Head of School

Introduction

“Kids find their people at Tessie!” Serving gifted students and their families from Pre-K to Grade 12, Tessellations (Tessie) provides an appropriately challenging experiential education that recognizes and nurtures the individual strengths of gifted learners, empowering them to confidently express who they are and pursue a meaningful life. Often when students start at Tessie, it is the first time they feel like they’re interacting with intellectual peers. Whether discussing every airplane model that was ever built since the first flight or explaining to another student the concept of infinity, students greet each other’s interests with kindness and awe. Tessie teachers foster their students’ curiosity and are appropriately attuned to the corresponding sensitivities that some of these learners display. Exploration, openness, and a commitment to meet the developmental needs of all its students is what you’ll find at the heart of this new and still developing school.

Born out of the demand of Silicon Valley’s families, Tessie opened in 2020 through a collaboration between a group of like-minded families and educators. In just four years, Tessie has grown from serving 30 gifted learners online to almost 300 on a 9.4-acre main campus, as well as an additional local nature campus that provides easy access to the outdoor exploration—a key part of the project-based program. Tessie’s promise is to support gifted learners in their education and development so that these young people develop the mindset and skills to contribute to creative and innovative life-changing solutions.

Tessellations at a Glance

Mission: Tessellations provides challenging experiential education that recognizes and nurtures the individual strengths of gifted learners, empowering them to confidently express who they are and pursue a meaningful life.

Vision: We are a community of imaginative, empathetic, productive, and passionate lifelong learners who advance an equitable and sustainable world.

Values

• Wonder, curiosity, and deep learning
• Rigor, resilience, and courage
• Kindness, generosity, and integrity
• Open-mindedness and adaptability
• Acceptance of self and harmony with others
• Connection with and respect for nature

Facts and Figures

Founded: 2020

2024-25 Schoolwide Enrollment: 267

• Pre-K: 34
• Lower School (K-5th): 158
• Middle School (6th-8th): 75
• High School (9th grade only this year): 8

Student-Faculty Ratio: approximately 5:1

Employees: 80, including 73 full-time faculty

% of Faculty with Advanced Degrees: 40%

Operating Budget: $15 million

Tuition: $41,000 for PreK–Grade 5, $42,500 for Grades 6–8, $49,500 for Grades 9–12

Financial Aid: $1.25 million to 10% of students

Total Funds Raised, 2023-24: $7.5 million

Parent Participation in Annual Giving: 88%

On the Web: Tessellations School (https://tessellations.school/)

Governance and Administration

Tessellations currently has a seven-person Board of Directors. The board is actively expanding to ensure that they have the full range of needed expertise as well as to make sure that they are right sized for the much bigger school they are today. The founding Head of School and Executive Director Grace Stanat was the right individual to build and grow Tessie at the appropriate rate for durable success. The school is now ready for the next stage of leadership and is looking for a system-oriented and experienced Head to guide this transition.

The Program

At its core, Tessie is designed to serve gifted kids well and meet their needs at a high level. Progressive education principles guide all decisions around Tessie’s program. The resulting curriculum is student centered, project-based, experiential, and innovative. As the school moves into a more established mode, additional work is needed to make sure the curriculum is in equal parts appropriately challenging and sufficiently skill-building for its students at each age and stage.

Tessie represents a brilliant idea that still needs bolstering to actualize its promise of what is possible with its gifted and open students and its invested and dedicated parent body. A strong admissions process that identifies, admits, and supports kids who need Tessie and whose needs Tessie can meet continues to be a hallmark of the school.

Opportunities and Challenges for the Next Head of School

Consistent with the high demand for strong progressive gifted education in Silicon Valley, the school has grown tremendously over its first five years. The key transition pieces are multi-layered. First, the new Head will need to understand the school’s history and do a quick audit of the entirety of its programs. Devoting the time to determine a communications strategy will be vital, as the Head determines the appropriate cadence, transparency, and tone of the school’s messaging.

Qualifications

Experience and Skills

• Advanced degree and at least ten years of experience in a senior administrative position in an education setting preferred.
• A student-centered and proven people manager.
• Deep experience with and commitment to progressive education.
• Understanding of the complex needs of gifted population.
• Experience and skill with a deeply invested, highly educated, and high-achieving parent community.
• Proven track record of turnaround success.
• Significant classroom experience.
• WASC or other similar association accreditation experience.
• Successful fundraiser preferred.

Personal Characteristics

• Kind, empathetic, collaborative, and curious.
• A charismatic, open, friendly person who enjoys being with people.
• Resilient and skillful at calming and connecting during times of high stress or conflict.
• A flexible and adaptable relationship builder.
• Someone who loves to fix problems with strong follow-through.
• A systems thinker.

Application Requirements and Search Process

DRG is conducting this search on behalf of Tessellations. Interested candidates should submit materials including the following:

• A cover letter indicating why they are particularly interested in and qualified for the position
• A current resume
• A statement of leadership philosophy
• A second writing sample of your choice
• A list of references

Application materials should be uploaded directly on the DRG website.

Anticipated Search Calendar

• Application Deadline: November 25, 2024
• Semifinalist Interviews (on Zoom): Week of December 9, 2024
• Finalist Visits: Weeks of January 13 and January 20, 2025
• Starting Date: July 1, 2025

This position description is based upon material provided by Tessellations School, an equal-opportunity employer.

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