Boarding & Day School for 355 Girls in Grades 9-12 in Troy, New York www.emmawillard.org
Emma Willard School seeks a dynamic and dedicated leader to advance the school’s exceptional education for young women, an education that balances an academic powerhouse with well-being and innovation with tradition.
Since the appointment of Jenny Rao as head in 2017, the school has created and pursued a farsighted strategic plan, Leading with Purpose, A Strategic Vision for the Future, 2021-2026. The plan’s execution has enriched the school’s innovative academic programs; deepened support for a world-class faculty; reinforced the sense of belonging and inclusion that is foundational to the Emma Willard community; expanded and secured the school’s beautiful campus; and increased its fiscal strength.
Three years into the plan, some of Emma Willard’s major accomplishments include:
• Launching the largest known campaign for an independent girls’ secondary school in American history— Infinite Horizon: The Campaign for Emma Willard School has raised $168 million towards a $175 million goal in the first three years of the five-year campaign.
• Becoming leaders in faculty compensation, developing funding and plans for improved faculty housing, and providing time and support for innovation—Emma Willard is investing in its ability to attract and retain outstanding faculty members.
• Building the Alice Dodge Wallace ‘38 Center for the Performing Arts—This state-of-the-art performance, rehearsal, and gathering space, funded in part by a lead gift of $30 million, will open in the spring of 2025.
• Developing a unique Advanced Studies Program (AS) to replace the AP curriculum—AS courses create learning experiences that are inventive, deeply rigorous, experiential, and tailored to students’ interests and strengths.
• Creating a Department of Institutional Equity and Inclusion— This department is helping Emma Willard deepen a sense of belonging for all community members and place equity at the center of all decisions.
Quick Facts
Operating budget: $29 million
Financial Aid: $5.98 million (43% of students)
Endowment: $196 million (as of 5/31/24)
Tuition (2024–2025):
$73,955 boarding & $46,105 day
Average Financial Aid Award:
$48,043 for boarders
$25,100 for day students.
Enrollment 2024–2025
Total enrollment: 355
Boarding: 237
Day: 118
International students: 107 (29%)
Grade 12: 92
Grade 11: 92
Grade 10: 95
Grade 9: 76
Mission
Honoring its founder’s vision, Emma Willard School proudly fosters in each young woman a love of learning, the habits of an intellectual life, and the character, moral strength, and qualities of leadership to serve and shape her world.
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Justice, and Belonging
At Emma Willard School, we commit ourselves to building a community that values and celebrates differences, encourages dialogue, fosters mutual respect, and highlights our shared purpose and ideals. We are dedicated to the empowerment of all of our students, and we are guided by a deep understanding that a diverse, inclusive environment and academic excellence are inextricably linked.
Emma Willard School’s commitment to educating motivated, intellectually curious students is grounded in its history as the first school of higher learning for girls. The enduring legacy and bold spirit of founder Emma Hart Willard is embodied in the school’s mission and realized through the school’s commitment to the fundamental values she espoused so many generations ago: love of learning; habits of an intellectual life; and the character, moral strength, and qualities of leadership to serve and shape the world.
For over 200 years, Emma Willard has adapted and evolved to meet the needs of each generation of students. Today, at the heart of Emma Willard School are three key experiences for every student:
Love of Learning—commitment to a deeply personalized, rigorous, and experiential learning program. At Emma Willard, the life of the mind takes center stage
Authentic Success—commitment to a vastly diverse program that allows each learner to discover and pursue their interests
Global Community—commitment to supporting a vastly diverse community that nurtures empathy and curiosity for a multiplicity of perspectives and life experiences
A Brief School Description
Academic excellence is the cornerstone of Emma Willard’s program, and the school commits itself to three program pillars, which came to fruition by consensus of the faculty and administration in 2019:
Intellectual Flexibility—Emma Willard School strives to educate a generation of learners ready and able to address the most pressing issues of their time. During their time at Emma, students develop the intellectual flexibility to consider big questions and to work to solve big problems.
Purpose & Community—Fundamental to personal wellbeing is the life-long exploration of one’s self and one’s contribution to the world. The Emma Willard School curriculum fosters a sense of purpose in each student by emphasizing relevance, impact, and community connection.
Equity & Justice—Living and learning in a global, inclusive community requires purposeful practice. The curriculum provides exposure to and understanding of the global community, and develops the skills necessary to build and sustain equity and justice in the world.
The faculty and school leadership align academic program development with these three pillars and all non-academic planning as well. The pillars have been catalysts for innovation and change and provide a vision of Emma Willard’s future. The Emma Willard experience is comprehensive and always evolving to meet the needs of the students.
Emma Willard sets high-achieving students on a path to becoming resilient, committed, empathetic, and insightful citizens. The curriculum supports students’ future aspirations and equips them with what matters most in learning: relevance, enduring understanding, and connection across disciplines. Emma Willard graduates go on to be successful students at highly selective colleges and universities. The 49-member teaching faculty offers 130 courses in any given semester, including the Advanced Studies curriculum. With each graduation-level required course, students have a component of experiential learning. The emerging Center for Teaching and Learning serves as the intellectual hub for the faculty—a place to innovate, research, and continue to push the boundaries of education. Topics of current interest are civic discourse, digital wellness, and AI and academic integrity.
The arts have always been a hallmark of the Emma Willard experience and nurture the school’s emphasis on creativity and self-expression. The Arts Department offers more than 30 courses in music, theatre, dance, and visual arts—designed for students of all levels of interest and proficiency—and 15 performances. Advanced students have the opportunity to grow their artistic projects in depth and scope through the Emma Artists Program, which provides a time for students to perform and/or show their work to the community each year.
Through distinctive residential and student life programs, Emma Willard creates a sense of belonging and unity. Student well-being and resilience are at the heart of every decision and allow the school to set the conditions for students to nurture life-long healthy habits. The four-year Ready Seminar curriculum provides students the skills to cultivate resilience, navigate stress, find purpose, and create a sense of balance.
Clubs, affinity groups, and traditions have a significant role in promoting the sense of belonging. Traditions bind together current students and alumnae, creating almost familial bonds. The traditions are diverse, grounded in history, and provide a sense of connection between students and alumnae. Possibly the most beloved tradition is Revels, a senior class production started in 1915 portraying the Yuletide celebration of a medieval manor family. A right-of-passage for seniors, their roles are kept a closely guarded secret from auditions in September until Revels night just prior to winter break. Students attend the Friday night performance of Revels in formal attire.
Team sports and other physical activities are a significant part of the school’s larger commitment to wellbeing and belonging, with a focus on wellness through movement that goes beyond just team sports. Students at all skill levels participate with great enthusiasm and develop close friendships and self-confidence.
House parents are educational professionals whose primary responsibility is living and working in the residence halls and overseeing the Emma Willard boarding experience. They provide care and support for boarding students from all over the U.S. and 38 different countries. The school is exploring and developing all the potential of the house parents program, and the increase in faculty housing on campus is expected to build community and enhance the residential experience. The 35 percent of the students who are day students are every bit as immersed in the total Emma experience as boarding students, e.g., meals at school, projects and study sessions into the evening, and a dedicated group of student leaders who operate as a voice for the day student perspective in the wider community.
Troy is an area rich in colleges and universities, and Emma Willard’s historic, 137-acre campus is cited among the country’s most beautiful educational campuses in Architectural Digest. The collegiate gothic architecture suggests a connection to history and a sense of possibility. Its 23 buildings require care and investment. A recent, thorough assessment of the campus has led to a three-year, $30 million plan for addressing deferred maintenance.
Opportunities and Challenges for the Next Head of School
Emma Willard is in a position of strength and a leader amongst girls’ schools:
• The Administrative Team has been exceptional in delivering the strategic plan
• The world-class faculty is embracing innovation in curriculum and teaching
• Enrollment is strong and defying trends in the market
• Governance is strong, led by a board composed mainly of alumnae and informed by excellent research
• The campaign is expected to exceed its $175 million goal
• The endowment value as of May 31, 2024, was $196 million, just over double what it was 6 years ago—the largest endowment amongst girls’ schools
• Admissions and Advancement are appropriately staffed to meet ambitious goals
• A sustainability mindset is foundational to all planning
In a community that wants to be heard and known, the next head should be highly visible and engage in the full life of the school, cultivating relationships with all stakeholders, and working tirelessly to create an environment where everyone feels a strong sense of belonging and a deep commitment to academic excellence. The new head will enjoy celebrating the conclusion of the school’s historic campaign and the full integration of the Alice Dodge Wallace ’38 Performing Arts Center into the Emma Willard experience.
With the Administrative Team, the new head should bring Leading with Purpose to its conclusion, focusing particular attention on “in-process” stages of:
• Developing the Center for Teaching and Learning
• Formalizing the approach to student resilience and well-being
• Increasing faculty housing and sustaining competitive compensation
• Addressing deferred maintenance
• Completing diversity, equity, inclusion, justice, and belonging (DEIJB) initiatives
• Expanding the role of house parents and their connection across the gamut of the living and learning experience
The new head must give consistent attention to affordability, enrollment, and fundraising challenges and opportunities. The NYSAIS Interim Five-Year Report and Visit (taking place in Spring 2025) may identify other areas requiring the head’s attention. However, the head will have the resources and structures to start a new plan for maintaining Emma Willard as a global leader in girls’ education.
The Next Head of Emma Willard School
The head of school position at Emma Willard is an extraordinary opportunity. The new Head will collaborate with an outstanding faculty and staff, wonderful students, a strong administrative team, devoted alumnae, and trustees who care deeply about their school.
Emma Willard seeks a creative educational leader who has the moral conviction, wisdom, and experience to provide intelligent, decisive leadership for a highly engaged community. The head must possess the executive capabilities necessary to lead a complex and high-achieving school—superior communication skills are chief among the capabilities.
The head should have a passion for girls’ education, for excellence in academics, and for the boarding experience.
The Search Process and Calendar
A search is underway to identify a new head of school who will assume the position on July 1, 2025.
Emma Willard School will follow The Principles of Good Practice of the National Association of Independent Schools regarding head of school searches. Emma Willard has appointed an 11-member search committee and has engaged Educational Directions to assist with the search.
Please direct all inquiries, applications, and nominations in confidence to: Chris Arnold or Nicole McDermott. Electronic submission of credentials is strongly encouraged.
Emma Willard is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer and seeks a diverse and broad spectrum of qualified candidates. See the school’s DEIJB statement of values
Emma Willard is accredited by The New York State Association of Independent Schools (NYSAIS) and holds memberships in the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS), the International Coalition of Girls’ Schools (ICGS), the Association of Boarding Schools (TABS), the National Association of College Admissions Counselors (NACAC), the Association of College Counselors of Independent Schools (ACCIS), the Cum Laude Society, and the College Board. Emma Willard became America’s first Fair Trade High School in 2010.
The compensation package will be within the expected norms of comparable NAIS schools and includes an attractive residence.
Candidates should submit:
• A cover letter explaining their interest in Emma Willard School
• A resume
• A personal statement
• The names, email addresses, and telephone numbers of five references
Search Calendar
• Applications will be considered as soon as received and must be received no later than September 28.
• Candidates will be notified of their status on October 11.
• Semifinalist interviews will be held at Emma Willard on Sunday, October 27, and Monday, October 28.
• Finalist interviews will be scheduled between November 11 and 22.
• The new Head of School will be announced on December 21.
