Randall Dunn, the head of Rye Country Day School, is resigning at the end of the academic year.
Dunn joined the prestigious private school as its head of school in 2022.
“The school is in a great place, and I am ready to take a breath and spend some time with my family,” he told The Record. “My wife and I are looking forward to being together, traveling while we are still relatively young and healthy, and planning our next adventures, both personal and professional.”
Rye Country Day announced that lower school principal Dr. Stacey Sotirhos will take over as interim Head of School starting July 1 while the board of trustees searches for a permanent replacement. Dunn added that part of the reason he’s moving on is to hand the reins to mid-career educators.
“I’m stepping down to begin the transition to the next generation of leadership based on where I am in my personal and professional life and where the school is in its trajectory,” he said.
In his announcement to the Rye Country Day community, Dunn emphasized that he has tried to create an inclusive environment during his time at the Westchester private school.
“It has been a privilege to work hand-in-hand with our students, division directors, faculty, staff, and parents/guardians to bolster school spirit, improve communication processes, and foster a more welcoming and inclusive culture at RCDS,” he wrote.
Before joining Rye Country Day, Dunn spent more than 14 years at the Latin School of Chicago, another private school. He also was previously the head of The Roeper School in Michigan for seven years.
Dunn said he was pleased that he was able to make headway on development initiatives throughout his tenure at Rye Country Day – the most ambitious plan being a campus overhaul, which includes turning the former state Thruway Authority property along Boston Post Road into a massive sports complex.
One recent challenge during his four years at the helm of Rye Country Day was the discovery of a swastika sprayed in water on a campus walkway last month. Issues over accusations of antisemitism also surfaced during Dunn’s time at the Latin School.
The Chicago school and both Dunn and his successor, Thomas Hagerman, have been criticized by families of current students and the school’s board of trustees.
Before taking over for Dunn in 2022, Hagerman had served as the superintendent of the Scarsdale school district, but he stepped down during an investigation into payroll accounting errors that led the IRS to impose $1.7 million in fines, according to News12. Hagerman’s administration reportedly failed to disclose the fines for nearly a year.
Hagerman resigned from Latin on Jan. 14 reportedly for health reasons, about a week before Dunn resigned from Rye Country Day.
Dunn and Hagerman were both named, along with the school’s board of trustees, in a 2022 lawsuit when a 15-year-old Latin School student committed suicide after allegedly being repeatedly bullied in anti-semitic incidents – with the victim’s parents alleging that Dunn and other school officials attempted to cover it up.
Dunn was eventually removed from the lawsuit, which currently sits in appeals court.
“The claims against me were dismissed long ago,” Dunn said. “I cannot speak to the status of the case as it may relate to others.”
He originally moved to Rye in 2022 to “get home,” he has said previously. One of his daughters lived in New York City and his sister-in-law lives in Rye.
He took over for Scott Nelson, who led Rye Country Day for nearly three decades.
