Margarita Curtis
“Margarita is the embodiment of the qualities of judgment, knowledge, intelligence, leadership and empathy. Deerfield Academy achieved unparalleled heights as a direct result of her guidance and values.”
As an award-winning educator and scholar with over five decades of experience in various roles, including teacher, department chair, dean of studies, and head of school, Margarita is committed to fostering a team-driven pursuit of excellence, and to creating learning environments that not only promote personal achievement but moral distinction and an ethic of service. Currently, Margarita supports educators in aligning strategy and execution so they can fulfill their school’s mission.
Margarita’s hyphenated identity—Colombian-American, teacher-head of school, and woman-CEO—has honed her ability to navigate the complexities of a diverse school environment where multiple identities and cultures intersect. She brings an inclusive, cosmopolitan ethos to her work and a time-tested belief that the ability to forge connections and innovate across differences is the key to sustained success in education.
Margarita joined Strategic School Leadership, LLC, as a partner in 2022. She currently supports school leaders in crafting institutional visions that anchor emerging priorities in core foundational values, and aligning their administrative teams and communities around strategic priorities. She also leads board of trustee retreats on governance and strategic thinking, and facilitates head of school and board evaluations. As a certified Return on Character® Provider, Margarita guides heads and administrators in translating their school missions into observable behaviors, practices, and outcomes.
Margarita’s partial client list includes School Year Abroad, Milton Academy, Grace Church School, Trinity School (N.Y.), Marin Country Day School, Worcester Academy, Winchester Thurston School, The Island School (Bahamas), North London Collegiate School-Palm Beach, and the United World College- ISAK (Japan).
Background
After immigrating from Colombia for high school in New Orleans, Margarita earned a B.A. in French from Tulane University, a B.S. in education from Minnesota State University Mankato, and a PhD in Romance Languages and Literatures from Harvard University.
A teacher at heart, Margarita earned numerous accolades for her classroom work, initially at the Autonomous University of Guadalajara, Mexico and Metairie Park Country Day School in Metairie, LA, and subsequently at Phillips Academy, Andover, where she rose to department chair and later Dean of Studies. While at Andover, she earned five Kenan Research Grants, published an award-winning book and several articles on Spanish and Latin American literature, and participated in over a dozen national and international literary conferences
During her thirteen-year tenure as head of school at Deerfield Academy, the endowment grew by $250 million, financial aid doubled, professional development funding quadrupled, and $140 million of capital improvement projects were completed. Margarita transformed long-range planning at the Academy, delivering the school’s first-ever Strategic and Campus Master Plans and stewarding these plans through the impact of both the Great Recession and a major investigation into historical sexual misconduct. In this latter challenge, Margarita established a new, higher standard for empathy and transparency with survivors and the media. At Deerfield, she also doubled the size of domestic and international travel-study programs and emphasized DEI, launching Deerfield’s first-ever Strategic Plan for Inclusion in 2016. For her distinguished service, she was awarded the Deerfield Medal, the highest honor conferred by the institution.
Upon her retirement from Deerfield, she served as interim president of her Alma Mater, Ursuline Academy in New Orleans, the first all-girls’ Catholic school in the U.S. where she oversaw all aspects of the academy’s operations and program, including a major organizational restructuring and the addition of an infant-toddler center anchored in the Reggio Emilia pedagogy. For her contributions to the world of education over the past fifty years, she received the Ursuline Academy Distinguished Alumna award in 2022.
Throughout her career, Margarita has served on several school accreditation visiting committees, as the president of the Eight Schools Association, and as a trustee of several not-for-profit organizations, including School Year Abroad, Global Connections, The Nogales School in Bogotá, Colombia, and Rostro de Cristo in Quito, Ecuador.
Margarita enjoys hiking, reading, gardening, cooking and spoiling her three grandchildren.
Testimonials
“Margarita Curtis spent two days in April of 2022 with my Board at our campus in Viterbo, Italy and led both trustees and senior leaders through thorough, interactive and ultimately highly successful visioning sessions. She has just the right touch and deep insight to work with school decision makers to effect thoughtful change given her own distinguished leadership of a top school.”
Tom Hassan
President, School Year Abroad
“Just as our school emerged from the pandemic, we added five key administrators to the senior team and realized we had little time to learn how to work together. Margarita Curtis joined us for two-and-a-half days and helped us form collective goals emanating from our Mission. I was impressed with her initial plan but even more impressed with her ability to adapt as she watched our team dynamics evolve. She is an active listener who was able to tailor our discussions and activities uniquely to us, to our needs, and to our aspirations. We can’t wait to invite her back for some follow up and evaluation.”
Kevin Breen
Head of School, Worcester Academy, Worcester, MA
“Dr. Margarita Curtis is the brilliant, experienced, measured and compassionate partner that all educators should have while on their journeys to fulfilling their mandates. When the Board of Directors at The Island School in Eleuthera (The Bahamas) decided to employ an Executive Coach for our CEO/Head of School, we looked no further than Dr. Curtis and her colleagues at Strategic School Leadership.
We have renewed our contract for an additional year as Dr. Curtis has become a valuable thought partner to our CEO/Head of School as well as a sage counselor to our Executive Committee. She navigates her responsibilities to both parties with the utmost professionalism and ease, always focused on the betterment of our school and those we serve.
Dr. Curtis’ wisdom and guidance are exemplary and are apparent in the execution of our strategic goals. Her humanity and care are also valued and differentiate her amongst her peers. We would recommend Dr. Curtis and her colleagues without reservation.”
Alessandra Holowesko
Chair, Board of Directors, The Island School, Eleuthera, Bahamas
“Margarita’s wealth of experience and deep knowledge of boarding schools were evident from day one. Her willingness to share insights, answer questions, and offer constructive feedback significantly impacted my professional growth. She went above and beyond to ensure I felt confident in my role and understood the unique dynamics of our division.
Dr. Monica Benton Palmer
What stood out most was Margarita’s unwavering dedication to my success. She made herself readily available whenever I needed guidance, and her mentorship extended beyond our scheduled meetings. She helped me navigate the challenges and celebrated my achievements, fostering a sense of accomplishment and motivation.
In addition to her professional expertise, Margarita’s kindness and genuine care for my well-being were truly touching. Her mentorship was not just about work but personal growth and fulfillment.
I am immensely grateful for Margarita’s positive impact on my first year as a divisional director. Her mentorship has shaped my professional journey and made me a better leader and person. I look forward to continuing to learn from her wisdom and guidance in the years to come.”
Upper School Principal, Milton Academy, Milton, MA
“At a moment of significant institutional fragility within our school community, Strategic School Leadership partners Rick Melvoin, Vance Wilson, and Margarita Curtis responded with extraordinary care, sensitivity, nuance, and wisdom to our school’s needs. We appreciated that they began by listening intensely and extensively to members of our community. They worked hard to learn about us before they began to explore with us how they might prove useful as we sought to address concerns about viewpoint diversity in all our educational spaces. Their approach reflected both their respect for the unique contours of our school culture and their shrewd professional insights about the ways independent schools such as ours tend to operate. They neither rushed nor dallied, but skillfully allocated appropriate time and resources to work towards a thorough, sophisticated, well communicated response to our fraught situation. All members of our community — students, parents, teachers, trustees, staff — found the SSL team to be attentive, open, perceptive, savvy, and understanding. Their skilled interactions with our community helped to transform a painful crisis into a helpful opportunity for improvement.”
John Allman
Head of School Trinity School, NY
“I had the pleasure of working with Margarita on a board retreat in 2022 focused on rewriting our school’s mission statement and implementing best governance practices for our board. As the board chair, I worked with Margarita prior to the retreat, planning and organizing the day-long event.
Margarita demonstrated a deep knowledge of strategic matters and board governance in independent schools, which was invaluable as she guided us through the mission rewrite process.
Margarita came to all planning meetings and the retreat organized and prepared, and it was evident that she had invested a significant amount of time and effort in familiarizing herself with our school, its recent history and the challenges facing us. Having taken the time to get to know our school, Margarita seamlessly integrated our values and priorities into the day’s activities. Feedback gathered from trustees after the retreat referred to Margarita’s calm and reassuring demeanor, saying it allowed for open and constructive dialogue.
I wholeheartedly recommend Margarita to any institution seeking a facilitator for a board retreat or workshop and would not hesitate to work with her again in the future. More than a year later, I continue to be incredibly grateful for her contributions to the success of my first board retreat as chair.”
Melanie Weston
President, Chair, Board of Trustees, Grace Church School, NY
“I have had the pleasure and privilege of working with Margarita Curtis as a mentor and coach at Strategic School Leadership. As I was transitioning to a new position at a new school across the country, I was looking for strategic guidance navigating this new opportunity.
I felt an instant connection to Margarita’s warm and caring demeanor. With her extensive experience and insight into the inner workings of school communities, she provided thoughtful, candid feedback and effective strategies to accomplish short and long term personal and team goals.”
Jenn Welch
Director of Admission, Marin Country Day School, Corte Madera, California
“As an experienced leader in international schools globally, working with both Drew
Casertano and Margarita Curtis has provided a fantastic insight into independent schools here in the US.Drew and Margarita’s exceptional background and expertise has given me the confidence to develop clear strategy related to a wide spectrum of school life, including enrollment, recruitment and marketing. Providing this context to a new market for me, has been invaluable. I have particularly enjoyed examining the place that safeguarding and wellbeing currently have in education and the expectations both parents, staff and students have in this important area of school life.
They have both offered connections to a wide range of leaders in different independent
schools. Having discussions with experienced heads of top schools and organizing visits to these schools, has provided a valuable insight into what makes the very best schools here in the US.I have been incredibly lucky to have Drew and Margarita as mentors, sharing their advice and expertise. Our time together has made my own transition into a new market extremely enjoyable. Their passion for education has come through in all of our meetings and their willingness to respond to my numerous questions has been wonderful; I have really appreciated their flexibility and support.”
James Monaghan
Head of School, North London Collegiate School-Palm Beach
“As a Trustee and school parent at Deerfield Academy, I can speak from experience in describing Margarita Curtis as a world-class leader who combines extraordinary academic management skills with inspiring warmth and empathy. Over 13 years as Head, those qualities were very much in evidence as she took an already storied institution to new levels of classroom excellence, financial strength, long-range planning and reputational acclaim. Margarita brought exceptional courage and integrity to a range of challenging issues during her tenure, including a sexual abuse crisis and the great financial crisis, demonstrating tremendous judgment, sensitivity and leadership across many different constituencies. Her vision and world-view – she’s a “global teacher” at heart – made her a popular and respected figure on campus and off, with students, faculty, parents, alums, donors, friends and peers in her field. I’m proud to call Margarita a friend and, as a CEO myself, I can’t imagine any leader, in any field, wanting a finer advisor, strategic or otherwise.”
Gregory J. Fleming
President and CEO, Rockefeller Capital Management
“Margarita delights in the art, service, and complexity of education — and educational organizations. Her track record as a scholar, longtime academic leader at Phillips Academy, and the first female Head of School at Deerfield are impressive; but the spirit, strategy, and impact behind her leadership even more so. At Deerfield, her integrity, ability to listen deeply, and willingness to embrace complexity allowed her to create a compelling vision for the Academy, inspiring all stakeholders to advance the Academy’s mission in a collaborative, measurable way. For the fifteen years I have known her, Margarita has challenged me to ask hard questions, dream bigger, get focused, and think creatively amidst headwinds: something I know she has done for dozens of others as well. One last thing: Margarita is as efficient as she is generous and generative, so be ready to think hard and move fast!”
Liza Garonzik
Founder and CEO of R.E.A.L Discussion
“I feel fortunate to know and have worked with Margarita Curtis and to be able to call her a mentor. When I need counsel that is clear, directly useful, and decisive, I turn to her. She fosters confidence, a grounding in clear principles, and an insistent focus on the student experience. She has led through major crises and enormously successful campaigns, so whether I’m looking to address a challenging situation or chart a course towards a future vision, I know I can count on Margarita’s advice to lead me in a direction that serves the future of the school.”
Peter Nilsson
Head of School, King’s Academy, Jordan
“Margarita Curtis is an exceptional leader. I had the great pleasure of serving on the Deerfield Board of Trustees during ten of her thirteen years as Head of School and saw first hand the transformative impact she had on the school. The years of Margarita’s headship coincided with the advent of the Great Recession and with major disruptions in the broader education sector brought on by technology, geopolitical change and a shift in the tenor of our national conversations. The task that Margarita set for herself was to adapt the school to the swiftly evolving needs of the 21st century while maintaining the school’s core values of character development and commitment to service. Margarita met every challenge with energy, strength, calmness and compassion. She focused on creating opportunities for the professional growth of the faculty, refreshing the curriculum, nurturing a culture of academic and personal collaboration and communication, leading a resoundingly successful capital campaign, creating a positive and respectful diverse community, building local and international service programs, and expanding and enhancing Deerfield’s iconic campus to serve the needs of students. Margarita was innovative and bold, while applying technology to create metrics around innovations to measure and ensure effectiveness. And Margarita never lost sight of the school’s core values and her own; the rich tradition of character development was woven into the tapestry of everything she accomplished. I have been on boards of educational institutions serving students from kindergarten through graduate school and I can say, with enthusiasm, that Margarita is a star.“
Susan S. Wallach
Former Vice President, Deerfield Academy Board of Trustees