Head of School
The Philadelphia School
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Photo by Matt Stanley
I was 6 years old when my family emigrated from South Korea to the United States in the late 1970s. As a child of working-class immigrants, I did not know anyone who attended an independent school. The only notion I had of the private school world was based on The Facts of Life, a TV show.Like everyone else I knew, I attended large public schools and graduated high school in a class of 500 students. Within the walls of those crowded classrooms, I was often quiet and remained mostly unknown to many of my teachers. Aside from my studio art instructor, Mr. Mastro, I did not develop any meaningful connections with my teachers. Sadly, I can only name three from my high school years.
After college, I taught in public high schools. Like the schools that I attended, they were large, and even among the faculty, it was easy to get lost in the crowd. Then I joined an independent school in Concord, Massachusetts. Small classes, an abundance of resources, and individualized instruction were welcome changes. The school was also committed to professional development and growth. When Bill Valentine, the assistant head of school, suggested I attend the NAIS People of Color Conference (PoCC), I initially resisted. At that time, I did not identify with the term “people of color.” I was clearly in the early stages of my racial identity development. But Valentine kept pushing me; perhaps he intuitively knew it’d be a powerful experience for a young teacher of color in a predominantly white school.
I first went to PoCC in 1999. It was transformational. Speakers and workshops focused on the Asian-American experience. Historian Ron Takaki spoke about including our stories in the writing of American history. For the first time, I saw mirrors of myself in the space of education.
I started to expand my work outside of the art room and became involved in diversity and equity initiatives, becoming the school’s first diversity coordinator. Neal Brown was an incredible mentor as I transitioned from teaching to administrative work and continued to find my voice. Dan Paradis, head of school at The Park School of Baltimore (MD), later supported my professional advancement by funding leadership-focused PD opportunities, engaging in frank conversations about leadership for people of color, and most recently, sponsoring me as I pursued my first headship.
The greatest aspect of working in independent schools is the strong support and mentorship that’s available. Now, as a head of school, I serve as a mentor for teachers and administrators who want to develop and transition into leadership. We all want our students to experience school as a safe place in which they are known, supported, and challenged to grow—and this is true for our teachers. I have been fortunate to have influential mentors throughout my career, and it is a privilege to be able to continue this tradition and pay it forward.
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