Former Head of School Jeanne Huybrechts will be the first Head of School at Stratford School’s high school, which will open fall of 2019.
Huybrechts retired from her position at Harvard-Westlake at the end of the 2016-17 school year. During her 28 years at the school, Huybrechts filled several positions, including science and math teacher, Assistant Ninth Grade Dean, Assistant Head of School for Faculty Affairs and Head of School.
Now, Huybrechts is coming out of retirement for her new position.
Founded in 1999, Stratford School is an Independent private school with 26 campuses across both Northern and Southern California. In addition to its preschools, elementary middle schools, Stratford will launch a high school at the beginning of the 2019-2020 school year. The school incorporates Character Counts! education that focuses on instilling values such as trustworthiness and respect, according to their website.
In a letter to the Stratford families on the school website, Huybrechts said she has visited multiple Stratford campuses to observe classes and meet with faculty and students. She also stated her goals for the first Stratford high school and its students, emphasizing the importance of an easy transition from the current middle schools to the new high school.
“With guidance from passionate and compassionate teachers, students should engage with big ideas in [science, technology, engineering and math] disciplines and in the humanities and arts, hone their intellectual and creative capacities, freely exchange ideas as they develop their unique voices and, increasingly important, learn how to get their questions answered,” Huybrechts said in her letter.
“Every day and in all their school encounters, the children in our care should be inspired, nurtured, challenged and treated fairly.”
The Stratford School website said the school enforces modern learning techniques by bringing technology into the classroom.
“We want students to not only understand how to use devices, but also to understand how they work, and ultimately, question how they could work better,” the school’s website said. “Stratford begins teaching the fundamentals of coding in preschool, fostering curiosity in students to become future creators of technology rather than just consumers.”
Tierni Kaufman ’19 expressed her support for Huybrechts’ position.
“She was a really good math teacher, was really friendly and was a nice part of our community,” Kaufman said.
