By Margaret Hodson ’16, Perspectives Co Section Editor
As a member of the Country Day community since 2008, I’ve been to my fair share of all-school assemblies. I thought I knew what to expect from the State of the School meeting—infectious energy, palpable excitement, loud clapping, enthusiastic cheering, and proud school spirit. All of these elements were present in abundance, but I did not foresee the loud and collective awwwing characteristic of teenage girls fawning over pictures of newborn puppies. Tragically, there were no puppies at the State of the School meeting. Perhaps this oversight will be corrected in the future, but for now, Dr. Macrae’s description of Head of School elect Mr. Tony Jaccaci was enough to elicit a response typically reserved for adorable four-legged fluff balls. Dr. Macrae said, “I wrote a few adjectives down about Tony…he’s smart, he’s genuine, he’s funny, he’s smart, he’s kind, he’s sincere, he’s smart, and he likes kids.” (Cue awwwing).
Dr. Macrae’s aforementioned string of adjectives was by no means the only descriptor applied to Mr. Jaccaci during the State of the School meeting or his entire visit to Country Day. The whole campus was abuzz with the news of his arrival—it was as if a celebrity had stepped onto the Country Day grounds. Although many students expressed confusion regarding the correct pronunciation of his last name, the curiosity-levels were certainly running high. Few students had met the Head of School Designate, and they had many questions. What was he like? Was he a good fit for the school? Would he uphold the traditions and excellence of Country Day? Did he truly grasp what it meant to be an Indian?
It wasn’t just Upper School students asking these types of important questions. As early as last summer, members of a search committee began devising a strategy for obtaining the best possible replacement for Dr. Macrae. The “broad and inclusive” search committee was comprised of parents, faculty, administrators, trustees, and alumni. The search committee stressed above all the need for a Head of School that would fit their vision statement. Based off community-wide surveys, the statement reads, “While preserving the core strengths of our community, we want a new Head of School who can both help lead us in the process of establishing a compelling vision for the future and identify and execute clear paths regarding academic excellence and robust financial health.” Students also played an important role in the search process, and a handful of Upper School students met Mr. Jaccaci after he had emerged as a promising finalist. After a vigorous series of interviews, a clear consensus was reached. The CCDS Board of Trustees unanimously approved Mr. Jaccaci as Country Day’s 12th Head of School. In the words of Board President Chip Pettengill, “47 candidates, one survivor, and he’s here with us tonight.”
The search for a new Head of School was a collaborative, community-based and-driven project. The Country Day community chose its next leader. On February 27th, they greeted him with rousing applause in Keeler Theater. While not excessively long, Mr. Jaccaci’s speech successfully conveyed both his character and values. As if a member of Mrs. Dunn’s Honors English 10 class, Mr. Jaccaci decided to espouse his principles in the format of a “This I Believe” essay. Through his speech, Mr. Jaccaci put a strong emphasis and focus on both character and choices. He said, “You—soon to be we, and I’m excited about that—are committed to children and students understanding how to make important choices when faced with difficult situations, because these are the kind of people that we’re going to need in the future.” He expressed his belief in the necessity of living “a life where people will remember you for the strength of your character and not necessarily the skills or the talents that you have.” County Day’s dedication to “Virtue in Action” was one of the many reasons Mr. Jaccaci was so drawn to Country Day. He said, “The mission of this school is based very much on creating good people, creating people with character, creating people who will make choices when nobody else is looking, making the right choice in the hard situation.” It is Mr. Jaccaci’s belief that his own principles align very well with the motto and core values of Country Day. This is perhaps more true than he himself knows. Although I doubt Mr. Jaccaci has toured the Country Day girls’ locker room, his speech immediately reminded me of the quote painted upon the wall of the locker room entrance. It reads, “The vision of a champion is bent over, drenched in sweat, at the point of exhaustion, when nobody else is looking.”
Along with the dedication to character development, Mr. Jaccaci was drawn to the school’s excellence, innovation, and focus on whole-child development. Of course, he was immensely impressed by our community’s school spirit. He said, “I first arrived at Country Day on Spirit Day. It wasn’t planned, but the power of the community and the spirit of the community, I felt from the very first moment I stepped on this campus. And it was absolutely wonderful. So I don’t know if it was meant to be, but it certainly felt that way to me. I told Chip [Pettengill] as I left that I came intrigued, but I left very excited.” Mr. Jaccaci and his family are also excited about the city of Cincinnati itself. In June, Mr. Jaccaci, his wife Lucia, and his three sons will be moving from Shanghai to the Broadwell House. Mr. Jaccaci and his family have lived in Shanghai since 2010, when Mr. Jacacci took a position as the executive principle at the YK Pao Secondary School. He actually built the school from the ground up, and was responsible for both hiring teachers and enrolling students. He also has 13 years of experience teaching at St. George’s School, an independent school in Newport, RI. The Board of Trustees is confident these experiences will help Mr. Jaccaci successfully run Cincinnati Country Day School. Mr. Pettengill noted, “As you can tell from his background, Tony has a wonderful combination of academic tradition and entrepreneurial zeal.”
Mr. Jaccaci will need to put to use all of his skills as an educator and administrator to successfully run Country Day. This is especially true in light of the big plans revealed at the State of School meeting. One such plan is the “North Campus Project,” which will include an Early Childhood Center, an Aquatic Center, and a Playscape. Dr. Macrae is in charge of the fundraising and designing for this project, while Mr. Jaccaci will oversee construction. The North Campus Project was spearheaded by Mike Leonard ’83 and his wife Susie, and recently has been greatly helped by an anonymous $2 million dollar gift. The fundraising goal for the North Campus project is $7.5 million, $5.7 million of which has been raised. The deadline is May 1st.
Although many things will be changing, in his speech Dr. Macrae was sure to highlight many of the things that will remain the same. He spoke of the “strong and stable divisional leadership,” including that of Upper School Head Stephanie Luebbers. He placed large emphasis on the “power of community,” and requested that current families help recruit new students by positive word-of-mouth. He spoke of an initiative called the “Power of One,” in which Country Day is asking each current family to invite a prospective family to campus. These types of grassroots efforts have proved in the past to be successful methods for boosting enrollment. Dr. Macrae also touched on institutional confidence, the My Day campaign, and the results of last year’s ISACS Survey. As Dr. Macrae spoke of Country Day’s past and its plans for the future, the immense influence he’s had upon the Country Day community was evident. Mr. Pettengill expressed this sentiment, and noted that Dr. Macrae has “no case of senioritis.” Mr. Pettengill said, “Under [Dr. Macrae’s] leadership Country Day has grown stronger, and we will miss his engaging and energetic spirit.” There are plans to celebrate Dr. Macrae’s contributions to the school later this year, but Mr. Jaccaci took some time during his speech to offer thanks. He said, “I would like to personally thank Rob for all the work that he has done to put Country Day in such a wonderful place for somebody like me to be able to come in. I’m very honored, so thank you.” For his part, Dr. Macrae has full confidence in Mr. Jaccaci and his ability to successfully lead Country Day. Dr. Macrae said, “I’m so excited to be handing over the baton to Tony Jacacci.” He also asked the Country Day community to aid Mr. Jaccaci and his family during this time of transition.
On Tuesday the 27th, Country Day students were given the opportunity to do just that. Mr. Jaccaci spoke briefly in front of the students during an All-School gathering, and was then presented with gifts from each division. From the Lower Schoolers, umbrella for carline, a blue and white Mohawk, and some letters for Mr. Jaccaci’s son Ben, who will be joining the Lower School next year. The Middle School presented Mr. Jaccaci with a variety of sports-team related gifts, including hats emblazoned with the insignias of the Bengals and Reds. Mr. Jaccaci is a Patriots and Red Sox fan, but was peer-pressured by the Lower School tots into placing the Reds cap on his head. The Upper School gave Mr. Jaccaci our spirit wear socks and a baseball jersey with his name on it and the number 12, as he will be Country Day’s 12th Head of School. The gifts were meant to welcome Mr. Jaccaci, but also to give him a greater sense of the Country Day community and what it means to be an Indian. It means school spirit and pride, and immense dedication to Country Day and to each other. There are perhaps no better students to convey this message to Mr. Jaccaci then the senior lifers, who met with him for lunch. Mr. Jaccaci noted, “They all looked at me kind of sideways and said, ‘You better take care of this school.’ They didn’t exactly say it that way, but I could see it in their eyes.” Above all, Country Day students care. We care about our school, and we want it to prosper even through periods of transition and change. This is why Country Day students were so interested in the process of searching for a New Head of School—they love Country Day. We all want a leader who can uphold our schools’ values and traditions. After this year’s State of the School address, one thing was made abundantly clear: Mr. Jaccaci’s the man for the job. Welcome to the tribe.
