Linda Woodard stepping down as Newton Montessori School Board Chair, Will Remain on Board.

June 1, 2016 - Linda Woodard, who has a career spanning more than three decades in Boston-area independent education, will step down as Newton Montessori School Board Chair; she will remain an active member of the board, helping to lead the Enrollment Committee. Originally from Brookline, Woodard has lived in Dedham for the past 42 years. For 25 of those years, she worked at Noble & Greenough School as the Co-Admissions Director, Athletic Director, Dean of Afternoon Programs, history teacher, and athletic coach. Woodard joined the board of Newton Montessori School seven years ago, and served as Board Chair for the past five years. She helped usher Newton Montessori School into an era of increased enrollment, capital improvements, curricular advances, and staff cohesion, including the hiring, in 2013, of current NMS Head of School, Beth Black. Newton Montessori School also received accreditation, during Woodard’s tenure as Board Chair, from the American Montessori Society [AMS] and the Association of Independent Schools of New England [AISNE]. Transitioning out of her role as Board Chair, Woodard feels confident about the school and the experience it gives students. “Our students leave NMS with a strong sense of themselves and an understanding of what they can contribute,” Woodard remarks, “a strong academic foundation that leads to success in the future; and, perhaps most importantly, a sense of the value of every peer’s strengths and challenges. This value of respect,” she points out, “is ever-present in faculty and students and it is truly a hallmark of the school.”