Current Announcements
05/07/2009 - Scott Duyan Appointed as New Head of
School of Presidio Hill
Presidio Hill School is delighted to announce that Scott Duyan
will be the next head of school. He has been warmly welcomed
by our community, and we look forward to his official arrival
on July 1, 2009.
Scott has served as the head of Blue Oak School, an independent
and progressive K-8 school in Napa, California, since it was
founded in 2001. In building a school literally from the ground
up – collaborating with architects and builders, creating
a school ethos, hiring faculty and staff, developing a curriculum
with teachers, setting policies, supporting professional development
and evaluation systems, budgeting and fundraising, marketing
and welcoming families – there is no area of running
a school in which Scott does not have extensive hands-on experience.
The rest of Scott’s academic career is also impressive.
Before coming to Blue Oak, he served most recently as lower
school head of the Catlin Gabel School in Portland, Oregon,
a highly regarded independent progressive school, for thirteen
years. He has served as the founding middle school principal
at the American School in Japan in Tokyo as well as taught
at the International School of Stavanger, Norway and the Inter-Community
School of Zurich, Switzerland, giving Scott a very global
perspective in this increasingly interdependent and collaborative
world in which our children live. Scott holds his bachelor's
degree from UCLA and a Master's degree from the University
of Northern Colorado, and he has done additional post-graduate
work in education at both UC Irvine and Lewis and Clark College.
It is not just his depth of academic and leadership experience
that Scott brings to Presidio Hill School but also his deep
progressive roots. He has a very strong commitment to diversity,
stewardship of the environment, and social justice. He is
a self-described lifelong learner, which is evidenced by his
continually challenging himself as well as those around him
to ask questions, be creative, and always strive to do one’s
best. In support of his professional growth, he remains active
in the Bay Area Independent School Heads Association (BAISHA)
and the Progressive Education Network (PEN), the latter for
which he serves on the national conference steering committee.
But equally if not most important, Scott is always motivated
by what is best for the children – how they learn, what
their interests are, what motivates them – and tries
to provide them with the best learning environment possible.
Part of that is creating a safe place for them, not just physically
but emotionally and socially. Part of that is supporting a
strong faculty and helping create a deeper curriculum. Part
of that is continuing to educate the community about progressive
pedagogy and how that brings out the best in our children.
For these reasons and many more, we are delighted that Scott
has elected to join the Presidio Hill School community. We
look forward to his tenure as our new head of school.
04/01/2009

10/30/2008 PHS is excited to welcome
grandparents and special friends to our annual Grandparents
and Special Friends Day on Friday, November 21, 2008.
8/13/2008 Presidio
Hill School Board appoints Interim Director |