Hilltop hires new head of school

SPARTA — The Hilltop Country Day School Board of Trustees is pleased to announce that Kevin Folan, currently the Assistant Head of School and Executive Director of Enrollment at Hyde School in Maine, will be the next Head of School.
“In Kevin, we have found an innovative, dynamic collaborative leader who motivates and inspires,” said Board Chairman Andrew Fraser. “Kevin is deeply committed to helping our children by challenging them academically in an emotionally safe and socially warm environment where our families play an integral role as partners in the educational process. Kevin is also committed to helping Hilltop continue to grow its community.”
In his current role, Folan oversees the admissions teams on both Hyde boarding campuses (Maine and Connecticut) and manages the independent school’s financial aid budget, brand and external relationships.
“My family and I are honored and humbled to join the dynamic, vibrant learning community of Hilltop Country Day School,” Folan said. “Having lived and worked on a boarding school campus for the past 14 years, I am a firm believer that it takes a caring, committed community to raise a family. Rachel and I are thrilled to transition to Sparta and to have our three children, Quinn, Seamus, and Keegan, reap the abundant benefits of an independent school education at Hilltop.”
Prior to serving as Assistant Head at Hyde, Folan served as Dean of Students. During his tenure, Kevin oversaw a dramatic increase in student retention, increased enrollment 20 percent and created a character based student honor code. During his 14 years at Hyde, Kevin also taught Math and AP U.S. History and coached Hyde’s varsity soccer and lacrosse teams.
“Kevin is a compelling and dynamic personality,” Fraser said. “We are confident Kevin will help move Hilltop from success to success.”
Folan grew up on Long Island, N.Y., and attended Chaminade High School, an independent school in Mineola N.Y. He attended Bowdoin College where he double-majored in History and Government Legal Studies. While at Bowdoin, he played four years of varsity soccer, serving as team captain his final two years. He completed his M.B.A. at the University of Connecticut with a concentration in finance and marketing. Kevin’s wife Rachel, a fellow Bowdoin alumna, received her Masters in Education in School Leadership from Harvard University. Kevin and Rachel are the proud parents of daughter Quinn, and sons Seamus and Keegan. All three children will be Hilltop Hawks starting in the fall.
Under the current leadership of Peter Gordon, Hilltop saw a 6.25 percent enrollment increase this school year. In addition to the record growth, Hilltop is boasting new programs including expanded athletic offerings including cross country, competitive golf and soccer in addition to karate, ski club, and tennis. Hilltop initiated phase one of a two phase rollout to becoming a fully operational mobile learning environment by outfitting all of its faculty and staff with Chromebooks. All elementary school students will have Chromebooks for the 2017-18 school year and the middle school will support a Bring-Your-Own-Device program.