Head of School SEARCH

July 28, 2026

Dear CHS Community,

We hope you and your families are enjoying the summer. We are writing to share an update on the search process for the Chestnut Hill School’s next head of school, as we will regularly throughout this process.

Search Consultants

After a careful evaluation of several firms, the School has retained Carney Sandoe & Associates (CS&A) as our partner in this search. CS&A is a firm with Boston roots and global reach. It specializes in helping independent schools find excellent, mission-aligned leaders and educators – something it has done for nearly five decades. We are excited to work with CS&A consultants John Faubert and Chris Boyle. They bring not only extensive experience leading searches and broad candidate networks, but also an appreciation for what makes CHS unique in the Boston area and elementary-school landscape. We are in good hands.

Search Committee

We are deeply grateful to those members of the CHS community who have agreed to join the Head of School Search Committee. The committee will lead all aspects of the search, culminating in a recommendation to the Board of Trustees, which will make the ultimate decision. Search Committee members intentionally represent different areas of school life but share a deep love for CHS and optimism about its future.

• Julie Bedard, P’29, Trustee 
• Don Felix, Former Trustee
• Dylan Gallegos ‘85, P'19, Sixth Grade Teacher
• Veena Hari, Associate Director of Enrollment Management
• Chris Kolovos, P’32 ’35, Trustee
• Mathilda McGee-Tubb, P’30, Board Chair
• Sri Rao, P’27, ’30, ’34, Board Vice Chair
• Rosie Sweeney, Arts & Science Teacher
• Varsha Tanguturi P’25, ‘29, ’33 Trustee

Communication

The School has established a Head of School Search page on our website, where you will find all communications and other relevant information. That page will be updated periodically. We also invite members of the community with questions to reach out to us directly at headofschoolsearch@tchs.org. Our goal is to be as transparent and available as possible, and we welcome your thoughts.

Timeline and Next Steps

Dr. MacNeal will end his time at CHS at the close of the 2026-27 academic year. The Search Committee’s charge is to identify an exceptional educational leader to step in as the permanent head of school starting in July 2027. Given the school’s reputation, location, operational and fiscal strength, and strategic direction, we are confident that the process will yield the leader this community deserves.

We start now. Over the summer and through the fall, our partners at CS&A will talk to candidates confidentially about this exceptional opportunity. They will also visit CHS several times to meet with constituents across campus. Those meetings, along with the results of a community survey, will inform the formal position description – spelling out a vision for our next leader and the compelling opportunity to guide the CHS community in its next phase. The Search Committee will interview semifinalists in the fall with the goal of inviting a small number of finalists to campus for two-day visits in the early winter and appointing CHS’s next leader early in the new calendar year. 

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The strength of the School is, and always has been, its people. We are excited for the chance to work with all of you in this important moment in the life of the School we love. Thank you in advance for your participation, support, and trust.

Gratefully,

Chris Kolovos & Varsha Tanguturi
Search Committee Co-Chairs
 

June 30, 2026

Dear Chestnut Hill School Community,
 
As the Board of Trustees has shared with you, I will be stepping down as Head of School at the end of the 2026-2027 school year.
 
Over the past three years, I have enjoyed leading this community and am proud of all that we have accomplished together. Enrollment is up as we head into the next school year, the AISNE visiting team supported reaccreditation, and our newly adopted strategic plan maps a clear vision for the future of CHS. My goal for next year is to continue to provide steady leadership and support a smooth transition.
 
My experiences at CHS have been personally transformative. Whenever I speak with prospective families, I take pride in sharing that this is one of the few places I have worked where we live out our core values, mission, and vision on a daily basis.
 
I have been deeply impressed by our faculty and staff and their commitment to creating a sense of belonging and to weaving social and emotional learning into everyday instruction, along with a strong commitment to academic achievement. As a result, CHS students are confident and secure in their identity, display poise and caring for one another, take ownership of their learning and push themselves to grow beyond the classroom.
 
I have also been moved by the dedication of our parent community. The way families support our philanthropic efforts, show up to appreciate faculty and staff, and bring our community together through Family Association events reflects the spirit that makes CHS special.
 
I want to thank the Board of Trustees for the opportunity to serve, and every member of this amazingly tight community for the warmth and support you have shown me throughout my tenure. CHS will always hold a special place in my heart.

With gratitude,

Dr. Roderick MacNeal, Jr.
Head of School

June 30, 2026

Dear CHS Community,

On behalf of the Board of Trustees, we write to share that Dr. Roderick MacNeal, Jr. will be stepping down as Head of School of The Chestnut Hill School following the completion of the 2026–2027 school year. Below, you will find Dr. MacNeal’s reflections on his time leading CHS over the past three years.

We are deeply grateful for Dr. MacNeal’s dedication and service to CHS. From his first days with us, Dr. MacNeal has embraced the school’s mission and core values with enthusiasm, while guiding the school forward with clarity and purpose. Under his leadership, CHS has strengthened its academic program through key curricular enhancements, successfully completed its self-study work as a step toward AISNE reaccreditation, and developed a bold, forward-looking strategic plan. His work has energized the community and positioned the school for continued excellence in the decade ahead. We look forward to celebrating Dr. MacNeal and honoring his many contributions at a community gathering next spring. 

The Board has formed an initial working group and will appoint a search committee to lead a national search for CHS’s next Head of School to succeed Dr. MacNeal. Trustees Chris Kolovos P’32, P’35 and Varsha Tanguturi P’25, P’29, P’33 have generously committed to co-chair the search committee. Just as with the development of the strategic plan, the search process will include meaningful opportunities for community participation and input. We will share more information later this summer and provide regular updates throughout the search process.

For 186 years, CHS has nurtured young people to become, in the words of the school’s mission, joyful learners and critical thinkers who embrace diversity and act with empathy. That mission resonates today as loudly as it did decades ago. With a strong foundation and a compelling strategic plan in place, CHS is poised for an exciting next chapter—one that builds on the school’s history and serves as a model for early and elementary education in our area and across the nation. The Board of Trustees remains deeply optimistic about the future of CHS and looks forward to shaping it together with our extraordinary community.

With gratitude and optimism for all that lies ahead,

Mathilda McGee-Tubb
Chair, Board of Trustees

Sri Rao
Incoming Vice Chair, Board of Trustees