Getting to Know Mr. Wirtz

Newly appointed Headmaster Michael Wirtz speaks to the Dial about goals, Grateful Dead, and all things Hackley

Mr.+Wirtz+chats+with+English+teacher+Anne+Siviglia+during+the+ice+cream+social+part+of+his+Oct.+8+visit+to+campus%2C+which+took+place+in+the+Lindsay+Room+and+drew+a+large+crowd+of+Upper+School+students+and+faculty+eager+to+meet+the+new+Head+of+School.

Credit: Alex Meyer

Mr. Wirtz chats with English teacher Anne Siviglia during the ice cream social part of his Oct. 8 visit to campus, which took place in the Lindsay Room and drew a large crowd of Upper School students and faculty eager to meet the new Head of School.

By Sydney Monroe and Alex Meyer
October 23, 2015

Q. You are bringing along three other new additions to the Hilltop: your wife Hilary, and your two children Charlie and Frances. What is it like to not only embark on a new job, but embark on an entirely new family journey? Anything you are all particularly excited or nervous for as a new family to Hackley?

A. We are going to be on campus on Saturday very briefly to meet with the Board [of trustees] and engage and I think I am really looking forward to showing them the playground at the lower school, and to get them excited about that. For all they know at this point, there is just going to be a great playground, and we’ll sort of figure out the rest from there. We haven’t quite told them yet about this move; they’re just so young that they’re not going to get it, but I think it will be such a great thing for all of us, and we’re really looking forward to it.

Q. In stepping into your new position of Headmaster, how to you plan to incorporate your own ideas and set a certain tone for the entire Hackley community?

A. Well, I think I want to come in and really understand the school. I have been a student of Hackley for the last number of months and I got a box from Mr. King and Mr. Bileca earlier this week and it was filled with all kinds of readings and articles and such. I have gone through probably about half of it so far-I still need to read the book “Where the Seasons Tell our Story.” I think I want to come in and really immerse myself in the school community, and I think it’s really important that all of you get to know who I am, and what it is that I believe, and I need to understand Hackley in totality. I don’t want to presume any sort of major changes, but I do know that the school is trying to figure out what wellness means, and that’s going to be part of my work. There’s master planning and facilities work happening, and it’s really important that in the community we remain true to our values and thinking about what character education looks like across the K-12 spectrum. So I think there’s work that I’ll be coming into that you all are very familiar with and have been doing, and so then it becomes this hand-off moment between Mr. Johnson and I to make sure that I come in and seamlessly pick up the work where it left off. And I think together we can figure out what the next chapter looks like. But I don’t want to come in and say: ‘here are the 3 things that I want to do starting on July 1,’ I want to be really careful that I’m understanding the school as I come in.

Q. What specifically drew you to apply for a position at Hackley? What made life on the Hilltop particularly exciting and welcoming to you?

A. There’s so many things. A couple of things struck me right from the outset and as I have continued to learn more, I am almost coming up with more and more examples on a daily basis. The commitment that people feel to the school and the love that they have for the place, there’s something special about the school, and it is even noticeable from afar. People appreciate what the school does for them, and they appreciate what it does for their children, and they want to preserve that and [Board of Trustees member] Mr. Caputo referred to it as the “special sauce” and there’s something about the way Hackley’s put together; it’s the architecture, people coming together on a set of values, the emphasis on character education – all those things really draw people to it.

I think as humans we are really drawn to things bigger than ourselves, and for me, when I think about school communities, I want to be part of something special. That’s what I see as my life’s work – being a part of something special, and making it better. That’s what really drew me in. The fact that the school really cares about students’ character and character education is really important to me, and it does this also in the context of a really robust and highly intellectual atmosphere. You’re balancing both those pieces, and for somebody that has a lot of classroom experience and really thinks about that, it’s really exciting for me. Also, coming from a boarding school, I’m accustomed to thinking about and talking about the whole student, and Hackley is really interested in who the students are as people, and how they are developing outside of what they’re doing for a particular class, so that is really appealing to me that Hackley is able to find that in a community. I love the fact that it’s K-12. Having the ability to do that across a 13 year span as opposed to just a high school that was something that I was exceptionally excited about, and I think the K-12 aspect is really terrific.

Q. Throughout your tenure at St. Marks School, you served a Chemistry teacher, Assistant Head of School, Dean of Faculty, and Acting Head of School. What now draws you specifically to the role of Headmaster and how did these jobs prepare you for embarking on your new job?

A. I do all of those still except for Acting Head of School. Those are all part of my job responsibilities, and I think when I thought about the possibility of looking for a headship, I thought about what I really enjoy about schools which is being in and around students and faculty and staff. I think that I have a skillset that allows me to work with many different constituencies within the school, and that is part of what has prepared me for this work.

I am still teaching and thinking deeply about the experience of my kids in the classroom, so advanced Chemistry class, our new Saturday program, and I am running Mythbusters class, which is a two-and-a-half hour very student centered, student driven experience. So I still really am anchored in the classroom and understand that aspect, but I have a bunch of other responsibili- ties outside of the classroom that are also really energizing to me. I think that it is the entirety of what it means to be head of school leader that is really exciting to me.

Q. In transitioning to Headmaster,we’d imagine you’re working closely with our cur- rent headmaster, Walter Johnson. What has your relatiobship with him and other faculty been like since recieving the position?

A. So the school has set up a transition committee for me; Mr. Bileca, Mr. King and Linda Holden- Bryant who is on the board- they are sort of in charge of this transition committee and then there’s another number of faculty and staff and alumni that are part of helping me. I think Mr. Johnson and I, when we met, it was pretty clear that Mr. Johnson is Head of School and I want to respect that and I do respect that and I also have a full time job right now so as it is appropri- ate we will be in contact, and I think as the year goes on that communication will be more, but right now it is time for me to meet people and have people get to meet me. It is much less about running the school and things like that. It will come in time, and the nice thing is that Hackley went about this search and it unfolded in a number of months, so that there’s really time to be thoughtful about this transition, and I don’t feel like there’s any rush and I don’t think Mr. Johnson thinks there’s any rush so our contact has been our emails back and forth a couple times, and we met during the search process, and I think as time goes on there will be things where we will be in more conversation about it. But it isn’t the moment right now.