Honor Taft

I am excited to begin my third year as Head of School at Friends. While the spring of our 2019-2020 school year was different than any I could have imagined, I count my lucky stars every day that this is the school community I get to navigate the COVID-19 landscape with. This is an outstanding group of educators and school leaders who are committed to community and educational excellence.

I have worked in education for over twenty years, serving as a classroom teacher in second through eighth grades and math coordinator before moving into school leadership. During my years as a school leader, I served as Lower School Director in New Jersey, and Assistant Head and Interim Head in New York City. I am deeply passionate about providing rich and engaging learning experiences through curriculum design and implementation. I couple this with a deep understanding of child development, educational approaches and research informed decision-making practices as I work with our team to curate and refine the Friends School experience. As a school leader, I am excited to work with faculty, staff, parents and students as we shape a generation of students that our Portrait of a graduate describes: Friends School Graduates are Curious, Creative, Collaborative, Resilient, Compassionate, Advocates.

In addition to my work in schools, I have served as a faculty member for NAIS’s School Leadership Institute. I have also served as a mentor for aspiring school leaders through NYSAIS, and recently presented at a national conference on the topic of faculty evaluation for improving teaching.

I earned a BA in “Aims in Education” from Hobart at William Smith Colleges where I also completed the education program in both regular and special education. In addition, I hold an MS from Bank Street College of Education and an M.Ed. in Private School Leadership from Columbia University.

Outside of school, I enjoy riding horses, biking and hiking with my family.