About HSDB |
Let’s bring clarity to Head of School placement and longevity.
Welcome to HSDB, the Head of School Database: a public aggregate of the information and trends in independent school leadership, search, placement, and tenure that have been presented to our industry piece-by-piece for decades.
Established in 2021 by SAIS with funding from the EE Ford Foundation, HSDB makes publicly-available data transparent by providing school leaders, consultants, and volunteers with visible reports on school head histories, search timing, consulting assignments, immediate prior job appointments, school basics, and more.
The goals are to share the critical facts and resources that will help independent schools attract and retain strong school leadership while connecting the head of school community.
About the Data
This site gathers data from a variety of sources, using very intense human resource methods that often require collecting information from one school at a time.
Our main data sources include:
As current and former Heads of School update their HSDB data, this site will continue to get more precise and complete over time, which will lead to additional industry reports and tools.
Using the Data
While we believe having access to transparent data is important and relevant, it is rarely the whole story. HSDB’s data is meant to provide a “just-the-facts” window into Head of School tenure and placement, yet it is also vital to understand the human stories that impact head success, such as:
This site should not be used for search firm rating and ranking. Like schools, search firms vary widely, and a firm’s fit with your purpose and culture matters.
Some are boutique firms that do a limited number of searches a year. Other firms have a large footprint and complete searches across the country and around the globe. Still others specialize in closed searches. While this site attempts to capture this variety and raise awareness of different search firms, we invite firms to update their information as needed.
Established in 2021 by SAIS with funding from the EE Ford Foundation, HSDB makes publicly-available data transparent by providing school leaders, consultants, and volunteers with visible reports on school head histories, search timing, consulting assignments, immediate prior job appointments, school basics, and more.
The goals are to share the critical facts and resources that will help independent schools attract and retain strong school leadership while connecting the head of school community.
About the Data
This site gathers data from a variety of sources, using very intense human resource methods that often require collecting information from one school at a time.
Our main data sources include:
- Jerry Larson at Educational Directions, who provided substantial data on many years of head searches, as well as access to current and past publications of the Blue Sheet, the Green Sheet, and the former Heads Letter.
- Industry lists and school websites, which were used to acquire additional information and background.
- Some search firms that reviewed the picture compiled of their searches and provided more complete historical data when possible.
- Associations that have shared their knowledge, largely around current headships.
As current and former Heads of School update their HSDB data, this site will continue to get more precise and complete over time, which will lead to additional industry reports and tools.
Using the Data
While we believe having access to transparent data is important and relevant, it is rarely the whole story. HSDB’s data is meant to provide a “just-the-facts” window into Head of School tenure and placement, yet it is also vital to understand the human stories that impact head success, such as:
- The Board search committee, make-up, and operations
- The leadership search process
- The head of school transition support plan
- The individual school’s challenges and opportunities
This site should not be used for search firm rating and ranking. Like schools, search firms vary widely, and a firm’s fit with your purpose and culture matters.
Some are boutique firms that do a limited number of searches a year. Other firms have a large footprint and complete searches across the country and around the globe. Still others specialize in closed searches. While this site attempts to capture this variety and raise awareness of different search firms, we invite firms to update their information as needed.
Support This Project
Contact us to learn more about sponsorship opportunities
The HSDB Team
Project Team
Debra Wilson
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Vince Watchorn
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Clay Gibney
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Funder
Edward E. Ford Foundation, John Gulla, Executive Director Data Visualization and Data Support Kelsey Vrooman, Co-Founder of Mission & Data, Data Visualizations Anna Hilpert, School Research and Data Entry Carole Weems, SAIS Accreditation and Survey Manager |
Creation Advisory Panel
Sherry Coleman – Consultant, Storbeck (PA) Katherine Dinh – Head, Marin Country Day School (CA) Autumn Graves – Head, St. Anne’s-Belfield (VA) Joy Hurd – Head, St. Bernard’s School (NYC) Tom Sheppard – Head, Chadwick School (CA) Andy Watson – Consultant, DRG (NM) |
If you have ideas for a resource for this site, please email Debra Wilson (debra@sais.org)
