After a national search led by Carney, Sandoe & Associates consultant Dr. Bruce Dennis that produced four strong finalist candidates, Rye Country Day School is very pleased to announce that Dr. Stacey Sotirhos, currently the Associate Division Head of the Lower Division at Avenues: The World School in New York City, will be Rye Country Day School's new Lower School Principal starting in July. 

At Avenues, Dr. Sotirhos is responsible for overseeing the interdisciplinary and inquiry-oriented learning experiences for students in a dual-language English and Spanish or Mandarin program. Her responsibilities include data-driven instruction and tailored interventions to ensure all 300 students in 16 classrooms achieve learning outcomes. She works with 28 faculty members to build effective teams through coaching, feedback, and assessing growth and impact. Dr. Sotirhos also is responsible for encouraging home-school connections through family engagement, presentations, and ongoing communications.

The forty-plus members involved in our search process, including Lower School faculty, administrators, department chairs, initiative directors, and parent liaisons, noted Dr. Sotirhos's pedagogical expertise; wealth of experience as a teacher, coach, and instructional leader; good communication skills; and warm, approachable style. A strong collaborator and effective team leader, Dr. Sotirhos is described as someone who is looking to balance tradition with forward thinking. Several search participants also noted that her global exposure and work at Avenues could help develop exciting, innovative curriculum and learning. In addition, Dr. Sotirhos's references point to strong, positive relationships with all stakeholders, including teachers and staff, parents and guardians, and students. 

Prior to joining Avenues, Dr. Sotirhos most recently served as an educational consultant with Generation Ready, where she worked with school district leaders to build capacity and support positive changes in school through workshops on theory and practice for improving instruction.

For nine years, Dr. Sotirhos also served as both a Staff Developer and an Instructional Specialist with the New York City Department of Education. In these roles, she worked directly with teachers by providing classroom-based demonstrations, one-on-one support, and collaborative professional development experiences.

Dr. Sotirhos started her career in education as an Elementary Teacher in New York City's Districts 4 and 2. As a classroom teacher, she taught a rigorous, interdisciplinary, and standards-based curriculum that included parents and guardians in classroom activities and curriculum workshops.

An alumna of Miss Hall's School, where she later served as a Trustee and Board President, Dr. Sotirhos earned her B.A. in Early Childhood and Elementary Education from Rollins College in Florida. While teaching in the New York City Department of Education, she completed her M.A. in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages and her Ph.D. in Early Childhood and Elementary Education at New York University.

We look forward to having Dr. Sotirhos join the RCDS community starting in July.