Head of School Raynard Kington delivered a commencement address to the Class of 2025. His last address will be to the Class of 2027.
Head of School (HOS) Raynard Kington announced last Friday that he will conclude his tenure at the end of June 2027. The Board of Trustees has also begun the search for the next HOS as Kington continues to implement ongoing institutional initiatives.
When asked about the factors and considerations behind his decision, Kington said the timing of the announcement was shaped by both personal reflection and logistical coordination with the Board of Trustees.
“It’s always a complicated decision… largely driven by the board once decisions are made in order to give sufficient time for [the] search. Obviously, the board is very supportive of a number of initiatives that are ongoing and wanted to make sure there’s enough time to do those things,” said Kington.
He continued, “I will quote my father, ‘To everything there is a season, and the time for every purpose under the heavens.’”
Looking ahead to his remaining 18 months, Kington said much of his focus will be on advancing initiatives that have emerged from the school’s roadmapping process, which evaluates Andover’s academic, residential, and co-curricular systems.
“There are a whole series of proposals coming out of the roadmapping process, the Learning Steering Committee, related to ninth-grade dorms and advising, the structure of the dorm system, the faculty work model. We’re having an athletics review,” said Kington.
When asked what success on these initiatives would look like in his final months, Kington framed the time period as a continuation of his leadership.
“I’ve been consistent throughout my career in focusing on the work I have to do to help an institution thrive. I see this as no different. I will do the work I’m supposed to do until the last day that I’m here,” said Kington.
The search for Andover’s next Head of School has also begun, and will be overseen by the Board of Trustees. Amy Falls, President of the Board of Trustees, said the board is in the process of forming a search committee.
“I could imagine sometime in the next three to four weeks, [there] could be an announcement about who’s leading the committee, [what] the composition will be. [The committee] has historically included faculty. But a majority of trustees,” said Falls.
The board will work with the search firm Carney, Sandoe & Associates to solicit nominations and conduct outreach across the Andover community. Falls outlined a tentative timeline for how the search will proceed over the coming year.
“The board [does] a big listening tour, [trying] to put together a sense of what the right next Head would [be]. You would expect to have an announcement sometime in the October, November time frame next year to the whole world. You also have open platforms for people to nominate. The search firm will have a place, usually it’s a website or they just take email. And by April, you’ve got a job description that’s posted, and then the search committee spends April, May, June, July, working very hard to meet. The whole goal would be that a person who is really happily employed at a great institution can give them close to an academic years’ notice. The search committee does the work, comes down to two or three finalists, and the board votes. The search firm will help interview lots of constituents, so they’ll want to come to campus and talk to faculty,” said Falls.
Falls said the board also plans to solicit community input as part of the search process, including feedback from students.
“They want to talk to some cohort of students to feel what the students think. A good search is also a moment to reflect as a community where we are and where we want to go… I vaguely remember sitting in Commons at an open table and students could just come talk. That’s one way that works pretty well. I could imagine surveys… But, yes, there will be an intentional effort to get a broad based understanding of what students think,” said Falls.
Kington said he will remain deliberately removed from the selection process. He added that he does not plan an extended or highly public departure.
“One responsibility that is unambiguously the board’s is selecting and hiring the [HOS] so that the outgoing person doesn’t unduly influence the selection of the next person. I’m going to have more than an arm’s length between me and the process,” said Kington.
Kington continued, “I’m not one for a long goodbye… Leaving will be on my terms and it’s going to be low-key. I’m going to literally pack up stuff, close the door, turn off the lights, and have a clean desk for the next Head.”
