After a national search led by Carney, Sandoe & Associates consultant Dr. Bruce Dennis that produced five strong finalist candidates, Rye Country Day School is pleased to announce that Ryan Song, currently the Middle School Principal at La Jolla Country Day School in California, will be the new Middle School Principal.
For the past three years, Ryan has been responsible for all aspects of the daily operations involved with La Jolla Country Day's 350-student middle school division (grades 5-8). In this leadership role, Ryan started a Middle School Academic Council, made data-driven curricular revisions, oversaw the design of student schedules, and developed an Ethics Council to reinforce community values. In addition, Ryan was responsible for hiring, supporting, and evaluating all middle school faculty. Ryan also taught Life Skills classes for boys in grades 5 and 6.
The search committee, which comprised Middle School faculty and students, RCDS administrators, department chairs, initiative directors, and parents, offered high praise for Ryan. They described him as charismatic, engaging, passionate, approachable, and empathetic; having a warm, welcoming, and calm demeanor; giving off "a magnetic feeling of human connection"; having a keen knowledge of middle-school-age children and their families; being "student-centered, unflappable, and thoughtfully detail-oriented"; and having a deep knowledge of administration and connecting with students, families, and teachers. Overwhelmingly, people commented on his ability to combine warmth and intelligence with experience.
Prior to La Jolla Country Day School, Ryan worked at Collegiate School in New York City for 17 years. During his time at Collegiate School, he served as the K-12 Computer Science Curriculum Programmer and the K-12 Science Department Head. He also taught Science, Computer Science, and Engineering courses in the middle and upper divisions. Outside of the classroom, Ryan served as the Science Olympiad coach, leader of the "Maker" Professional Development Group, faculty advisor to the Asian Cultural Society, and assistant coach of both cross country and track and field.
Ryan earned his Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies and his Master of Science in Secondary Education (Science) at the University of Pennsylvania. We look forward to having Ryan and his family join the RCDS community starting in July.