Audrey Perrott announced as new Head of School of Beacon Academy
Beacon Academy Board of Trustees is excited and proud to announce the appointment of Audrey Perrott as our next Head of School. Since July 1, 2022, Audrey has served as Interim Head of School. Beginning with her work as a Founding Trustee dating back nearly thirteen years and now as Beacon’s new leader, Audrey continues her commitment to education excellence and reimagining high school education for a modern world.
Audrey Perrott brings the rare combination of a proven track-record of education excellence, fundraising prowess, fiscal discipline and decisiveness, and importantly, Montessori expertise. She is a leader among independent school administrators and heads, currently serving as Chair of the Board of the Independent Schools Association of the Central States (ISACS), Beacon’s accrediting organization.
Cited as a leader who leads with integrity, grace, and courtesy, Audrey is a visionary, as evidenced by new endeavors she brought to Near North Montessori School over her 30-year career, during which she led two significant capital campaigns. She has mentored countless educators, who spent decades working alongside her.
Additionally, feedback from the search process determined that Audrey has the undeniable respect of faculty, staff, parents, and students, who view her leadership with admiration for her past accomplishments and her explicit desire to work in the best of interests of our community going forward. She is viewed as uniquely capable of recruiting and retaining faculty and staff and connecting with students who believe she truly values their contributions to Beacon. Moreover, Audrey is described as an effective leader who cares deeply for her staff’s dignity and participation in the school community, empowering them to share their knowledge and opinions, while respectfully holding all accountable. Parents echoed these sentiments and believe Audrey is an intuitive listener who understands students are growing up in a complex world and has the ability to unite diverse voices and opinions.
Throughout listening sessions, Audrey articulated her excitement about being part of Beacon’s future and finding herself wanting to delve deeper into our community to launch us into the next phase of our school’s life. Her goals align with the mission and strategic plan of Beacon, including:
- Bolstering the recruitment and enrollment of a diverse student body through a strategic long-term plan;
- Implementing a fundraising plan to secure individual and institutional philanthropic support, while also generating alternative revenue streams through new programmatic plans aimed at wide audiences; and
- Developing a clear communication plan that sets the marriage of Beacon’s Montessori backbone and IB curriculum apart from peer schools.
In officially accepting the appointment as Head of School, Audrey writes:
It is with great pleasure that I humbly accept the offer to become Beacon Academy’s next Head of School.
I am profoundly grateful to the entire Beacon Community for their warm welcomes, encouragement, and willing support of my candidacy for the Head of school position. Beacon is a very special place, a place that fills me with joy, inspiration, and conviction to continue the work to provide our students with an innovative and inspiring high school experience.
I look forward to partnering with you all to place Beacon on a strong footing in the next phase of the life of the School.
With Audrey as our new permanent Head of School working alongside our extraordinary faculty and staff, we are confident our mission and values will continue to flourish with our current and future students benefiting from their exciting work.
Brian King, President
The Beacon Academy Board of Trustees with and on behalf of
The Head of School Search Committee
Liz Al-Dajani
Shubha Chakravarthy
Isaac Akers
Christian Brown
Sara Folger
Jennifer Hodges
Brian Kavanaugh
Brian King, ex-officio
Inbar Kirson
Robyn McCloud-Springer
Jennifer Pack McDill
Gretchen Wooldridge