Letter from Head of School Dr. Scott Gaynor
Dear Gaynor Community,
I am writing to share the news that Juliana May will be retiring from Stephen Gaynor School at the end of this school year.
Juliana May
Juliana joined Gaynor as the associate director of admissions in the summer of 2012 after working in the admissions office of the Ethical Culture Fieldston School. It didn’t take long for us to realize that her talent for admissions was remarkable and within two years she was appointed to run the admissions department. Juliana had the unique combination of professionalism and warmth that is at the core of our school’s mission. These were the key ingredients that would lead the buildout of our admissions department to meet the growing demand for our school. It was at this time that our school had acquired the Claremont Stables (now the South Building) and was expanding our student body to include a new early childhood program and larger middle school.
Juliana’s strong organizational skills helped structure the new department including adding new staff positions and moving our entire admissions process online. Most importantly, her engaging communication skills helped to project our individualized program, and her caring approach built strong connections with potential students and parents. Parents always remark that their first impression of Gaynor through admissions correlates beautifully with the rich, rigorous and nurturing environment they experience once they are enrolled in the school. Juliana has left a lasting mark on our admissions department and all the children who get to walk through our doors each day.
Co-Founder and Director of Education Yvette Siegel-Herzog said that Juliana’s empathy, perspective, and organizational skill served the Admissions Office well as enrollment at Gaynor grew during her tenure. She said, “The groundwork Juliana laid for the future of admissions will never be forgotten, and will serve as a model for the future. We will miss the footprint of her remarkable presence.”
Though all of us at Gaynor are sad that Juliana is leaving, we wish her much joy and relaxation in retirement. We will miss Juliana and are grateful for her long standing service to the Gaynor community.
Amy Warden
We are pleased to announce that Amy Warden, currently the director of The Brick Church School, will be joining Gaynor this summer to head the Admissions Office as Director of Enrollment Management. Amy is an accomplished early childhood educator — she began her tenure at Brick as the associate director, and has served as director of the school for the past three years. During her tenure at Brick, an early childhood school on the Upper East Side, Amy focused on developing a dedicated social-emotional curriculum, fine tuning the school’s approach to literacy, and supporting the school’s commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging.
In addition to her obvious professional qualifications, Amy brings a unique perspective to her role as the parent of Audrey, a student in Gaynor’s Red Cluster. Amy credits Gaynor with “changing the trajectory” of her daughter’s life, and is looking forward to supporting the school’s efforts to bring the same transformational experience to other children.
Over the past six decades, Stephen Gaynor School’s individualized curriculum has unlocked the potential of thousands of students with language-based learning differences. I am looking forward to Amy building upon all that has already been accomplished during Juliana’s tenure.
Sincerely,
Dr. Scott Gaynor
Head of School