Katherine Windsor to be Next Head of Miss Porter's School

11/07/2007- Miss Porter's School

Katherine (Kate) Gladstone Windsor has been appointed the 12th Head of Miss Porter's School, effective July 1, 2008, by the School's Board of Trustees. Windsor (pictured) will follow the current Head of School, M. Burch Tracy Ford, who will have completed a 15-year tenure when she steps down on June 30, 2008.

"It is an honor for the Board of Trustees to invite Katherine Gladstone Windsor to be our 12th Head of Miss Porter's School," said Chair of the Board of Trustees Barbara Higgins Epifanio '79. "Kate's professional experience, leadership qualities, and strength of character will allow her to carry on the excellent work of the School that has so ably been served by the transformational tenure of Burch Ford."


Since 1998, Windsor has been the Head of School at The Sage School in Foxboro, Mass., which serves the educational needs of academically gifted students. Under her leadership, The Sage School has more than doubled its enrollment, purchased a permanent school campus, and successfully implemented its first capital campaign. She also developed strategic and business plans for the school, established its annual giving program, and guided changes in curriculum, scheduling and faculty supervision and evaluation.


"It is an honor and a thrill to be appointed as the 11th successor to Sarah Porter," Windsor said. "Having been raised in a family of educators, educated at both an independent school and a women's college, and been on the faculty at a secondary boarding school for close to a decade, I have a clear understanding of the mission and values of a girls' secondary boarding school. I have accepted the appointment as the next head of Miss Porter's because I am passionate in my desire to lead a girls' school, and I am committed to the unique mission that guides the community of learners who make up the Farmington campus."


Prior to The Sage School, Windsor spent nine years at Sandy Spring Friends School, a boarding and day school in Maryland, including serving as department head and director of the Ninth Grade Program, director of residential life, women's athletic director, teacher of history, and director of summer programs.


She is a candidate for an Ed.D. at the University of Pennsylvania in the Mid-Career Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership, has a B.A. in English from the University of Rochester and an M.A. in Leadership in Teaching from the College of Notre Dame in Baltimore, and was a Klingenstein Fellow at Columbia University.


"Miss Porter's has never been stronger by any measure than it is today, and as we look toward Burch Ford's 'graduation' with the Class of 2008, we thank her for her vision, leadership and the legacy of her boundless energy and commitment to excellence," said President of the Board of Trustees Penny Barker Weeks '77. "Kate Windsor will join the Porter's community on July 1 ready to engage and challenge students, faculty, alumnae and trustees alike to build on the strength that is Burch's legacy."


Ford commented on the appointment, "I am delighted that the Board of Trustees has chosen Kate Windsor for the privilege of being the next Head of Miss Porter's School. She is smart, experienced, proven, curious, energetic, creative, sensible, ethical and fun. She knows what girls, a faculty and a staff need, and she knows how to work effectively with parents, alumnae and a Board of Trustees."


Founded by Sarah Porter in 1843, Miss Porter's School is a college preparatory boarding and day school for 326 girls in grades nine through 12. Its diverse student body hails from 28 states and 13 foreign countries, with 11 percent international students and 25 percent students of color. Thirty-eight percent of students receive financial aid. You can learn more about Miss Porter's School at www.missporters.org.


Contact: Mara Braverman, Director of Communications, 860-409-3694