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Laurel School Appoints Two High-Profile Independent School Educators to Serve as Assistant Heads of School

Rachel Herlein, Assistant Head for Academic Excellence, and Heather Willis Daly, Assistant Head for Strategic Initiatives and Engagement, Will Help Propel Ambitious Strategic Plan
SHAKER HEIGHTS, OH – (March 3, 2022) Laurel School is pleased to announce that Rachel Herlein and Heather Willis Daly will each take on the role of Assistant Head of School beginning in the 2022-2023 school year. Ms. Herlein will focus on academic excellence, Pre-Primary-Grade 12, while Mrs. Daly will focus on schoolwide strategic initiatives and engagement. 
 
“We are thrilled to bring to Laurel School two exceptional educators as Assistant Head of School,” said Ann V. Klotz, Head of School. “The Board of Trustees and I feel fortunate to have their expertise and wisdom. Their commitment to advancing girls is deep, and their independent school experience makes each a superb addition to the Laurel leadership team. Their combined focus on academic excellence and strategic initiatives that will benefit our entire school community will give me the flexibility required to focus on completing our ambitious Capital Campaign.”
 
Ms. Herlein joins Laurel from Holton-Arms School, a girls’ school in Bethesda, MD, where she is the Academic Dean and Dean of the Faculty. Prior to her time at Holton-Arms, she spent a decade at Garrison Forest School, a girls’ day and boarding school in Owings Mills, MD, where she served as English teacher and Director of Academic Success.
 
“At Laurel, girls receive the consistent message that their brilliance, resilience, and unique gifts can—and should—be leveraged to make the world a better place! It will be a great privilege to serve at Laurel School where the Center for Research on Girls informs programmatic and pedagogical decisions not only on its campus but also around the country and even the world,” Herlein said. “Spending a few days at Laurel showed me firsthand how its national reputation as a leader in girls’ education is grounded in an exciting reality. It will be a privilege to serve alongside Ann Klotz, an inspirational, authentic and visionary leader to further the important mission of Laurel School.”
 
As the Assistant Head for Academic Excellence, Herlein will reach across all grade levels and departments of the school and will work closely with Laurel’s Center for Research on Girls’ (LCRG) Executive Director Lisa Damour and Director of Research Dr. Tori Cordiano to integrate LCRG research even more into daily practice at Laurel and to undertake action research with faculty.
 
Mrs. Daly comes to Laurel from St. Andrew’s School, a coed boarding school for grades 9-12 in Middletown, DE, where she is the Dean of Admission and Financial Aid. She is a member of the NAIS Financial Aid Advisory Task Force and an Admissions Director Institute faculty member at the Enrollment Management Association. Daly previously served for a decade as Assistant Head for Enrollment Management and Director of Admission and Financial Assistance at Hawken School.
 
“It’s an honor to be joining the Laurel community, having long admired the school’s warmth, authenticity and powerful commitment to its mission of inspiring each girl (and young boy) to fulfill her promise and to better the world,” said Daly. “My visit to campus this winter reinforced these impressions and deepened my enthusiasm about Laurel and the possibilities that lie ahead. I’m excited to return to Northeast Ohio this summer to work alongside Ann Klotz, Rachel Herlein and the rest of my future colleagues on behalf of every Laurel student.”

As the Assistant Head for Strategic Initiatives and Engagement, Daly will provide leadership for new and existing initiatives that distinguish the school including athletics, signature programming, local and national partnerships, the Environmental Justice semester, global travel, and summer programming. She also will help consider ways in which to further the reach and impact of LCRG.
 
  
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Founded in 1896, Laurel School is a nationally recognized school for girls in Kindergarten through Grade 12, with a coeducational Pre-Primary School. Its mission is “to inspire each girl to fulfill her promise and to better the world.”
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