. During his visit, Kevin met with Board members, faculty and staff, parents, and students, and received overwhelmingly positive feedback. We have tremendous confidence in Kevin’s ability to lead our school.
About Kevin Clark Kevin's Own Words
As we welcome Kevin into his new role next July, we are lucky to have a full year to ensure a smooth and robust transition process. Board members will collaborate with all parts of the LMS community throughout this year to ensure a seamless transfer of responsibilities next summer.
The LMS Board of Directors is grateful to the entire school community for their broad engagement in this process. Students, faculty, staff, parents, alumni, and board members were committed to ensuring a transparent, engaged, and successful search process. We believe the results of our collective work will position LMS to continue to thrive for decades to come.
Please join us in welcoming Kevin, Toni, Zayus, Kaya and Thalia, back to Massachusetts. They are thrilled to be returning home after seven years in the Washington, D.C. area, and we are equally thrilled to be welcoming them back.
In partnership and with gratitude,
Deb Kreutzer
President of the LMS Board of Directors
On behalf of the LMS Head of School Search Committee
LMS Head of School Search Committee
- Ava Archibald - board member and alum parent
- Corinne Foster - board co-VP and current parent
- Deb Helsing - current parent and alum parent
- Dilani Vytheswaran - CH faculty member and alum parent
- Elisa Cheng - board member, current parent, and alum parent
- Kim McMaken-Marsh - MS faculty member and alum parent
- Mike Scalese - board member, LE faculty member, and current parent
- Stephen Kayiwa - UE faculty member
- Tucker Taft - former board president and alum parent
- Tuna Chatterjee - board co-VP and current parent
- Xiang Liu - board member and current parent
Kevin's Own Words
I am finding it challenging to express just how excited I am to be joining all of you in July of 2023. I imagine it was taxing for LMS to engage in a thorough and comprehensive search for its next Head of School. I know that many people freely gave their time, and that the process – while full of potential and aspirations – must have taken a toll on the community with visitors to the school and meetings after meetings for students, parents, staff, teachers, and Board members. I thank all of you for the time that has gone into these efforts, and I congratulate you for completing it.
When I come to LMS next year, it will be my nineteenth year as a head of Montessori schools. My wife (Toni) and I raised our three children (Zayus 20, Kaya 19, and Thalia 13) on a Montessori school campus for nine years. For those of you who have had your families at LMS for any amount of time, I am sure you know how much Montessori education benefits not just children but entire families. I know that Toni and I are different parents than we otherwise would have been, and our whole family has been uniquely touched by having Montessori not just as a school option, but as a home option and as a framework to all of us as a family.
Lexington Montessori School is an amazing place. I was so very drawn into your community. From my initial Zoom call with the Search Committee, to my on-campus visit and the myriad community groups that I met with, I realized more and more that I am intrinsically aligned with the School’s ethos, and I was consistently impressed with all of the individuals that I met. Teachers and staff frequently asked me questions that demonstrated their concern for their colleagues rather than their own interests. The morning warm up was heartwarming to watch, especially seeing the teachers also engaging in it. I found the teachers and staff with whom I met to be welcoming, thoughtful, and a noteworthy mix of modest and highly competent.
For me, this will be a homecoming of sorts, as I grew up in Burlington, Massachusetts. Much about LMS feels familiar to me, and I am looking forward to returning to New England and being near my and my wife’s family. And, I cannot wait to start working more closely with students, teachers, parents and Board members to steward the outstanding school that LMS is. I look forward to meeting all of you and beginning conversations about continuing to ensure that LMS is always the best place it can be for children.
