Welcome to Southern Heads Association.

As the old proverb says, “A society grows great when people plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit.” As the beneficiaries of the shade provided to us by our founders more than 50 years ago, the Southern Heads Association is rooted in collegial friendships, trust, and caring for our families. We are so thankful for their vision and devotion to the beauty and challenge that comes with being a leader of a school community.

The founders of our organization wanted to create a “safe space” where heads of school from twenty of the most prestigious independent schools in the Southern United States could engage in good counsel, renewal, and restoration with each other and our families through our common, personal missions to serve our students, faculties, parents, and communities. Today, our organization has never been more vital and necessary, our strength and resolve to serve each other has never been deeper, and our desire to serve our school communities through support of the headship has never been timelier.  

Heads of school are a unique group within independent schools. They are the only group that has no other members within their communities. Too often, this singularity can lead to colleagues isolated and separated from each other and the very people we wish to serve. The Southern Heads Association seeks to connect school leaders with each other to enhance, support, and stimulate our leadership experience through a self-perpetuating network. This network of existing and former members allows the membership to leverage the expertise, experience, and hope that can only come from someone who has sat beneath the same tree and with the same perspective.

Thank you for visiting the Southern Heads Association website. We hope that you will come to know our membership and our extended relationships as a source of comfort, stability, and inspiration.

Jim McIntyre
Executive Director | Southern Heads Association