Success Stories

As a new head it was hard to trust myself. But Peter helped me learn to trust myself and work through the steps that would make it possible to hit the ground running. The work included getting clarity about my approach to leadership and what I needed to focus on at the start of my tenure.

Through conversations with Peter I was able to keep the 30,000-foot view of the school front and center and identity my priorities. I learned both the importance of balance in my work and my life and how to find it. As a new head of school, I was able to clarify my view that what matters most is focusing on the school culture and environment — creating a climate where students and adults thrive. This big-picture thinking has even distilled itself down to a simple guiding principle: “To look within and see beyond.”

Dear Art,

On behalf of my colleagues, please send our deepest thanks and congratulations to your team at Carney, Sandoe & Associates. You all accomplished so much in so short a period of time: specifically, conducting and coordinating six simultaneous searches for a school that is not scheduled to open until the fall of 2022. We’re grateful for the thoroughness, timeliness, and overall professionalism that you all exercised throughout the entire process. And Art, I want to thank you for the patience, persistence, and caring that you devoted to helping us fill each of these important founding positions with such wonderful men and women. Thanks to your team, we’re off to an outstanding start.

Sara and Greg were visionary in their approach to our search process. They brought us top candidates with a range of backgrounds and strengths, and ultimately helped us secure our first choice for the position in a timely manner. They were attentive to our needs, quickly learned and understood the context of our school and team, and were consistently available to offer insights, answer questions, and give guidance. It was a seamless and successful process, and I’m excited to work with the Carney Sandoe team on our next search.

Was a pleasure to meet you in person. I’m happy with how things are proceeding and appreciate your guidance. You also left a strong impression on the hiring committee and I’m confident we’ll be able to find the right candidate for JA.

Barry, I just wanted to send you a note to say thank you for the excellent work your firm did on the Drew principalship search. The appointee looks like an outstanding candidate, and I know the Board is pleased with the excellent end results!

We had an exceptionally strong candidate pool and a very thorough and deliberate process. We had consensus that the eight semi-finalists, all of whom have substantial experience running public, charter, and/or private schools and a demonstrated commitment to promoting diversity in education, were the best fit for the priorities outlined in the Head of School job description and reinforced by stakeholder engagement.

I am a member of the Board of Trustees at the American College of Sofia in Bulgaria and led the head of school search committee in the spring of 2021 to replace our seven-year incumbent. We interviewed three search firms and hired Art Charles and John Chandler of Carney Sandoe to help us lead the search. They educated our first-time search committee members on process, commitments, and best practices. Our situation was unique being an American school in the Balkans, but Art and John offered tailored advice to our situation. They not only fielded applications from candidates who learned of our position, but proactively reached out to their network of leaders who hadn’t heard about our search. Our ultimate hire was one of those people. Carney Sandoe helped us conduct an efficient and effective Zoom-only search process during COVID, without compromising the integrity of the process or the search’s outcome. When it came to negotiating with our finalists, Carney Sandoe were thought partners on every aspect of the proposal, including compensation package vs. cost of living, market competition, impact of accreditation findings, contract review, community outreach, and internal and external communication. Generally, their response time was two hours or less, regardless of the time difference. They were extremely kind, patient, and thorough and encouraged us to evaluate fit throughout the process. In the end we couldn’t be happier with our head of school.

Carney Sandoe provided tremendous support to the Hockaday search. The breadth of the candidate pool, the connections within the independent school community, and the depth of the personal interviews with the candidates prior to meeting the search committee were all hallmarks. In particular, our consultants, Rayna and Aggie, were keenly aware of and sensitive to not only the requirements of the position but also the emotional needs of our school during our time of transition. They were accessible 24/7 and immediately responsive to all of our requests. The success of our search was due to their thorough process, their talented candidate pool, and their wise counsel along the way. I highly recommend CS&A for any independent school search.

Carney, Sandoe & Associates is the best independent school search firm in the nation.

Dear Art, Ralph, David, and Deb,

We wanted to express our sincere gratitude to you for your support in our head of school search process. We knew it would not be an easy task with the extremely tight timeframe we were facing but you were able to pull through and present to us a very strong line up of final candidates that were all unique and strong in their own regard. This in turn made our decision difficult, but you were always available to support our needs and give sound advice.