Hammond School Announces New Middle School Head - 3/27/07
In a letter to Faculty, Staff and Parents, Headmaster Adam de Pencier announced Blair Lowry, of Winter Haven, Florida, as Hammond School's new Middle School Head. This letter, which has been transcribed below, presents some details about Mrs. Lowry's education and experience to date.
March 27, 2007
Dear Hammond families,
I am delighted to announce that Blair Lowry will become our Head of Middle School beginning July 1st of this year. Mrs. Lowry comes to us from All Saints’ Academy in Winter Haven, Florida (an Episcopalian co-ed day school with an enrollment of 670 students) where she is Director of Lyceum Studies, an enriched academic program. As Director, Blair is responsible for faculty assessment and recruitment, curriculum design, and the National Association of Independent School (NAIS) self study (a process Hammond went through just last year). Her job is essentially to run a school within a school, or what we would consider a division. She has also served as Department Chair for History, Chair for Committee on Faculty Compensation, and delivered Promethean Smart board training to all Middle and Upper School faculty. Prior to All Saints, Blair had wide independent school experience, including five years at well respected Saint Andrews Episcopal School in Boca Raton. Perhaps her most impressive contribution was coordinating All Saints’ Hurricane Katrina Relief program. In this effort she went well beyond the bounds of her school. “Three years after we moved back from England,” Blair recalls, “a series of hurricanes hit Polk County, Florida, and I volunteered as a Family Services Case Manager. I felt that I needed to help my community during a difficult time. We interviewed families, assessed their immediate needs, provided financial assistance, temporary shelter, and referred them for medical help which was often necessary.”
Service is a tightly wound thread in Blair’s life, beginning with her father, who served as a General in the Air Force, and her mother, a long time teacher who became Head at the Oxford University School, in Oxford, Mississippi. (Blair’s mom was also a Middle School Head at the Gulliver School in Florida) “While New Orleans and Baton Rouge are my roots, home was all over the world. My childhood opened me up to America and the world”. Born on an Air Force Base in California, Blair grew up in several states, including Georgia, Louisiana, Kentucky, and Florida, and overseas in Greece and England.
Always an excellent student, Blair graduated from Coral Gables High School and then proceeded to the University of Alabama where she graduated with a BA in Political Science, and a minor in Latin American Studies; Blair has also studied Spanish and French. Her interest in international politics led her to England and the University of Hull, where she graduated with an MA in Political Economy. In England she met her future husband David, who she married in 1995. Blair and David have two children, William, a rising 5th grader, and Grace, who will be in 2nd grade next fall. David is a former medic with the Royal Air Force and currently works as a nurse in the challenging field of psychiatric gerontology.
When I asked Blair what attracted her to Hammond, she said, “this is a school that takes seriously the idea of global citizenship, which essentially means understanding the connectivity of nations, even as they embrace their own traditions. I also was most impressed with the Middle School faculty, who are clearly focused and effective in the classroom.”
I asked her what thinker had been most influential to her own education and she offered Adam Smith: “1776 will most be remembered as the year The Wealth of Nations was published (Blair is one of two people I know who have actually read the book; it will be no surprise to Hammond readers that the other is Upper School history teacher Robert Fowler). Smith was prescient about the global world, and not just the economy”. I shared Margaret Thatcher’s oft famous and perhaps sententious statement that “Adam Smith was first and foremost a professor of moral philosophy”. “But he was”, replied Blair. “He understood that unfettered markets were really just an extension of personal initiative and responsibility”.
Hammond families should know that for all of her élan and understanding, Blair is very much grounded in the realities of leading our Middle School. Everyone commented on her obvious love of children, and colleagues repeatedly referenced successes in and out of the classroom. “It is important for people to know that I’m committed to the school in the long term, including a wonderful fit for my own family”. This focus and commitment has served Blair so well in her own career. In the interview process, Blair was the clear choice of both the search committee and Middle School faculty: integrity, intelligence, and inspiration were a consistent refrain from Hammond teachers, parents, and references. One wrote: “Blair is someone who pays attention to detail. She listens well and asks good questions. Perhaps one of her strongest attributes is her ability to speak candidly. She always maintains her loyalty and respectful nature. It is refreshing to have someone you can trust to give you their honest opinions without worrying about personal agendas”. While we were fortunate to consider more than one strong candidate, Blair’s answers (including a 20 minute written response to a difficult Middle School problem that all finalists faced), strong liberal arts background, and experience, were unbeatable.
While Blair does not formally begin until this summer, she has agreed to help with Middle School hiring, including the new positions of Guidance Counselor and Learning Resource Specialist. Blair is also aware of concerns in the Middle School, including timetabling, homework, and extra curricular programming. Looking ahead, I see Blair making a great contribution to articulating a Middle School vision that will embrace high academic standards, values, and life beyond the classroom. We hope to provide an opportunity sometime this spring for our families to meet our new Head of Middle School.
I would like to thank René Bickley, Bob Davis, Betsy Choate, Jay Courie, Katherine Hopkins, Adeline Lundy, and Nancy White, who served as members of the search committee. The process and product well represent their effort over the past two months.
