Scott Kerman Transitions Into Leading Role

Associate Head of School, Scott Kerman, is transitioning into yet another new role this year as he becomes interim Head of school following Mary Folberg’s retirement announcement.

Kerman highly values the culture and ideals of the school as it is now and wants to stay true to the core beliefs.

“It’s our job to assure everybody that even with this change from Mary to me and from me to whomever that the heart and soul of the school is still the same,” Kerman said. “Mary’s not riding off into the sunset. She’s still going to be actively involved in the school so we will always have that foundation of who we are.”

A month after Folberg’s retirement statement, Emily Karr, Northwest Academy Board Chair, announced the commencement of a national search for a new head of school. While engaged in this process, Scott Kerman, Associate Head of School, will serve as interim Head.

“I will not be implementing big changes,” Kerman said. “My focus is on making sure I do my best job working with everybody here in the next year. I want to leave the school as strong as I can for whoever that next Head of School is so whoever he or she is in a position to carry the school forward.”

Folberg will be involved with the school in more ways than one.

“I’ve always said that when I retire, I reserve the right to take any class I want to take and I need to take a Spanish class and I’ll probably come in and take a tap dancing class when they get the studio done and you’ll probably just be sick of me,” Folberg said.

The Board of Trustees has hired Robert Fricker, national search consultant of Carney, Sandoe & Associates to lead the world-wide search for the next Head of School.

“I think there will be more and more visionary work here,” Folberg said. “It’s a very big commitment by the Board of Trustees to really find the best person they can get for an innovative place like this.”

In Jan. 2016 Folberg announced that she would be stepping out of her role as Head of School and into the job of finding a permanent urban home starting with the purchase of the main building as an anchor for the eventual campus.

“Fiscally it’s really solid to begin this process but I’d like to be sure it starts in the right way,” Folberg said. “To me, doing that and not doing that is the difference between this school staying in existence and not; I think it’s that important.”

According to Folberg, the Plaza and Tower building set is appraised at over 4 million dollars more than the price that the the school may end up buying it for based on their purchase option agreement they signed two years ago.

“On a rainy day when I can’t be outside and I can’t be riding a horse there’s no place I’d rather be than the school and the Board has been really kind to offer me the opportunity to continue working,” Folberg said.

(Additional reporting by Aden Qamar)