Rachel Connell ’87 Takes Reins at Chatham Hall School

As Rachel Connell ’87 prepares to take over as the new rector/head of school at the all-girls boarding school Chatham Hall on July 1, she can’t help but reflect on how her own experience with all-girls’ education has led her to this point.

Connell attended NCS throughout high school and earned her BA at Wellesley College. She went on to hold senior advancement and administrative positions at Emma Willard School as well as at the coed Phillips Exeter Academy. Each has given her a deeper understanding of how her life was influenced by single-sex education.

“I did not get into girls’ schools until later into my professional career. I was working in schools and started to really understand the impact that NCS and Wellesley had on how I think, on how I prepare myself for things, on my level of confidence, a whole manner of things,” she said.

Connell credits NCS especially for teaching her to write and for helping her to develop critical-thinking skills, which she uses every day in her work.

At Emma Willard, Connell was an advisor to students and an interim director of admissions, and she worked in the dorms. Those experiences helped her develop a philosophy that centers around educating the whole student, not just in the classroom but also in relationships with peers, teachers, and the community and world at large.

“Girls’ schools really help a young girl have confidence in herself, and that doesn’t just mean putting herself out there. That means confidence in making mistakes, confidence in succeeding, confidence in learning, confidence in being able to handle uncertainty and being resilient,” she said.

Connell is eager to put this philosophy to work at Chatham Hall, the first girls’ Episcopal school in southern Virginia, located 140 miles southwest of Richmond. The school prides itself on preparing students for college and for productive lives; it focuses on global study, project-based learning, and fostering the intellect and character of each student.

Chatham Hall’s global study program is of particular interest to Connell, who majored in Russian studies in college and studied abroad in Moscow. “They have some pretty interesting programs and global opportunities, and they also have important community programs so that the girls aren’t living ‘on top of the hill,’ ” she said. “I’m looking forward to making that even stronger.”

Connell comes to Chatham Hall from the consulting firm Marts and Lundy, where since 2015 she has worked with independent schools to help them address modern challenges, enhance enrollment numbers, and ensure strong financial health.

In an announcement letter to the Chatham Hall community about Connell’s appointment, Board of Trustees Chair Sarah Monarchi Longpré wrote, “Her career has prepared her for this leadership position where she can draw on her experiences working at and with independent schools to engage with students and faculty on campus, and in general to build strong relationships with all of our constituents … Her philosophy will work well at Chatham Hall, where we empower girls to better the world.”

As Connell prepares for her new role, she said she’ll be spending a lot of time thinking about the teachers she had at NCS, “because they gave me a love of learning…and prepared me for my life. That’s what I need to make sure stands strong at Chatham Hall.”