News

Dear Charles Wright Academy Families and Friends,

With the overwhelming support of the CWA community, we are thrilled to announce that Rachel Rippl has been appointed as the long-term Head of School, effective immediately.

As a Board, we are entrusted with the responsibility of selecting the Head of School for Charles Wright Academy. We deeply value the feedback and insights of our community, as you are the heart of our school. Your input is critical in our decision-making process.

When we, the Board, sent our Head of School next steps survey to families, faculty, staff, alumni, and more, we received a staggering amount of feedback. We heard you. The thoughtful responses, passion, and conviction felt by those completing the survey were powerfully imparted, and the entire Board reviewed every response. An unprecedented 94% of respondents believe that Rachel Rippl has the ability to serve the school well as CWA’s next Head of School. An equally unprecedented 100% of responding faculty and staff feel the same. This level of support is nearly impossible to come by, even for the most successful leaders. Yet this support has been hard-earned during two decades of what can be considered a working interview on our campus. Rachel constantly digs in with a smile, navigating through good times and challenging times with expertise and warmth.

During our extensive work with Rachel over the last several months, we have come to the same conclusion you did. In fact, at the fall Board retreat before his passing, Chris Gorycki identified Rachel as the best candidate for the next Head of School at Charles Wright Academy, and he had begun to mentor her into the role. In his absence, other educational leaders have stepped in to mentor her, and we’ve come to see how highly capable she is of performing the duties of this role. Rachel is CWA’s biggest cheerleader, and with your vote of confidence, the Board of Trustees believes she can steadily lead us into the future. We have watched her build morale and trust, address complicated issues with creativity, and outline transformational next steps to lead CWA with confidence.

Born and raised in Seattle, Rachel has over 20 years of experience in education. She graduated from the University of Washington in 2001 and joined Teach for America with a passion for serving under-resourced schools. After completing two years of teaching and training in New Jersey, Rachel returned to the Pacific Northwest and pursued a Master’s degree in Education from Antioch University. Throughout her career, she has engaged in coursework at Columbia Teachers College, participated in the NWAIS Emerging Leaders program, and most recently completed the NAIS Aspiring Heads Fellowship. All the while, Rachel continues to learn from and partner with some of the best educational leaders in our nation. This experience, along with her deep understanding of Charles Wright Academy–its people, programs, rich past, and promising future, have uniquely prepared her to lead our school.

A small group of respondents expressed a desire for a national search, and this path was also seriously considered. In analyzing the most pressing needs of the school and reflecting on all the feedback we have received over the past year, we believe what is needed most for the future leadership of the school is someone who knows our community well, understands where we’ve been, has built trust with employees, students, and families, and can use this foundation to lead us into the future. We are excited to see Rachel’s expertise and insightful innovation thrive on our campus!

In the coming year, Rachel will invite constituents from across the school to participate in the process of developing a shared vision for CWA that will carry the school forward. In March, we’ll have finalists on campus for the Upper School Director position. Students, families, and employees will have the opportunity to meet each one and offer feedback for this process. As the new leadership team comes together, they will examine our strategic vision and begin charting the course for CWA’s next chapter, looking at ways to anchor the school in our mission and values while continuing to advance our programs to prepare students for future success in an evolving world. You can look forward to a communication from her very soon.

Thank you. Thank you for taking this journey with us. Your involvement and feedback have been invaluable in this process. We have been through a lot as a community, and we are thrilled to be leaning into the future. It is a future fueled by thoughtful planning, collaboration, commitment to our mission, dedication to doing what is best for students and families, and excitement for what we can do together. Thank you for your service and leadership, Rachel! The best is yet to come. Go Tarriers!

In Partnership,

The CWA Board of Trustees

Aimee Allen (P ’19)

Drew Bamford ’91

Adam Blakney ’00 (P ’33, ’32)

Dr. Guillermo Chacon (P ’34, ’11)

Wendy Cochran (P ‘31, ‘19, ‘17)

Emily Happy (P ’32)

Hillary Hearn (P ’38, ’36)

Dr. David Hirschberg ’80 (P ’17)

Diane Hunt (P ‘06)

Christian Mattson (P ’37, ’35)

Toby Murray ’71 (P ’02, GP ’38)

Ben Sclair ’88 (P ’24, ’19, ’17)

Nicole Stice (P ’29, ’27, ’24)

Sarah Weyerhaeuser (P ’11, ’09, ’07)

Trevor Will ’93 (P ’27, ’24)

Dori Young (P ’16, ’14)

EXCELLENCE • COMPASSION • INTEGRITY • RESPECT • PERSEVERANCE