Polytechnic School's Board of Trustees names new head of school for 2014-2015
Polytechnic School’s Board of Trustees announced Tuesday that John Bracker has been appointed Polytechnic School’s head of school effective July 1, 2014. After an extensive national search process, a search committee, made up of Poly trustees, faculty, staff, parents, and alumni, enthusiastically recommended John Bracker be hired, and the board affirmed this by voting unanimously to adopt the committee’s recommendation.
John is currently the head of Watkinson School in Hartford, Conn. He will succeed Poly’s current head of school, Debbie Reed, who last January announced her plans to retire at the end of the 2013-2014 school year. John Bracker has served 14 years as head of school at Watkinson School, an independent day school with 250 students in grades six through twelve. Before joining Watkinson as associate head of school, John worked for 13 years at Concord Academy in Concord, Mass., serving in several roles, including history teacher and director of admissions.
During his tenure at Watkinson, the school saw an increase in enrollment of 12 percent, built New England’s first energy-neutral classroom building, developed diploma programs in both global studies and creative arts, and developed an innovative program to map and track each student’s path through his or her Watkinson experience.
John’s professional reach extends beyond the Watkinson campus: He is active in numerous non-profit and community organizations throughout Hartford, including the SPHERE Consortium, University Park, and Covenant Preparatory School. John is a faculty member at the Kingswood-Oxford Leadership Institute for Educators of Color, and has been a chair of several accreditation committees, a board member of the Connecticut Association of Independent Schools, and a presenter at numerous education conferences, among other distinguished roles.
John’s wife, Rachel Countryman, is an educator in her own right and is the dean of academic life at Miss Porter’s School, an all-girls high school in Farmington, Conn. They have two children, Emma, 20, and Mason, 17.
Debbie Reed will continue to serve as head of school at Polytechnic School through June 30, 2014.
To view the letter sent to the Poly community, click here.
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John is currently the head of Watkinson School in Hartford, Conn. He will succeed Poly’s current head of school, Debbie Reed, who last January announced her plans to retire at the end of the 2013-2014 school year. John Bracker has served 14 years as head of school at Watkinson School, an independent day school with 250 students in grades six through twelve. Before joining Watkinson as associate head of school, John worked for 13 years at Concord Academy in Concord, Mass., serving in several roles, including history teacher and director of admissions.
During his tenure at Watkinson, the school saw an increase in enrollment of 12 percent, built New England’s first energy-neutral classroom building, developed diploma programs in both global studies and creative arts, and developed an innovative program to map and track each student’s path through his or her Watkinson experience.
John’s professional reach extends beyond the Watkinson campus: He is active in numerous non-profit and community organizations throughout Hartford, including the SPHERE Consortium, University Park, and Covenant Preparatory School. John is a faculty member at the Kingswood-Oxford Leadership Institute for Educators of Color, and has been a chair of several accreditation committees, a board member of the Connecticut Association of Independent Schools, and a presenter at numerous education conferences, among other distinguished roles.
John’s wife, Rachel Countryman, is an educator in her own right and is the dean of academic life at Miss Porter’s School, an all-girls high school in Farmington, Conn. They have two children, Emma, 20, and Mason, 17.
Debbie Reed will continue to serve as head of school at Polytechnic School through June 30, 2014.
To view the letter sent to the Poly community, click here.
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