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Head of School
George Washington Academy (Morocco)

 

 

Dear Search Colleagues, 

On behalf of the Board of Directors of George Washington Academy in Casablanca, Morocco, Lana and I are pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Wendy Rubin as their next Head of School.  Wendy was thrilled to accept her first international school position, which will begin in July of 2023.

Dr. Rubin holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Colorado Boulder, a Master's degree in Education in Instructional Leadership from the University of Illinois, and a Doctorate in Education from the University of Colorado, Denver. After a successful career as a teacher, middle school, and high school principal, she assumed the role of Superintendent overseeing a large group of schools in Englewood, Colorado, where she has been for the past eight years. 

Al Coury, GWA Board Chair, shared the following comments in his announcement to the school community: 

After a rigorous and thorough search, the George Washington Academy Board is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Wendy Rubin as the new Head of School at GWA, who comes with extensive experience in education. Driven by the goal of empowering students to achieve their full potential, Dr. Rubin is an accomplished educational leader with a wealth of experience in managing schools, guiding educators, and nurturing students. 

During her tenure as a Superintendent of Englewood Schools, Dr. Rubin has been a strong advocate for student-centered learning and has focused on improving academic outcomes for all students. She has implemented several initiatives aimed at supporting student success, including expanding access to technology, increasing teacher training and support, and developing innovative programs to engage students in learning. 

As a highly respected educator, our new Head of School is committed to fostering a school culture that promotes academic excellence, intellectual curiosity, and social-emotional well-being. She firmly believes that education is not just about imparting knowledge but also about helping students develop a lifelong love of learning. 

We are confident that under the leadership of our new Head of School, our school will continue to thrive and grow. Her dedication to education, combined with her exceptional leadership skills and experience, make her the ideal person to guide our school in the years ahead. 

We would like to sincerely thank all those candidates who applied for this position and wish Wendy the very best as she assumes her new role.

Kind regards,

Barbara Powers and Lana Al-Aghbar

 

 

George Washington Academy located in Casablanca, Morocco seeks a

 HEAD OF SCHOOL

beginning with the 2023-24 School Year

About Us

Since 1998, George Washington Academy’s caring faculty and staff have provided students and families with an educational atmosphere and culture captured best in our vision statement:

GWA inspires students to become multilingual lifelong leaders who pursue excellence, model integrity, and honor cultural diversity.  We educate the whole person by equipping minds and building character, empowering students to serve Morocco and the global community with wisdom and compassion.

George Washington Academy is a Pre-K to Grade 12, non-profit, US State Department affiliated school currently with 823 students representing 38 nationalities and a faculty of 123 teachers.  Our approach involves looking at the world and developing a school that is - at its core - a place for thinking, a place for learning, a place where we prepare our students for the future, and a place where all learners can be supported to meet their potential.  We focus on intentional design for our thinking with a focus on sustainability.

GWA is committed to a progressive American international educational experience. It is a place where, as John Hattie says, “visible learning and teaching takes place when teachers … help students become their own teachers.” GWA is committed to helping students understand deep concepts, apply them with learned skills and then use those skills to make the world a better place.

In September of 2019, GWA became an IB World School offering the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program (DP) for Grades 11 and 12 as well as the Moroccan diploma.  A unique Language Acquisition Program beginning in Early Childhood grades values English, French and Arabic as the foundation for their multilingual environment. GWA's whole-child approach to education encourages students to explore multi-disciplinary studies, the arts, athletics, and participate in global academic forums and conferences.  

 

 

Our Campus

George Washington Academy is a five-hectare, purpose-built facility located on the southern edge of Casablanca’s city limits heading toward Dar Bouazza. The Lower School building houses Grades K-5, while the Upper School building houses Grades 6-12, with Discovery programs in early learning spaces of multiple-use buildings. GWA is committed to STEAM education with an array of classes taking advantage of designated MakerSpace, Robotics, Visual Arts, and Performance Arts spaces available on campus.  GWA proudly houses the largest children’s library in the Kingdom of Morocco.  The campus, situated a little over one kilometer from the Atlantic Ocean below, features beautiful views of the ocean and stunning sunsets over the water.  

 

 

Head of School Position

The 10-person School Board of George Washington Academy seeks a seasoned educator with 7-10 years of experience as a Head or Deputy Head of School.  International school leadership and experience with a student population of 800+ students is strongly preferred.  A graduate and/or post-graduate degree in Educational Leadership or related educational field is also preferred.  The Board is committed to providing a seamless education for their PreK-12 students with an established curricular foundation throughout the school.  Curricular expertise enabling faculty to have clearly articulated teaching and learning goals is required. 

Additionally, the successful candidate will have operational experience overseeing all aspects of facility management as well as budgetary and legal affairs.

Compensation for this position will be generously based upon regional competitive packages.

 Overview

At George Washington Academy, the Head of School embodies, manifests, and advocates the mission of the school, articulates the Board’s vision for the school, monitors and addresses all matters of school climate and culture, and supervises the academic and administrative leadership with special focus on documented curricular expectations. He or she shall coordinate and be responsible for all programs of the school (academic, athletic, ethical, and extracurricular programs) and is accountable to the Board for the outcomes of GWA – both academic and financial. He or she is the primary representative of the school in its relationships with educational organizations, accrediting agencies, neighborhood, parents, alumni, American consulate, Moroccan authorities, business community, as well as school faculty and staff.

Head of School Responsibilities and Authorities Charter

The role of the George Washington Academy Head of School (HoS) includes responsibilities, delegated authority, and interactions with the School Board as described below:

 

Academics and Student Management

 

The HoS has responsibility for:

• Monitoring curriculum, grading, testing, and reporting to parents.
• Preparing for and conducting periodic program evaluations, including submitting reports to external agencies as required.
• Monitoring programs for college guidance, college admissions, and scholarships.
• Submitting academic reports on at least a quarterly basis to the Board indicating the health of the students’ academic performance.
• Approving all disciplinary policies and standards of conduct.

The Hos may delegate the above academic responsibilities.

Operations

The HoS oversees all operations including but not limited to school facilities, maintenance, construction, lunch program, transportation, school store, registration, and admissions, and  ensures they are adequately carried out in alignment with the vision of the school through optimization of resources.

The HoS may delegate the above operational responsibilities.

Finance

The HoS shall be responsible for the financial health of the school through management of the budget. The HoS shall:

• Establish the preliminary and final budgets.
• Monitor income, expenditures, collections, and cash flow, maintaining appropriate financial records.
• Submit financial reports to the Board.
• Submit for Board prior review and/or approval the following:

-Preliminary and final budgets and accounting books (the latter upon periodic request of the board)

-HoS expense reports (approval) and where an expense shall exceed a specified amount of dirhams (prior approval)

-HoS annual personal professional development budget

-Revolving, short-term, long-term debt, bank guarantees, encumbrances of any kind (prior approval)

The HoS may be assisted and supported by the Finance Manager for the above-described responsibilities.

Human Capital

The HoS has responsibility for:

• Selecting, hiring, and evaluating properly qualified leadership to serve as Academic, Administrative, and/or Operational Directors or Department Heads including but not limited to Upper School, Lower School, Human Resources, Operations, Admissions, Finance, and Development heads.
• Supervising and ensuring professional development of Academic, Administrative, and Operational Directors or Department Heads.
• Establishing and submitting for Board review/approval organizational charts and succession plans to ensure smooth succession of both the Academic and Administrative leadership.
• Submitting for Board prior review and/or approval the following:

-Hiring, discipline, firing/departure of any direct report or key position (prior review/approval)

-Employee compensation plans (review only unless program may impact budget)

The HoS may be assisted and supported by the Human Resources Director for the responsibilities listed above.

Communication and Interaction with the Board

Together, the Head of School and the Board form an equal partnership in running the school, each in their respective spheres of management and governance.  The HoS is an ex officio, non-voting member of the Board and Board committees.  The HoS:

• Implements GWA strategy approved by the Board.
• Keeps the Board informed of all strategic matters relating to the Board through reports at Board meetings and immediate communication following major school events or happenings.
• Provides data to assist the Board in its work.
• Makes recommendations to the Board for the Board’s approval of the budgets.
• Seeks direction from the Board on new academic and operational initiatives.
• Assists the Board President in setting Board and Committee meeting agendas and discussion topics.
• Jointly with the Board, sets annual goals for his/her performance; provides input and self-evaluation for the Board to use in his/her evaluation.
• Sees that the Board records and minutes are properly filed, and otherwise assists the Board in its work as requested.

In addition to the above-mentioned reporting, the HoS shall communicate regularly with the Board on academic and operational matters likely to impact the financial or legal health or reputation of the school or that may result in an escalation to the Board.  Official communication with the Board shall be directly between the HoS and Board President and Vice President.  For Committee matters for which the HoS provides input, the HoS may communicate directly with the Committees through the Chairperson to expedite Committee work.  Where the HoS is a participant in a Committee, he/she may elect to send a representative having the same knowledge and capabilities for a particular Committee.

The HoS shall keep the Board informed of exceptions to established policy and decisions related to the school’s operation.

The HoS may be assigned other matters determined by the Board or may propose additional scopes of responsibility.

  Application Procedure

George Washington Academy has appointed Search Associates to act as their consultant in the search for the new Head of School, with Barbara Powers and Lana Al-Aghbar serving as their Senior Consultants.

The deadline for applications for the position is December 31, 2022.  Candidates are asked to submit a letter of interest and the requested materials listed below as early as possible as the Search Committee reserves the right to accelerate the selection process if the right candidate is identified

Candidates should send the information listed below as a single pdf file attached to an email:

• A letter of application, explaining your strengths as a candidate and why you are interested in the Head of School position at George Washington Academy.
• A statement describing your educational and leadership philosophy, not to exceed two pages.
• A current résumé not to exceed two pages.
• A one-page list of references who have served as immediate supervisors with current telephone numbers and email addresses.
• A maximum of three letters of reference (scanned at low resolution) that may already be in your possession (optional).

Total document size should be kept to less than four (4) MB if possible. Applications should be sent to bpowers@searchassociates.com  and lalaghbar@searchassociates.com .

Consultant interviews with qualified applicants will be held beginning in December, with the Search Committee conducting their remotely offered interviews immediately afterwards for recommended candidates.  Please note the Search Committee could make their decision earlier than the application deadline if an exceptional candidate applies. Finalist candidates will be identified by the Search Committee and will be invited to an on-site interview.  Finalists will also have the opportunity to meet with faculty, parents, students, and nonteaching staff.  The new Head of School will be selected soon after the conclusion of the interviews. 

George Washington Academy is committed to providing a safe and happy environment for all employees and in which all students can thrive and learn.  They are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all employees and students. All employees are subject to background checks and appropriate vetting procedures including satisfactory criminal record checks.

Thank you for your interest in this opportunity.

Candidates wishing to learn more about George Washington Academy should visit their very informative website:

https://www.gwa.ac.ma/