Rye Country Day School on Monday announced the appointment of Kristen Klein as its next head of school, effective July 1, 2027. Klein, currently associate head of school at Durham Academy in North Carolina, brings more than two decades of experience in independent school education and leadership.
Klein was unanimously recommended by RCDS’s head of school search committee following a national search and approved by the board of trustees. She was selected for her educational leadership, strategic vision, commitment to students, and strong alignment with RCDS’s mission, values, and Strategy for Excellence.
“This was an incredibly thoughtful and rigorous search, and we had an exceptionally strong pool of candidates,” said Rosa Hyun Perkins, president of the RCDS board of trustees. “Kristen distinguished herself through her educational leadership, strategic vision, commitment to students, and genuine care for people. We are tremendously excited to welcome her to Rye Country Day.”
Klein will succeed Stacey Sotirhos, who stepped into the role of interim head of school with the intention of providing experienced, steady leadership while RCDS conducted its search for its next permanent Head. Sotirhos will continue to lead the school throughout the 2026–27 academic year, advancing RCDS’s strategic priorities and working closely with Klein to ensure a thoughtful and seamless transition.
“I am both honored and grateful for the opportunity to serve as Rye Country Day School’s next Head of School,” Klein said. “I felt such resonance between my own purpose as an educator and Rye Country Day’s desire to empower ‘engaged and compassionate citizens.’ I look forward to partnering with the school’s incredibly talented faculty, staff, students and families to advance its vision in concrete and measurable ways in the years to come.”
As associate head of school at Durham Academy, a pre-K–12 school serving more than 1,200 students, Klein partners with the head of school in leading the institution and oversees its academic and co-curricular program. Her work has included establishing a civil discourse program to help students thoughtfully engage with differing perspectives, overseeing a shift toward a more real-world, problem-based upper school curriculum, and leading the implementation of competency-based learning in the middle school.
Previously, Klein spent 14 years at Winchester Thurston School in Pittsburgh, where she held several teaching and leadership roles, including director of upper school, director of middle school, academic dean, and English department chair. There, she helped expand experiential learning through the E.E. Ford grant award-winning City as Our Campus program, while also overseeing curricular innovations across science, computer science, and sustainability.
Klein is a graduate of Trinity College and holds an M.A.T. in English Education from Brown University. She is also a board-certified coach and an experienced independent school accreditation leader.
At the conclusion of her interim headship, Sotirhos plans to step away to spend more time with family. In the coming year, RCDS will establish a head of school transition committee and create opportunities for students, families, faculty and staff, alumni, and friends of the school to get to know Klein ahead of her arrival.
The full announcement is posted to Rye Country Day School’s website.
