Oxbridge Academy West Palm Beach, Florida Head of School July 2018
MISSION To inspire wisdom through learning in an environment that fosters inquiry, collaboration, innovation, and personal discovery. VISION Oxbridge graduates inspired love of learning will guide them to meet the challenges and opportunities of the future in life, business, and world citizenship. The Position Since its founding in 2011, Oxbridge Academy in West Palm Beach, Florida has set itself apart as the progressive, holistic leader in the area. The premise of Oxbridge, as described by its founder, is refreshingly simple: Give students a very broad education with enough tools to be able to go to any college and pursue any career. Ignoring tradition and embracing reality, what is the best way to teach innovation, self-reliance and teamwork? Oxbridge Academy is guided by the core beliefs that it should demonstrate excellence in everything it does, and should embrace students from a diverse array of socioeconomic backgrounds, ethnicities, learning styles, and interests. That vision is alive and well in a thriving school environment one of which parents, students, faculty, and staff are proud and happy and eager to be a part. A non-profit, co-educational, FCIS-accredited independent day school, Oxbridge Academy currently serves over 500 students in grades 9-12. Located on a spacious campus in West Palm Beach, Oxbridge serves a wide geographic region of South Florida attracting its most recent freshman class of 125 students from 63 different middle schools. The breadth and depth of Oxbridge s program and facilities, partnered with the notable college placement success of this year s seniors, belie the fact that only four classes have graduated from this six-year-old school. In short, Oxbridge has come very far, very fast. As in any startup, there have been some missteps from which the School has learned and emerged even stronger. Today, Oxbridge is poised to move from a period of institutional adolescence to young adulthood charged with energy, optimism, significant promise, and a thirst for ongoing improvement. Under the able leadership 1
of the current Head, who has been on the faculty since the School s founding, and ever-guided by its Students First mantra, great things are happening here. Beginning July 1, 2018, Oxbridge Academy seeks an experienced independent school leader to partner with a visionary Board and a strong faculty and staff to lead the School in the next phase of its life. This is a chance to have a real impact, to help shape the future of a school of tremendous potential, and move it toward its founder s goal of being one of the very best schools, anywhere. The School Oxbridge Academy was founded in 2011 by William I. Koch, CEO and founder of Oxbow Carbon. Mr. Koch graduated from Culver Military Academies in Indiana before earning his bachelor s, master s, and doctoral degrees from M.I.T. Mr. Koch s father also attended M.I.T. thanks to the support of a generous benefactor. In a sense, Oxbridge Academy represents a grateful son s effort to pay it forward. Oxbridge offers an outstanding financial aid program, with 43% of current students receiving some form of financial aid. At its core, Oxbridge is committed to providing an experiential and engaging education to students from all backgrounds and cultures. Classrooms and learning spaces across campus were thoughtfully and intentionally designed to enable the school s progressive, hands-on approach to learning. Faculty strive not only to prepare graduates to thrive in their post-secondary pursuits and careers, but to teach students to articulate their ideas clearly and take action to improve their community and their world. Students benefit from a wealth of unique and impressive programs at Oxbridge that position them to succeed in virtually any pursuit from writing a novel to flying an airplane. 2
A culture of kindness permeates all aspects of Oxbridge Academy s campus, fostered by the school s distinctive Honor Code, a collaborative and interactive learning environment, and deep, longlasting bonds formed between teachers and students. Academics The academic program at Oxbridge is grounded in a philosophy that emphasizes critical thinking and independent inquiry, and places students at the center of their own learning experience. Students are challenged in a core curriculum of English, mathematics, science, social science, and modern world languages. With 100 electives and 57 unique, college-level honors seminar courses, students are empowered to chart an academic path that suits their individual strengths and passions. Grounded in the belief that students absorb and retain information best through hands-on activities and immersive experiences, the school embraces a modified project-based approach to learning. Teachers guide students through in-depth and often interdisciplinary projects that build confidence and self-direction as well as develop skills in organization, communication, research, and writing. Student performance is assessed based on project evaluations in combination with essays, exams, and written reports. Related to this project-based approach is a commitment to STEAM education, which Oxbridge expands to include Science, Technology, Engineering and Entrepreneurship, Art and Aviation, and Math and Medicine. Faculty are always seeking ways to improve their classroom practices and pedagogy, and a total of 15 innovation grants have been awarded to Oxbridge teachers to fund creative programs that enhance their project-based curriculum. This progressive, integrated approach to education provides Oxbridge graduates with the essential skills to thrive the ability to think critically and comprehend the nuances of a complex world. 3
Independent Research The extensive opportunities afforded Oxbridge students to conduct independent research projects represent a defining facet of the school s outstanding academic program. Students are expected to self-direct their independent research projects from initial envisioning and organizing through to completion. With the support of faculty sponsors, more than 100 students have completed such projects, and 41 students have completed or are currently in collaboration with professional organizations and nonprofits such as Scripps Florida, Ecology Project International, and the Florida Oceanographic Society. Novel Writing The English program s novel-writing program has grown increasingly popular since it launched four years ago. In conjunction with the National Novel Writing Month project (NaNoWriMo), Oxbridge students attempt to compose a novel of at least 30,000 words in 30 days. This innovative challenge teaches the fundamentals of fiction writing as much as the discipline and dedication required to see a large project with a hard deadline through to completion. Nearly 400 students have participated in the program since it began, and 44 have published their novels. Writing & Reading Center Oxbridge is the only high school in the region with a collegiate-style writing center. Designed under the guidance of the Director of the Writing Resource Center at New College of Florida, Oxbridge s Writing & Reading Center (WRC) is structured The Search Group CS&A 4
around thirty-minute peer-tutoring sessions, where students can book appointments in advance or simply walk in. In an elective class called Peer Tutoring, a group of students are trained each semester to understand and support their peers through the multistep process of reading, thinking, writing, and revising their work with the aim of producing both good writing and good writers. The Arts Every student at Oxbridge is required to study the fine arts during their high school years. The arts program is robust, offering students the opportunity to study various forms of dance, music, theater, and visual arts. The dance program attracts guest teachers and choreographers to provide their expertise in upper level electives, and students are able to devote energies toward solo work and external competitions to earn a varsity letter. Music students not only build their skills in their chosen instrument, but they also develop an understanding and appreciation for music in cultural and societal contexts across the globe. The visual art department exposes students to 2D and 3D art as well as digital design, instilling a love for the creative process in addition to a comprehensive knowledge of form, aesthetics, design, and art history. The experiential curriculum engages students through travel opportunities, visits to local exhibitions, participation in competitions, and lectures and instruction from visiting artists. Students showcase their work to the wider Oxbridge community at multiple exhibitions throughout the school year. 5
Students with a passion for the stage can contribute to every aspect of a production in the theater program, which puts on three major productions each year. This is in addition to various smaller shows frequently performed during regular school hours. Courses offered include acting, stagecraft, advanced theater, honors performance ensemble, and musical theater. The program also sponsors an award-winning chapter of the International Thespian Society. Debate In the last two years, forty-nine Oxbridge debaters qualified to compete at debate nationals, coming away with 20 trophies and awards. Debate students regularly compete at the most competitive tournaments in the nation, and senior debate students have been accepted in the nation s most prestigious universities, including Harvard, Princeton, Brown, and Duke. Athletics Athletics comprise an essential component of the holistic educational program at Oxbridge Academy. The school offers 23 different sports baseball, basketball, cheerleading, cross country, equestrian, football, flag football, golf, lacrosse, softball, soccer, sailing, swimming, track and field, tennis and volleyball. The philosophy of the program views interscholastic competition as an invaluable opportunity to develop leadership skills, self-discipline, self-sacrifice, and loyalty; the ultimate aim across all sports teams is to instill sportsmanship first and foremost. Approximately 75% of Oxbridge students play at least one sport, and through a no-cut policy, all are encouraged to participate. The school competes in the Florida High School Athletics Association (FHSAA). Oxbridge also offers fun and challenging athletic camps for students and staff during the summers. 6
Clubs & Extracurriculars All student clubs at Oxbridge are proposed, designed, and led by students. Faculty sponsors support more than thirty extracurricular clubs, which range from Anime and Entrepreneur clubs to Fishing and Gaming, Improv and International Culture, and Robotics and Law Clubs, among others. Other examples of academic teams include student government, Model UN, and National Honor Society. Physical Campus Oxbridge Academy is situated on a lush, sprawling campus of 54 acres, with approximately 168,000 square feet of building under cover, centrally located between Jupiter and Boca Raton in West Palm Beach. The campus features a 21st-century icommons as well as ample indoor and outdoor seating throughout, designed to encourage students to work, play, and gather independently. Students also benefit from outstanding athletic fields, tennis courts, an outdoor track, swimming pool, and football stadium. 7
Palm Beach County, Florida Palm Beach stretches from the Everglades to the Atlantic Ocean. With its international airport, world-class shops and restaurants, stunning waterfront, and annual average temperature of 75 degrees, West Palm Beach offers its residents a standard of living that most only enjoy on vacations. While it is one of three major cities in South Florida, the population of West Palm Beach is roughly 109,000 as of a 2016 census. This does not include the rest of Palm Beach County, which includes the towns of Palm Beach, Jupiter, Palm Beach Gardens, Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Wellington, and others. Located 68 miles north of downtown Miami, West Palm Beach is also the oldest municipality in South Florida, having been founded and incorporated in 1894 thanks to the the vision of developer Henry Flagler. The downtown area of West Palm Beach has enjoyed significant revitalization and offers a rich array of cultural attractions. The historic main street through town, Clematis Street, comes alive every Thursday for Clematis by Night, an outdoor event featuring live music and food. Historic neighborhoods of El Cid, Flamingo Park, and Grandview Heights, all listed on the National Register of Historic Places, are characterized by beautiful Mediterranean revival homes and mansions. Also noteworthy is CityPlace, featuring The Harriet Himmel theater, night clubs, restaurants and retail outlet stores; Northwood Village, a historically commercial area-turned-arts district; and Antique Row, a stretch of shops that has been mentioned by Architectural Digest and the New York Times as one of the best antique districts on the East Coast. 8
Cultural attractions in West Palm Beach include Florida s largest art museum, the Norton Museum of Art; the Palm Beach County History Museum; a recently expanded science museum, and a zoo. The Kravis Center for the Performing Arts is another stunning venue that hosts an array of Broadway musicals, dance, opera, orchestra and music events in the city. Over 275,000 people flock to West Palm Beach each spring for SunFest, the state s largest waterfront music festival, while the Palm Beach International Film Festival draws artsy crowds each April. The area is also home to several colleges and universities including Florida Atlantic University, Palm Beach Atlantic University, Palm Beach State College, Keiser University, and Lynn University. Palm Beach offers sunny comforts and outdoor entertainment that are exceptional even as compared to other oceanfront cities in Florida. Forty-seven miles of pristine beaches offer exceptional fishing, diving, boating, and aquatic recreation, while more than 200 golf courses and two PGA tournaments have much to offer golf enthusiasts. A vibrant tourist economy and charming collection of neighborhoods make Palm Beach an ideal place to live year-round, amounting to a big little city that its residents take pride in calling home. COLLEGE ACCEPTANCES The Class of 2017 has been accepted to a list of colleges and universities that is comparable to that of any of the top independent schools in the country. Following is a representative list of some of the schools where they have been accepted. American University Amherst College Auburn University Baylor University Berklee College of Music Boston College Boston University Bowdoin College Brown University Bryn Mawr College Bucknell University Butler University California Inst. of the Arts Case Western Reserve U. Clemson University College of Charleston Coll. of William and Mary Columbia University Dartmouth College Duke University Emory University Fashion Inst. of Technology Florida State University Fordham University Franklin & Marshall Coll. Georgetown University Georgia Inst. of Technology Goucher College Grinnell College Harvard University Hobart and William Smith Colleges Hofstra University Howard University Johns Hopkins University Lafayette College Loyola University Chicago Macalester College Michigan State University Mount Holyoke College New Eng. Conservatory of Music New York University Northeastern University Northwestern University Oberlin Conservatory of Music Princeton University Providence College Purdue University Quinnipiac University Rensselaer Polytechnic Inst. Rice University Rollins College Sarah Lawrence College Sewanee: The Univ. of the South Southern Methodist Univ. Sweet Briar College Syracuse University The Catholic Univ. of America The George Washington Univ. The Ohio State University The Univ. of Alabama The University of Arizona The University of Georgia The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The Univ. of Texas, Austin Tufts University Tulane University U.S. Naval Academy Univ. of California, Berkeley Univ. of California, Davis Univ. of California, L.A. University of Connecticut University of Delaware University of Florida Univ. of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign University of Kentucky University of Louisville Univ. of Mass., Amherst University of Michigan University of Mississippi University of Notre Dame University of Richmond University of Rochester Univ. of So. California Univ. of So. Mississippi University of Vermont University of Virginia Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison Vanderbilt University Villanova University Virginia Tech Wake Forest University Washington and Lee Univ. Washington Univ. in St. Louis Williams College Worcester Polytechnic Inst. Yale University 9
Strengths of the School Among many strengths, the new Head will be particularly pleased to find: Oxbridge is a happy place. Students, faculty and staff are pleased to be there. Terrific students. A diverse population, they are enthusiastic learners eager to take advantage of the multiple options and opportunities offered to them, and very much imbued with the culture of kindness. Intentional diversity, including racial and economic diversity, is a core strength of the school with an enrollment that includes 26% students of color and 43% of students receiving some form of financial aid. A strong, creative and dedicated faculty. At the outset, Oxbridge recruited nationally and internationally, hiring the very best teachers. Not only are they subject experts and outstanding educators, they also develop caring and trusting relationships with their students. Excellent facilities. The school has a spacious, bright, spotlessly maintained campus with many learning spaces designed specifically for the kinds of instruction taking place within them. Food. Virtually everyone cites the excellent breakfasts, lunches, and catering of special events that the school s own staff provide. Emphasizing healthy, locally-sourced, and chef-designed menus, food is a significant contributor to the very positive morale on campus. Exceptional extracurriculars. Strong athletic and performing arts programs are seen as integral to the overall student experience. Despite some oversensationalized mistakes with the football program in the past, approximately 75% of students participate in some form of school athletics and there is a genuine commitment to a balanced educational program. Authentic positive atmosphere. Committed to educating the whole child, Oxbridge is often praised as a community characterized by its warmth, approachability, and high-expectations without high pressure. Impressive accolades. The nationally-recognized debate team, the state champion girl s soccer team, and the number of students receiving multiple offers of admission and financial assistance from top colleges are among many examples of student success that one would rarely find in such a young school. Limitless possibilities for learning. From the annual study-abroad trip to Cambridge University in the UK, to study abroad programs to China, Spain, and other international destinations, to the sailing and equestrian teams, to the on-site aviation simulator, Oxbridge stands out for its menu of opportunities. Many students cite the ease with which they can try anything in order to discover their interests and passions. 10
Ethos of empowerment. As an example of the encouragement of student initiative, one graduating senior said: Only at Oxbridge could I meet with a friend in study hall and start a company by the end of the day. We can find a teacher to help us. Challenges and Opportunities While much is going very well at Oxbridge, as part of the process of moving from institutional adolescence to young adulthood the new Head will have the opportunity to shape the future of the school by leading in several areas of focus, including: Oxbridge is a great school, and it knows it wants to become even greater. The school will look to the new Head to lead it in determining what this looks like and how to get there. There is a real desire for a greater clarity and better articulation of the identity of the school. From clearer definition of academic expectations and outcomes, to bringing some focus to a large menu of opportunities, Oxbridge needs to settle on what it does best and whom it serves best, and create messages internally and externally to unite its communities in an understanding and appreciation of this identity. While the school has been blessed with initial and continuing financial support from its founder, everyone agrees that for long-term sustainability, it needs to develop greater and broader fundraising capacity. The new Head will be expected to help develop a culture of philanthropy in the school community 11
and structure an advancement function that meets the school s standard of excellence in everything we do. Long-term sustainability will also benefit from greater discipline in both revenue generation and expense control. In concert with a supportive Board and a strong CFO, the new Head will define the student-centered spending priorities that will lead to long-term financial equilibrium. As is the case with most independent schools, setting realistic enrollment targets and developing the marketing and recruiting action plans to achieve them, while abiding by its commitment to diversity, will be a part of the maturation of Oxbridge. There is a real desire for the new Head to instill a more collaborative team approach among faculty and staff while still maintaining the school s admirable ability to get things done. This will require a combination of organizational structure, clear decision-making, and internal communication. While well on its way to a fully professional operation, the school would nevertheless benefit from completing the work of having clearly articulated policies, procedures and expectations consistently applied and enforced. As a progressive school, Oxbridge embraces innovation and creativity. It needs to continually examine the applicability of emerging thought in uses of educational technology, creative approaches to teaching/learning/pedagogy, the utilization of external partnerships and resources, and encouragement of student initiative in designing their own learning opportunities. With only 4 classes of graduates, Oxbridge has yet to develop alumni engagement and tracking programs. The new Head will be relied upon to begin developing a program to keep alumni engaged. 12
Skills and Attributes Desired in the Next Head of School Oxbridge needs a leader with a proven track record of success in bringing together many elements into a cohesive whole of school excellence. The ideal candidate will be: A leader who is always driven by the best interests of the students at the school. A knowledgeable and forward-thinking educator with a clear sense of vision, committed to and familiar with emerging thought and best practices in progressive independent education. A strong and effective communicator who eagerly embraces the opportunity to be the face of the school internally and in the broader community someone with a singular focus and passion for the school, whose enthusiasm is engaging and compelling for all audiences and who exudes the high standards of the school. An experienced, eager fundraiser able to establish a culture of philanthropy and structure an excellent advancement function. Approachable, accessible, visible, passionate about the school. The ideal candidate will possess: Ability to sustain and build upon a high-performance organization, with excellence in all that it does. Experience leading a collaborative, supportive, seamless team that embraces innovation, gets things done, and holds itself accountable to the highest expectations. Strong financial skills and experience with the intersection of tuition, financial aid, fundraising and budgeting policies and approaches. Understanding of what goes on in the classroom in order to support faculty and assure that the program of the school meets the highest aspirations of academic excellence. Experience and success partnering with a strong independent School Board to model best governance practices. Experience with and commitment to the benefits of all dimensions of diversity in school populations. 13
How to Apply Interested candidates should submit the following materials as separate PDF attachments in one email: Cover letter expressing interest in the Head of School position at Oxbridge Academy; Current résumé; Statement of educational philosophy and practice; List of five references with name, phone number, and email address of each (references will be contacted only with the candidate s permission). Please send all materials to John Chandler and Skip Kotkins of Carney, Sandoe & Associates. John Chandler Skip Kotkins john.chandler@ skip.kotkins@ Senior Search Associates Carney, Sandoe & Associates 200 High Street, Boston MA 02110 www. This position is a chance for a woman or a man to leave a footprint in a fledgling progressive school by taking it to another level. That level will only be defined by their efforts. - David Rosow President, Oxbridge Foundation Board of Trustees 14