TRAVIS J. LARRABEE

Board of Trustees Appoints Norfolk Academy’s Next Head of School: Travis J. Larrabee

After a thorough national search, Norfolk Academy on August 4 announced the appointment of Travis J. Larrabee as our next Head of School, effective July 1, 2023. He will join us from William Penn Charter School in Philadelphia, where he has served since 2007, most recently as Assistant Head of School.

Alfred M. “Ran” Randolph Jr. ’80, President of Norfolk Academy’s Board of Trustees and Chair of the Head of School Search Committee, shared news of the appointment through an email letter to the Norfolk Academy family. Larrabee was the unanimous choice of the Search Committee and the Board. “Travis is the ideal person to lead Norfolk Academy into the future, embracing our Philosophy & Objectives, our Honor System, and our distinctive approach to innovation — judicious experimentation with the new — that has kept our school at the forefront, not just in Virginia but nationally as well,” Randolph wrote.

In his 15 years at Penn Charter, Larrabee has served in an array of roles with increasing responsibility. He started as Upper School Dean of Students, and as an Upper School Social Studies teacher. He also served as coach of the golf team. He became Upper School Director in 2010. From 2018–21, he served as Director of Strategic Initiatives. His work focused on the establishment of a Certificate program that promotes full engagement with a topic, much like Norfolk Academy’s Fellows programs, and the design of global education programs to give students a broader view of the world.

In 2021, he became Assistant Head of School, overseeing the PK–12 educational experience and several divisions, including the Center for Public Purpose; Athletics; Technology; and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. In addition, he works with the chief financial officer on the school’s finances and budget, including development initiatives.

Before coming to Penn Charter, he served as Upper School Dean of Students at the Potomac School in McLean, Virginia, and he taught at Dexter School in Brookline, Massachusetts.

A day after the announcement, Larrabee sent a letter to the school community:

“One of the many things that draws me to this position at Norfolk Academy is the school’s enduring commitment to a student-centered holistic education, which focuses on mind, body, and character,” he wrote. “Reflected in the Philosophy and Objectives, the Honor Code, the Diversity, Equity, and Justice Statement, and the Portrait of the Graduate, it is clear that the Academy prepares its students to become informed, principled, and engaged citizens looking to make a positive impact on the broader world, within their own communities, and perhaps most important, on those they know and love. A Norfolk Academy education is a transformational 12-year journey that shapes students’ lives long after they graduate, and this deeply resonates with me as an educator and as a parent.”

Learn more about our future Head of School, Travis J. Larrabee, on our website and in an upcoming issue of Academy magazine. ◆

Esther Diskin is Director of Communications.

SEARCH COMMITTEE

Alfred M. Randolph Jr. ’80 Board President and Chair

Michelle Bass Adams ’91 Guy R. Friddell III ’69 Owen D. Griffin Jr. Timothy J. Stiffler John O. Wynne Jr. ’94