Tuxedo Park School will start the school year under the leadership of new Head of School Kathleen McNamara. Ms. McNamara began her term this July 2011 as the 11th Head in the school’s 112 year old history.

Ms. McNamara and her family have taken up residence in the “Pink House,” reserved for the Head of School on campus.

Ms. McNamara’s headship follows Jim Burger’s 17 year tenure, during which time the school went from struggling to thriving.

Since 1994, the school added 19,000 square feet of facilities, a climbing wall, and a solar panel array that provides the school with almost 30% of its annual electricity needs. During that same time enrollment increased from 135 students to 225 students and the percentage of identifiable minorities in the student population from less than 10% in 1994 to almost 40% in 2011.

Financial aid improved dramatically to expand economic diversity as well.

The number of faculty with masters’ degrees increased from less than half to over two-thirds, and implementation of faculty evaluation and training has ensured quality teaching while maintaining top teachers without a system of tenure.

Today, the not-for-profit school is on solid financial ground and plans to open in September with record enrollment of 230 students coming from a thirty-five mile radius in Orange, Bergen, Passaic, and Rockland counties.

With fabulous momentum driving the school forward, Ms. McNamara will lead the school into its next era.

First, she plans to get thoroughly acquainted with the culture, traditions, and the people of Tuxedo Park School and the surrounding communities. Having grown up in New Jersey and working in Westchester for 17 years, Ms. McNamara was familiar with Tuxedo Park School long before the advertisement for a new Head was made.

Upon first arriving at TPS, Ms. McNamara found she “was impressed to discover that the "Other Three R’s,” Rituals, Relationships, and Rigor—academic, moral, and ethical rigor—were alive and well at Tuxedo Park School.”

In addition to cultivating personal relationships with school and community members this summer, Ms. McNamara takes seriously her role to develop strong relationships between the school and parents. She began her administrative life by working in high school placement, which she explains, “shed light on the importance of working with parents, understanding their needs, and managing the all-important school/home partnership.”

Ms. McNamara has extensive experience in creating parent education programs and a school culture, similar to the one at TPS, where the school becomes a community where parents are imbued with a sense of accessibility and feel that they are in an environment where they can have their questions answered and concerns heard.

Ms. McNamara comes to the position of Head of School with a wealth of experience. Most recently, she served for five years as Assistant Head of School at Marin Country Day School, a K-8 school with 558 students, located in Corte Madera, California.

Before that she headed up the 5th-9th grade division at the Rippowam Cisqua School in Bedford, NY, where she functioned as the Director of Secondary School Placement and as a 9th Grade English Teacher for three years before heading up the Middle School for seven years.

Up until then she spent seven years at The Masters School in Dobbs Ferry teaching French and English.

According to Pam van der Lee, vice President of the Tuxedo Park School Board of Trustees and head of the search committee, “We are confident that Kathleen possesses the skills and experience necessary to move our school forward with wisdom, warmth and energy. We welcome her heartily to the Tuxedo Park School community and look forward to her leadership.”

Since 1900, Tuxedo Park School has specialized in pre-secondary education. Students in preschool through ninth grade engage in a traditional yet inspiring curriculum complemented by rich music, art, and athletic programs in a safe, nurturing community where intellectual curiosity, hard work, character, and the joy of learning mark each day.

For more information or to schedule a tour, call 845-351-4737 or visit www.tuxedoparkschool.org.