Renbrook’s 11th head of school has been appointed, and will assume the position on July 1.

Submitted by Stacy Routhier, Renbrook School

Renbrook School recently announced the appointment of Matthew Sigrist as the school’s 11th Head of School, succeeding the current Head, Scott Hutchinson. Sigrist will start on July 1, 2019.

Sigrist comes to Renbrook from Norfolk Academy in Norfolk, VA, a 1-12 independent day school with 1,232 students. He has worked in administrative roles since 2007 and served as middle school director at Norfolk Academy since 2014. In that role, Sigrist is responsible for 350 students in grades 7-9. Prior to Norfolk Academy, he served as head of the upper school at the Peck School in Morristown, NJ, for seven years.

“We’re excited to welcome Matt, his wife, Kathleen, and their four daughters to the Renbrook community. Matt’s natural leadership abilities are obvious, and his past experiences have prepared him well for this Head of School role. Matt’s hiring begins a great new chapter for Renbrook.” says Head of School Search Committee Chair and Renbrook’s Board of Trustees Chair Eric Daniels ‘77.

During his time at Norfolk Academy, Sigrist advanced many areas of the middle school. He developed the division’s mini-mester Program and its relationship-based advisory program. During the school’s recent strategic planning work, Sigrist contributed broadly to the effort, and he has led important committee work on faculty growth and excellence focused on faculty learning communities.

Throughout his career, Sigrist has enjoyed the opportunity to teach, coach, and lead school divisions in K-8, 7-12 and 1-12 grade schools in large and smaller markets and in different parts of the country. He served as upper school director at The Peck School (Morristown, NJ) and as teacher, coach, and middle school moderator at Delbarton School (Morristown, NJ). Each of the schools where Sigrist has served shares traits and goals similar to Renbrook: student-centered, empathetic mindset, academic excellence, a focus on character education, and clear mission identity.

He has taught and coached throughout his career, and he continued to teach math and economics and coach baseball at Norfolk Academy. At Norfolk Academy, Sigrist’s current head of school, Dennis Manning, appointed Sigrist to the Finance Committee, the Parents Advisory Council, and the Strategic Planning Committee. He has also participated in annual fund and capital campaign initiatives.

Sigrist earned his master of arts degree in educational leadership at Columbia University, Teacher’s College, and a bachelor of arts degree in economics from Williams College, where he was captain of the baseball and football teams. His wife, Kathleen, was the former director of admissions and financial aid at Newark Academy (Livingston, NJ) as well as an admissions reader at Williams College and the College of William and Mary. Matt and Kathleen Sigrist have four daughters ages 12, 10, 7, and 4.

Upon receiving the Board’s offer, Sigrist stated: “Kathleen, my girls, and I are thrilled to join the Renbrook family! I am humbled and honored to be entrusted with the awesome responsibility to serve the children, families, faculty, and staff of this wonderful school, and I look forward to opportunities this spring to visit campus.”

Like what you see here? Click here to subscribe to We-Ha’s newsletter so you’ll always be in the know about what’s happening in West Hartford!