The process of finding a new Head of School and Foundation for Lakefield College School has involved extensive consultations with the LCS community, an exhaustive global search over many months that resulted in 57 applicants and multiple rounds of interviews led by a search committee representing school and foundation trustees and leadership. Based on feedback from the community, the committee’s priority was to find the individual with the “best fit” for the position: someone whose principles align with the core values of LCS and who has a deep respect for our unique school and community culture.
Today, we are delighted to share with you that this search has come to a successful conclusion. On behalf of the Boards of Directors of LCS and the LCS Foundation, we are pleased to announce the appointment of Anne-Marie Kee as the new Head of School and Head of the LCS Foundation, effective August 1, 2017.
Anne-Marie is a highly respected leader in the independent school community across North America. For the past 11 years, she has served as Executive Director of Canadian Accredited Independent Schools (CAIS), the national association dedicated to continuously improving the state of leadership, governance and educational excellence among its 95 member schools, including LCS. She is renowned for being a warm, dynamic, student-centric champion of independent school education and a mentor to many in the profession.
Anne-Marie has a deep understanding of and connection to The Grove. In addition to collaborating extensively with many members of the LCS community over the years through her position with CAIS, she and her husband, Kevin, are also current parents – their son, Jacob (Class of 2017), has been a boarder at the school since 2013. Kevin is Dean of Arts at the University of Ottawa, and their daughter, Kathleen, attended LCS in Grade 9 and will remain in Ottawa to attend Ashbury College in the fall.
New Head of School / Head of LCS Foundation Anne-Marie Kee with her family
Anne-Marie brings a truly unique set of skills and experience to LCS. She has unrivalled vision and knowledge of the opportunities and challenges facing independent schools, a passionate belief in our LCS values, and a collaborative, team-oriented leadership style that makes her the ideal choice to lead the school and foundation into the future.
Anne-Marie has a special passion for learning and leadership development. She led the development of CAIS’s national accreditation standards that challenge schools to examine all aspects of program and operations, including innovative learning, student engagement and wellness, governance, and risk. She also oversaw the growth of the CAIS Leadership Institute, which trains over 175 school leaders each year. Most recently, her vision resulted in The 2051 Project, an international research project and incubator, that focuses on the dual challenge facing independent schools: the need for academic and business innovation.
Prior to assuming the leadership of CAIS, Anne-Marie was Dean of Studies and Chair of the Integrated Technology Implementation program at Lower Canada College in Montreal. She began her career as an English teacher in Kingston, Ontario, and holds a BA, B.Ed. and an M.Ed. from Queen’s University.
You can access her full biography here.
Anne-Marie would like to share the following message with our community:
"After 11 years supporting excellence and improvement in independent schools across the country, I am excited to be returning to a school, getting to know the community, and making a difference in the lives of students. I cannot imagine a better fit for our family than the school that has helped shape our children. We have a deep affection for and belief in Lakefield College School and its future. I look forward to calling The Grove my home."
On behalf of the boards of directors, we want to take this opportunity to express our deepest appreciation to the members of the search committee and to the broader LCS community for their valued insights and perspectives that were critical to the successful conclusion of this process.
In addition, we would also like to publicly express our gratitude to Guy McLean who has provided outstanding leadership to the community as Head of School for this year. Guy will continue in this capacity for the balance of the school year and is committed to ensuring a smooth transition to Anne-Marie.
Please join us in enthusiastically welcoming Anne-Marie to LCS, and in thanking Guy for his outstanding service to The Grove.