Melissa Anderson Appointed New Head of Upper School
Melissa Anderson may be new to Rivers this year, but she is an ardent supporter of the school and of independent schools in general. That, coupled with her background and experience, which includes 16 years as a teacher, administrator, and coach at Greenwich Academy, made her the perfect candidate for head of the Upper School at Rivers. Melissa’s appointment was announced earlier this month, following a unanimous, enthusiastic, and unequivocal recommendation by the search committee.
Spend a few minutes with Melissa, and it’s easy to understand the committee’s hearty endorsement. Her excitement about the role is contagious, as she talks about her deep empathy for students, her collegial connections with faculty, and her eagerness to help shape the school’s next chapter.
Melissa, who assumes the new role on July 1, will report to the head of school and oversee three key positions: the Upper School dean of studies, dean of faculty, and dean of student life. As she describes it, those three roles in turn represent the three pillars of Upper School life: “When you think about the functions of the school,” she says, “you have in that structure the student-facing, faculty-facing, and academic operations, such as scheduling and programmatic logistics.” It’s something of a departure from how the head of Upper School role has been configured until now, and, she adds, “I think of it as the neatest spot to be in in a school.”
She elaborates, “The dean of student life is responsible for the humans in our care, while the dean of faculty makes sure our teachers are able to do their jobs and feel supported. And the dean of studies piece is really interesting, too—it’s kind of the engine of the school, seeing to it that everything is running smoothly.”
At the heart of Melissa’s enthusiasm for her new role is her passion for the classroom itself. (At Rivers, where she was hired in September to provide various kinds of support to the Upper School administration, she has connected with that side of her professional life by teaching the Honors Thesis in History course in the fall and an elective, The Legacy of World War I from Armenia to Auschwitz, during the second semester.) “No one goes into teaching for any reason except connecting with students,” she notes.
Melissa got her first taste of the work while completing her PhD in political science at UC Berkeley. Serving as a part-time adjunct at Fordham University, she found that she loved teaching but didn’t spend nearly enough time interacting with students in that role. Melissa, who attended an independent school in her native Baltimore, thought that that type of setting might prove more fulfilling. “A fellowship opportunity came up at Greenwich Academy,” she recalled. “I didn’t know what to expect, other than that I liked going there every day and I learned a ton. I was still working on my dissertation, and it was supposed to be part-time, but as I took on extra classes, and advising, and coaching lacrosse, just the act of switching hats all day was engaging.”
She sees a number of parallels between GA and Rivers. “The core ingredient is the student-teacher relationship—that genuine sense of mutual investment. I think that is something Rivers does really well.” Also familiar and welcome, she says, are the “relationships among faculty. When we had the Omicron surge in January, the faculty was bending over backwards to help one another. I’m struck by how talented our faculty is, and yet how humble and aspirational.”
Melissa acknowledges that the past two years have been especially challenging for schools. “We’re coming through a deeply traumatic period, where we lost some points of contact with students and families”—making it all the more important to “restore that student community and focus on the health and wellness of our students.” But, she says, she’s seeing hopeful signs of a return to normal: “I hear more laughter in the halls, more spontaneous conversations.”
Melissa brings the perspective of a Rivers parent as well: Her twin daughters, Chase and Mairin, started ninth grade at the school this year, while son Liam attends The Fenn School.
Head of School Ned Parsons, in announcing the new appointment, voiced a deep confidence in Melissa’s ability to sustain the school’s momentum: “[Her] operational acumen and her strategic vision will be a catalyst for driving Rivers forward, and her student-centered, relational approach to teaching and learning are a perfect match for our culture and community.” And although Melissa will be serving under a new head following Parsons’s planned July 2023 departure, she says, “Ned has left us in a fantastic place. I believe our core ingredients are in place, with phenomenal people and structures that will work… This community has given me such a warm welcome, and I’m really excited.”
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Melissa, who assumes the new role on July 1, will report to the head of school and oversee three key positions: the Upper School dean of studies, dean of faculty, and dean of student life. As she describes it, those three roles in turn represent the three pillars of Upper School life: “When you think about the functions of the school,” she says, “you have in that structure the student-facing, faculty-facing, and academic operations, such as scheduling and programmatic logistics.” It’s something of a departure from how the head of Upper School role has been configured until now, and, she adds, “I think of it as the neatest spot to be in in a school.”
She elaborates, “The dean of student life is responsible for the humans in our care, while the dean of faculty makes sure our teachers are able to do their jobs and feel supported. And the dean of studies piece is really interesting, too—it’s kind of the engine of the school, seeing to it that everything is running smoothly.”
At the heart of Melissa’s enthusiasm for her new role is her passion for the classroom itself. (At Rivers, where she was hired in September to provide various kinds of support to the Upper School administration, she has connected with that side of her professional life by teaching the Honors Thesis in History course in the fall and an elective, The Legacy of World War I from Armenia to Auschwitz, during the second semester.) “No one goes into teaching for any reason except connecting with students,” she notes.
Melissa got her first taste of the work while completing her PhD in political science at UC Berkeley. Serving as a part-time adjunct at Fordham University, she found that she loved teaching but didn’t spend nearly enough time interacting with students in that role. Melissa, who attended an independent school in her native Baltimore, thought that that type of setting might prove more fulfilling. “A fellowship opportunity came up at Greenwich Academy,” she recalled. “I didn’t know what to expect, other than that I liked going there every day and I learned a ton. I was still working on my dissertation, and it was supposed to be part-time, but as I took on extra classes, and advising, and coaching lacrosse, just the act of switching hats all day was engaging.”
She sees a number of parallels between GA and Rivers. “The core ingredient is the student-teacher relationship—that genuine sense of mutual investment. I think that is something Rivers does really well.” Also familiar and welcome, she says, are the “relationships among faculty. When we had the Omicron surge in January, the faculty was bending over backwards to help one another. I’m struck by how talented our faculty is, and yet how humble and aspirational.”
Melissa acknowledges that the past two years have been especially challenging for schools. “We’re coming through a deeply traumatic period, where we lost some points of contact with students and families”—making it all the more important to “restore that student community and focus on the health and wellness of our students.” But, she says, she’s seeing hopeful signs of a return to normal: “I hear more laughter in the halls, more spontaneous conversations.”
Melissa brings the perspective of a Rivers parent as well: Her twin daughters, Chase and Mairin, started ninth grade at the school this year, while son Liam attends The Fenn School.
Head of School Ned Parsons, in announcing the new appointment, voiced a deep confidence in Melissa’s ability to sustain the school’s momentum: “[Her] operational acumen and her strategic vision will be a catalyst for driving Rivers forward, and her student-centered, relational approach to teaching and learning are a perfect match for our culture and community.” And although Melissa will be serving under a new head following Parsons’s planned July 2023 departure, she says, “Ned has left us in a fantastic place. I believe our core ingredients are in place, with phenomenal people and structures that will work… This community has given me such a warm welcome, and I’m really excited.”
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