Head of School Search

Recently, the Executive Committee of FWC’s Board of Trustees provided an update on our Head of School search.  In that communication, we committed to sending all our families, faculty and staff a short survey giving everyone the opportunity to provide the Board of Trustees with input on the characteristics and skills you most want our next Head of School to embody.  I am pleased to share that we are launching the survey today, and the below link will take you directly to the survey:

A few explanatory notes about the survey: We expect the survey will take 10-15 minutes to complete, and you will be required to answer all questions to progress within the survey. Submissions are 100% anonymous, unless you choose to identify yourself in the responses. The survey questions presume that we are looking for a Christ-following believer with a strong faith background as a prerequisite, not an option. If applicable, both parents of a family are invited to respond individually. There is a question asking you to identify your role with the school – if you are faculty, an administrator, or a Board member, please select those specific categories to identify yourself, even if you are also a parent. The survey is being administered by JobfitMatters, the recruiting firm our Board has engaged to assist with our search process.  While it is tailored for FWC, the survey is based on a common structure used at many Christian schools around the country during leadership transitions.  JobfitMatters will share aggregate survey results with our Search Committee, but no individual submissions or respondent names will be shared. Thank you in advance for providing us with your feedback.  Your thoughts are important to us, and the Board will prayerfully consider your feedback as the search for our next Head of School progresses. Yours in Christ, Luke Alverson FWC Board of Trustees Search Committee Chair

August 14, 2023

Greetings Fort Worth Christian family! On behalf of the entire Board of Trustees, we want to welcome everyone back to FWC for the 2023/2024 academic year. We hope you all are as excited as we are about this new school year, our exciting campus improvements, and the bright future ahead for our school. There has never been a better time to be a Cardinal!

As we begin this fall semester, we want to provide an update on our Head of School search process. In doing so, we thank Nick Hinrichsen and Kent Means for their continued commitment and dedication to our school as they serve in their Interim Co-Head of School roles. Both gentlemen have led us well during the summer months and have helped prepare us for a great start to the year. Please take a moment to say “thank you” the next time you see them on campus.

Decisions regarding the Head of School are the most important decisions any independent school’s board undertakes. It is through these decisions that our Board of Trustees most directly carries out its fiduciary duties to our school, shows focused leadership, and stewards our school’s resources. Below is additional information about our Head of School search process and how it will progress in the coming weeks.

Process Leadership: As we communicated at the end of last school year, the search will be led by the Board of Trustees, facilitated by a Search Committee composed of the Board’s Executive Committee and our other committee chairs. Luke Alverson, Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees, is heading the Search Committee and will help guide the Board through the evaluation and selection process. Much work lies ahead, and the Board of Trustees has embraced its responsibility and is fully engaged in ensuring a successful outcome. We also recognize that the decision affects all of us and, to that end, we want your input. We will be sending all our families, faculty, and staff a short survey giving the opportunity to provide the Board of Trustees with input on the characteristics and skills you most want our next Head of School to embody. The Board will prayerfully consider this feedback as our search progresses.

Process Resources: The Board has retained JobfitMatters, a highly-qualified, Christian education-focused recruiting firm, to leverage our capabilities and ensure our search process is efficient and effective. The recruiting firm will expand the Board’s reach in sourcing qualified candidates to maximize the quality and depth of our candidate pool. Additionally, the recruiting firm will help screen and evaluate all candidates (both internal and external), using the Board’s criteria, which will help ensure our search process is conducted equitably and objectively.

Timing for Selection: God has blessed us to be in a position where we can take appropriate time to prayerfully evaluate and select our next Head of School. We will be efficient with our time and resources, but we will not rush the process. With that said, we expect to formally begin sourcing and evaluating candidates later this month. Executive leader search processes can be fluid, and we expect this next step will take several weeks. Ideally, we will have a finalist identified and an offer accepted by the end of the fall semester.

We praise God for the community we have and are so thankful for the important roles that every one of you play in making Fort Worth Christian the blessing that it is. We will provide additional information as our search process continues, but if you have any questions in the meantime, please do not hesitate to let us know.

The Executive Committee of FWC’s Board of Trustees

Cal Smallwood
Luke Alverson
Sarah Kight
Joe Don Ridgell

 

BOARD OF TRUSTEES  
Cal Smallwood, Chairman

Dear Fort Worth Christian Faculty and Staff,

I am writing to share with you that Dr. Misty Overman has informed the Board of Trustees (“Board”) that she is retiring effective at the end of this school year. Her last day of official duties was Saturday, May 27, as she presided over graduation. We are grateful for the contributions that Dr. Overman made to FWC over the past three years. Dr. Overman joined during a time of significant uncertainty, during the very beginning of the COVID pandemic, and led our school well through a period of unprecedented change. 

In reflecting on her time at FWC, Dr. Overman stated, “Jerry and I have loved the time we have had with the FWC community. During my time spent in the classrooms, on field and service trips, concerts, plays, and all the athletic games, we both have felt loved by the FWC family. We look forward to spending more time with our grandchildren as we move to the next phase of our journey. Our prayers continue with the students, families, faculty/staff, and Board of Trustees of FWC.”

Under her leadership, FWC has enjoyed stronger enrollment and improvements in advancement. In addition, Dr. Overman:

• Implemented Teaching for Transformation to integrate the Christian faith into every subject taught.

• Worked with our donors and staff to improve the facilities on campus including Lower School playground, Lower School Library, Cardinal Store renovations, Preschool renovations, Baseball and Softball field improvements, and the upcoming Barrow Stadium renovations.

• Expanded the Cardinal Learning Center to better serve our Preschool - 12th grade students and include dyslexia and speech therapies for our younger students.

• Was instrumental in helping FWC receive a recent grant that will be used for school improvements.

We want to thank Dr. Overman for her dedicated service to FWC and pray God’s blessings over her and her family. 

FWC is well-positioned with strong leadership at the helm of all divisions, talented faculty and staff, and sound financial management. The Board is keenly aware that our next Head of School should be able to build on this solid foundation, collaborate with the strong leadership personnel on campus, and help steward the school’s mission to be a Christ-centered, college preparatory school where every student is known, loved, and valued, taught excellence in an out of the classroom, and empowered with a biblical worldview.

As we move forward, the Board is ready to meet the challenge of engaging in a thorough search process for the next Head of School that God has planned for FWC. We as a Board pledge that there will be open communication on the search process as we move forward.

While the Board begins the search for the future Head of School, it has invited Kent Means and Nick Hinrichsen to serve jointly as the Office of Head of School on an interim basis. Together, these capable, trusted leaders will provide oversight, direction, and leadership for FWC. Nick Hinrichsen has served as the Upper School Head since 2019 and as both Middle and Upper School Head since 2021. Kent Means has served as Associate Head of School – Finance and Operations since 2017. These two servant leaders bring with them a combination of nearly 50 years of experience working in schools at the senior leadership level. They have demonstrated an unwavering commitment to FWC’s continued success and understand the current needs of our school community. We believe their unique combination of deep academic and operational experience, strengthened with their intimate knowledge of FWC, will ensure our school continues to march ahead while always staying committed to our mission, vision, and strategy. We are immensely grateful for their dedication to our school and for partnering with us during this time of transition.

Now, more than ever, we are relying on FWC’s most important asset, the faculty and staff that truly create the FWC difference. We expect that you may have questions during this time of transition, and we have provided a short FAQ at the end of this letter to hopefully answer some of them. If you have further questions, please direct them to your direct supervisor.

On behalf of the Board, I thank you for your commitment to Fort Worth Christian and for the time and energy you give the students throughout the year. We are excited about the opportunities ahead and know that God is leading FWC towards great things!

Sincerely,
Cal Smallwood
Chairman, Board of Trustees