Kew-Forest Announces Tiffany D. Trotter As Interim Head of School (effective July 1, 2022)

Monday, March 21, 2022
 
Dear Kew-Forest Community,
 
As spring begins, and consistent with the spirit of renewal and growth that the season represents, I write to you with exciting news. Since we announced that Carla Jantos MacMullen would be leaving Kew-Forest at the end of this school year, the Board of Trustees has been engaged in a thorough, deliberate process to identify our next Head of School – the individual who will lead our school through a transformative period in our school’s history. After much consideration, and with extensive input and feedback from all of our constituencies, I am thrilled to announce that Tiffany D. Trotter, Kew-Forest’s current Head of Middle and Upper School, has accepted the position of Interim Head of School, effective July 1, 2022.
 
In her new role, Ms. Trotter will be a guiding force in steering The Kew-Forest School through this transition period, as well as aiding us in making key decisions for our future. Tiffany brings to her new position 23 years of experience in education and a true passion for supporting, enhancing, and engaging with community.   I am confident that the Kew-Forest community has a promising future under her leadership.
 
A four-year veteran of Kew-Forest, Ms. Trotter has already helped shape the lives of so many of our graduates and their families. Through her love of learning and willingness to experiment and challenge those around her, she has continued to positively impact the minds of students and faculty alike.  She has contributed to identifying and addressing institutional needs in order to create a brighter and sustainable future for the Kew-Forest community. Having already led faculty in multiple departments  through interdisciplinary instruction and transitional periods here at Kew-Forest, there is no doubt that she is the right leader to guide our community through an extraordinary and exciting time.
 
As we begin the work of reimagining our school through the campus master planning and visioning process this spring, Ms. Trotter will be front and center, even before she officially takes the reins as Interim Head of School. And I know she looks forward to partnering with the community in the important work ahead.
 
Following please find a message from Ms. Trotter concerning her appointment.
 
Thank you all for your support and your love of our special community. Please join me in congratulating Ms. Trotter on this milestone.
 
With gratitude,
 
Christopher D’Amato P '18, '19, '21
Chair, Board of Trustees
The Kew-Forest School

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Monday, March 21, 2022
 
Dear Kew-Forest Community Members,
 
In June of 2020 as I considered how to organize my second Kew-Forest graduation speech, I landed on the idea of plot twists.  Whether in movies, in books, or in our individual lives, the unexpected can be the starting point of a transition, a transformation, an expanded awareness, or a great adventure.  March and then the spring of 2020 were certainly the beginning of transformations and learning across the globe.  Here at Kew-Forest we rethought teaching tools, platforms, techniques, and content.  We reorganized our schedule that spring to support our students’ wellbeing.  The following year we learned how to be effective teachers and learners and workers in remote environments and then in hybrid environments.  We adopted new measures for interacting with one another safely.  We picked up new pastimes. 
 
In many ways this current year has felt like a relief – we resumed fully in-person schooling, vaccinations and regular testing have helped people feel more secure, and in the last month we’ve begun seeing signs that even more “normal” life is on the horizon.  I, for one, began 2022 with expectations that ranged from the mundane (wrapping up the fall semester; wishing for warmer weather; hoping COVID positivity rates would fall) to the road ahead at K-F (supporting my faculty and students through the winter; and beginning to work with faculty to envision and co-create the curricular details of Kew-Forest 2.0), to the personal (training to do the TD Five Boro Bike Tour in May; and locking in the details of a summer trip to Argentina). 
 
Now, as every reader and movie viewer knows, it’s when you think you know what’s coming that the next curve ball comes flying in.  I certainly didn’t imagine heading into spring as the new Interim Head of The Kew-Forest School!  And yet, here we are and I am both excited and deeply grateful for the opportunity to be writing this letter to you as we embark on a journey together sparked by this winter’s plot twists. 
 
Successful navigation of the pandemic required us to rethink and re-tool both what we do and how.  The property redevelopment will afford us a similar opportunity regarding the spaces we inhabit: what and how do we want to do and be at Kew-Forest? 
 
My four years of partnering with and learning from the remarkable students, parents, faculty, and staff of this community, all ably led by Carla Jantos MacMullen, have highlighted just how much we are able to accomplish as a team and community.  With our collective experience and broader perspective on what could be, and our love of Kew-Forest to inform and guide us, together we – students and families, alumni, faculty and staff, and our Board of Trustees – are poised to co-create an exciting and dynamic Kew-Forest 2.0.
 
With deep gratitude to Carla for her example as well as her unwavering support of me and the Kew-Forest community, I step forward to move us all forward.  I thank you all for your support and trust, your questions and challenges, and your ongoing partnership in forging our path ahead.
 
Sincerely,
 
Tiffany D. Trotter
Incoming Interim Head of School
Head of Middle & Upper School



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The Kew-Forest School

119-17 Union Turnpike
Forest Hills, NY 11375
(718) 268-4667
The oldest independent school in the borough of Queens, The Kew-Forest School is an independent co-educational, college preparatory school for students in Preschool through Grade 12.