This is our final week of the 2021-2022 school year and also marks the final academic days of my five-year headship at Roycemore, a school that I have felt absolutely privileged to serve. We have a community that lives our values of scholarship, respect, integrity, compassion, and community. I believe our commitment to these shared values has held us together through exceedingly difficult times, not the least of which has been navigating how to operate in the midst of a pandemic.

I want to extend my sincere appreciation to all of the parents who partnered with us to follow the guidelines of our Health and Safety Plan that has helped prevent the spread of COVID-19. On top of that, you gave of yourselves freely, volunteering in the classroom, helping with events, sharing your expertise with students, and providing generous philanthropic support to advance our mission.

I wish to express my gratitude to our faculty and staff who are some of the most talented and certainly the hardest working individuals you will see in any school anywhere! We have a culture where everyone helps and supports each other. They are caring, compassionate individuals who are drawn to Roycemore because they want to be part of a special community that lives its values and makes decisions based on what’s best for kids.

Our all-volunteer Board of Trustees is composed of accomplished and dedicated individuals who are strategic, generous, and respectful of the appropriate lines of governance. Our high-achieving and high-functioning Board is the envy of school heads around the country who have struggled with trustees who have crossed the line into operational issues that are the purview of the Head of School and administration. Our partnership is extraordinary!

Roycemore is fortunate to also have a deep bench of talent when it comes to administrators. Our senior administrative team includes highly skilled specialists who collaborate to provide thoughtful, creative, and powerful leadership for the school. And their competence is matched with a kind-heartedness and cooperative interaction that is rare in schools today.

Our community of parents, grandparents, alumni, parents of alumni, faculty, staff, and administrators singularly support our intelligent, creative, diverse, resilient, respectful, and courageous students. I am beyond proud of our exceptional kids! And it is because of these young people, that our community is aligned and committed to the future of Roycemore. Chris English will be a great Head of School for Roycemore who will continue our mission and advance our vision. He will officially begin his tenure on July 1 and during the month of June, he and I will have some overlap in our roles to provide ample opportunity for a thorough transition.

While I will no longer be serving as your Head of School after the end of June, I will eagerly follow the continued accomplishments of Roycemore students, the progression of the academic programs, and the completion of the Innovation Center. I also look forward to keeping in touch with many of you whom I am honored to call friends and will miss dearly.

In partnership for the education of your student,

Adrianne Finley Odell

Head of School