Hello, beautiful people! Almost a year has passed since former Head of School Rachel Skerritt (‘95) stepped down in order to spend more time with her family. Over the course of her five-year tenure, her inclusivity and constant involvement in school events impacted students tremendously.

Ms. Skerritt currently works as a Chief Strategy Officer at Attuned Education Partners, an organization that strives for educational equity and advancement. Part of her role in the company includes creating five-year plans for school districts or charter networks rather than individual schools.

Ms. Skerritt chose this position because she wanted to stay in the educational field while doing something that would impact students. It allows her, moreover, to “continue to learn and grow.”

The districts and networks that Ms. Skerritt works with are located all over the country, which requires her to travel much more than she did while working at Boston Latin School. She enjoys her current job, as it allows her to connect with educators who strive to better their communities and school systems.

When she is not traveling for business, Ms. Skerritt works from her home office, since Attuned Education Partners does not have a physical workspace. She mentions that this is a big difference from her previous role as Head of School, saying, “I don’t have as regular of a touch point with young people, and that’s something that’s a big source of energy in my job and in my day-to-day life.”

Frequent interactions with students is one of the things that Ms. Skerritt misses the most about BLS. Having led the development of an environment that accepts and supports students in what they enjoy doing, she reflects, “I try to bring that to my new job in terms of trying to help other school systems and networks think about what would be possible for their students.”

To keep in touch with the BLS community, Ms. Skerritt has attended events such as Asian Night and MLK Day this year. As a trustee of the BLSA, she is also involved in various school events and functions. Some events she plans to attend are this year’s graduation and prom, as well as the Matilda musical.

Ms. Skerritt’s involvement in school activities and interaction with students during her time as Head of School left a lasting impact. Vera Knobel (I) remarks, “She just came to every single event. […] That made everyone feel more included in the BLS community because all of their contributions were validated.” 

Although Ms. Skerritt regrets not being able to see the Class of 2023 — her first sixie class — graduate with her as Head of School, she expresses that her departure last year was the right decision for her. She hopes that the Class of 2023 will value and appreciate their time at BLS as the years go on. “I’ll just always remember this class fondly, and I look forward to seeing all that they do to impact BLS in the future and to impact the world,” Ms. Skerritt concludes.