Overseers Select Darryl J. Ford PC's New Head of School

November 14, 2006

Dear Parents, Students, Alumni, Faculty, and Friends,

On behalf of the Overseers of the William Penn Charter School, we are delighted to announce the appointment of Darryl J. Ford as the new Head of School, effective July 1, 2007. As most of you may know, Darryl is currently Director of our Richard B. Fisher Middle School. We are confident that Darryl possesses the exceptional combination of personal and professional gifts that will enable him to lead Penn Charter with vision and inspiration, building upon the foundational traditions that have benefited the school for more than 300 years.

Darryl's selection resulted from a thorough and intense national search that followed Earl Ball's decision to step down at the end of the current academic year after 31 years of extraordinary leadership. In short, that process involved: the formation of a search committee; the selection of a national search consulting firm (Carney, Sandoe & Associates); the drafting and dissemination of a document describing both the school and the position; search committee review and interviews of numerous interested candidates recommended by the consultants; and, campus visits by the four semi-finalists identified by the search committee. During the campus visits, each candidate met with administrators and met separately with 11 search committee support groups composed of staff; Lower, Middle and Upper School faculty and parents; senior and more recent alumni; and Middle and Upper School students. Representatives of all of those groups reported their impressions back to the search committee. The task was arduous. The decision, even among a field of highly qualified and impressive candidates, became easy.

Darryl, 42, is a graduate of Friends Select School, a Phi Beta Kappa graduate with Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees from Villanova University, and he obtained MA and PhD degrees from the University of Chicago (Educational Administration, Institutional and Policy Studies). He has been our Middle School Director for the past nine years, before which he was the Headmaster and Executive Director of St. Gregory Episcopal School in Chicago, a private 1st through 8th grade choir school for underprivileged boys. He serves as a board member of the Friends Council on Education, and was Clerk of that board last year. He also serves on the boards of Steppingstone, Episcopal Community Services, Children's Literary Initiative, and The Greater Philadelphia Area Independent School Consortium.

Academic achievement and distinction, combined with extensive experience in independent school administration and organizations, are compelling qualities for a new head of school and are possessed by many, including Darryl. Additional factors made Darryl the ideal candidate to lead Penn Charter at this exciting time in the school's history. At the beginning of this process we identified characteristics we were looking for, including: knowledge of and support for our Quaker tradition; broad-based knowledge of educational thought and practice; visionary leadership; effective communication skills individually and in groups; approachability and open-mindedness; commitment to diversity; the ability to make hard decisions; a willingness to assist in raising resources and expanding endowment; and a sense of humor. The more we learned about Darryl - in large part due to the involvement of the constituency support groups that assisted us in the search process - the more obvious it became that the characteristics we had considered so vital in our next Head of School were attributes Darryl has demonstrated both inside and outside of his life at Penn Charter.

Earl Ball continues to receive our thanks and gratitude for his tireless and transformational leadership. He would be the first to tell you that the vibrant institution Penn Charter is today is the result of the dedicated work of many people in teaching, coaching, counseling, administrative, and other roles throughout the School. What we learned during the search process was the profound and inspirational impact Darryl has had on the lives of the many children, families and colleagues who have had the good fortune - sometimes in difficult situations - to come into contact with him. The most significant and sensitive duties of stewardship facing Overseers arise in articulating and promoting Penn Charter's mission as a Quaker institution, and the selection of the finest Head of School available. We are pleased to be able to report to you our enthusiastic consensus that Darryl's appointment advances each of those goals.

Darryl is married to Gail Sullivan, an obstetrician and gynecologist and assistant professor at Drexel University College of Medicine. Darryl and Gail have two sons: Jameson Ford, 4, and Lucas Ford, 2. We look forward to the family's enhanced involvement in the Penn Charter community.

Sincerely,
William B. Carr, Jr. OPC '69, Clerk of Overseers

Richard A. Balderston OPC '69, Clerk, Head of School Search Committee