Lower School Director Kelly Banik will be leaving Moorestown Friends School in June 2019 to become the Head of School at The Raleigh School, MFS Head of School Julia de la Torre announced in an email sent out to students, staff, and parents after school on Wednesday afternoon.
“Kelly has dedicated 14 years of her life to Moorestown Friends,” de la Torre wrote in the email. “It is impossible to walk through the Lower School and White Building without witnessing joy, curiosity, excitement, love and much more. Kelly has played an instrumental role in cultivating this learning community, all with Quaker values at the foundation.”
During those 14 years, Banik has helped strengthen the academic program, introducing features such as an updated math curriculum, the Columbia Reading and Writing Workshop Approach to literacy learning, and Reggio-Emilia-inspired practices in the early childhood program.
Banik also strengthened the social/emotional program with Responsive Classroom practices and an emphasis on Quaker process, and played a critical role in introducing the Lower School Coding program, which received national media attention in 2015-16.
Banik’s impact on Moorestown Friends School did not stop at her accomplishments as Lower School Director. When Banik first joined the MFS community 14 years ago, her daughter Anna Goula also joined the school as a Kindergartener. Goula graduated from MFS in 2018 and now attends Hamilton College.
The national search for a new Lower School Director will soon begin, de la Torre wrote.
Banik will be moving to Raleigh at the end of the 2018-19 school year to serve over 400 students from 18 months through fifth grade in North Carolina as the Head of School at The Raleigh School, which was established in 1952.
Update 11/19/18 4:08 p.m.: The following statement was given to MFSWordsWorth by Banik.
While I am excited to be taking on a new position in a new area, a piece of my heart will always remain at MFS. Having spent the last fourteen years as the Lower School Director, I have come to know and care deeply about hundreds of students and their families. I am grateful for the trust and care extended to me over these many years. Not only has MFS been a transformational experience for me as a school leader, but the faculty and staff have cared for and nurtured my daughter, Anna, during her thirteen years as a student. For both Anna and me, MFS’ Quaker values have become an integral part of our identities and returning to MFS for visits and alumni events will always feel like coming home.
– Kelly Banik
