We applaud the December 2013 decision of Confluence Academy’s Board of Directors to create the new role of Head of School (HOS) and their appointment of Lynne Glickert to this post. The board considered this position important for the success of the school and announced that it had entered into a verbal contract for the HOS who would be:

“responsible for providing oversight, strategic planning, continued focus on the mission and vision of the school, fiscal management, human resources, development and fundraising, as well as creating and growing partnerships with civic, business and cultural organizations” (from the Confluence press release December 2013).

We now call upon the board to confirm the job description agreed upon between HOS Lynne Glickert and Confluence HR Director Terry Noble, which specifies, consistent with all other similarly titled positions in St. Louis and elsewhere that the Head of School is:

The most senior school executive,with responsibility for academic affairs, financial management, development, and outreach, and direct supervision of the staff leading those operations including the school principal.

Last week, however, the Confluence board of directors removed most of the executive responsibilities of the HOS. This move is unacceptable to the GCAA community. It is a dramatic reversal of the commitments made by this same board 3 months ago when the new position was created.

If the Confluence Board of Directors does not confirm the agreed-upon HOS job description by April 14th the GCAA Community will bring the issue to the attention of the broader local and regional community through interviews and reports to and by the media. The school is not well served by any disruption created by a failure to comply with meeting the agreed upon job description and it is our sincere hope that it will be implemented before April 15th in the interests of the children whose interests we collectively serve.