Announcing our Next Head of School
Dear Soundview Community,
On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I am honored and excited to share that Chrissy Sinclair has been officially appointed as the next Head of School at Soundview, effective starting today. Chrissy’s leadership experience, her deep knowledge of the IB curriculum, and her unquestioned passion for and dedication to Soundview make her a uniquely qualified and conclusive choice for Soundview’s next Head of School.
Chrissy exemplifies the qualities Soundview seeks in its next head and her leadership experience puts her in a strong position to carry out the critical work Soundview needs now. Chrissy’s Soundview roots run deep. She has been part of the Soundview community since 2010, serving in many roles, including teacher, Lower School Head, Director of Enrollment, and Assistant Head of School. She is also the parent of two Soundview graduates. Chrissy has done extensive preparation for the work of Head of School, including participating in the NWAIS Pathways to Leadership program and the NWAIS Leadership Institute. She also serves as a board member for another independent school.
As interim head of school, Chrissy has led the work towards completing our NWAIS accreditation process, an incredible milestone for the school. She has also continued to shepherd the work of the strategic and financial plan. In her application materials, Chrissy wrote that she is “prepared to lead Soundview from a place of deep institutional knowledge and a willingness to identify opportunities for innovation to meet the changing needs of today's students and families.” We saw throughout the search process evidence of what Chrissy identified as some of her many strengths: “I know our students, I value the partnerships I have built with families, I trust our faculty, and I am fully aligned with the Board’s vision for the future.” Chrissy told us she is “excited to dream together about what the future holds.” We couldn’t agree more.
This announcement follows a deeply thoughtful and inclusive vetting process that was over 18 months in the making. In October 2024, the Board learned that Chris Watson would be departing at the end of the 2024–25 school year. In response, and in alignment with the existing succession plan, the Board appointed Chrissy as interim head of school and formed a transition support committee.
At the January 2025 State of the School meeting, the Board announced the process and timeline for appointing a permanent head of school. That process was reiterated in the October 2025 State of the School meeting and in December 2025, a search committee of the board was formed. The search committee was tasked by the board with organizing, directing, and supervising all aspects of the Head Search process, including consultant engagement, candidate evaluation, and bringing to the board its nomination for the individual to serve as the next Head of School.
The Search Committee selected Joan Beauregard of Educators Collaborative as the search consultant in January 2026. The first step in working with Joan was to design what is known as an internal vetting process, which is what happens when a school has an internal candidate they want to consider. This process follows the same rigor and evaluation bar as a national search, and is a process which Joan has extensive experience conducting.
In February, Joan visited Soundview and held listening sessions with students, faculty, staff, parents, and trustees and conducted a community-wide survey to gather input from all constituencies about Soundview’s strengths, needs, and opportunities. From that work, she helped the search committee develop Soundview’s Leadership Opportunity Statement. This statement provided the criteria the search committee used throughout its process to identify and evaluate Soundview’s next head.
What emerged from the community feedback was a clear consensus of Soundview’s strengths and the priorities for the next head. Soundview’s next leader needs to capitalize on the rigor and benefits of the IB curriculum as well as our strong sense of community and school spirit while ensuring the school’s financial stability, recruiting and retaining the high-quality teachers Soundview is known for, and enhancing the school’s facilities to meet the needs of our program. Additionally, the community sought a leader who is approachable, accessible, and collaborative.
The next stage in the process was to review Chrissy’s candidacy, following the same evaluation criteria that would be applied to an external candidate. This included a formal application, 90-minute panel interview, case study, and an extensive debrief process where the committee used bias-reduction techniques specifically designed for processes that include an internal candidate. At every stage of the process, the committee was impressed with Chrissy’s background, preparation, self-awareness, and vision for Soundview.
The Search Committee had the full support and funding from the Board to conduct a national search if the process pointed that way, but with Chrissy’s review process completed, it didn’t need to. The Committee recommended Chrissy’s appointment unanimously, and the Board approved it unanimously. We believe wholeheartedly that this is both the best choice and the right choice for Soundview.
We hope you will join us in our excitement for Soundview’s next chapter and congratulate Chrissy on her much-deserved appointment!
Please see the attached letter from Chrissy sharing some of her thoughts on her new role.
With best wishes,
Shawn Heidel
Soundview Board President
Head of School Search Committee
