Groton’s next assistant head will be Spanish teacher and crew coach Andy Anderson, Mr. Maqubela announced on March 7. In June, he will replace Katherine Bradley, who announced last November her appointment to be the next Head of Dana Hall School.

Mr. Anderson first came to Groton in 1980 as the varsity crew coach. Since then he has taught Spanish and English classes, directed financial aid, headed the Disciplinary Committee, and participated in other administrative duties. His wife, Cola, is the coach of the girls’ junior varsity crew team. Their son, Willy ’15, is a recent Groton graduate, and their daughters, Ella ’17 and Lucy ’20, currently attend Groton.

So as to manage properly his new responsibilities next year, Mr. Anderson will teach only two Spanish classes rather than four, and he will no longer serve as Director of Financial Aid. However, Mr. Anderson said that he will continue to coach rowing and remain the head of the Disciplinary Committee.

This new appointment comes only months after the Andersons’ return from their sabbatical year in Italy. “It was good to recharge my batteries after ten years of teaching,” Mr. Anderson said. “I came back with so much fresh energy that I was able to do anything that came up.”

His interests revitalized by the year away, Mr. Anderson jumped at the opportunity to try something different.

According to Mr. Anderson, the process of becoming Assistant Headmaster began with the announcement that the position would be filled by a member of the Groton community. Mr. Maqubela invited faculty to let him know of their interest around Thanksgiving. From there, applicants met individually with department heads and the administrative staff. After requesting the community’s opinions, Mr. Maqubela held final interviews with each applicant about the future of the school, his or her strengths, and any personal reasons for applying.

Mr. Anderson’s own motivations stem from his diverse experiences on campus. “After 36 years, I have done a lot and seen a lot of parts of the school,” he said. “I believe I can make these parts fit better than they currently do.”

Mr. Maqubela’s leadership and vision for the school also inspired Mr. Anderson, especially prioritizing the school’s “focus on individuals, but also its flexibility, so each student can do different things.”

As Assistant Head, Mr. Anderson will support Mr. Maqubela. The majority of his work will be hiring new teachers by coordinating interviews with department heads, interviewing the applicants himself, and performing background checks.

When asked what he hopes to preserve about Groton, Mr. Anderson was quick to reply, “the strong feeling that students are connected to each other and the school,” an impression that comes from interactions with past students. He said that Groton’s greatest strength is the close relationship formed within each form. This differs from his own high school, a larger boarding school, from which he keeps in touch with only two classmates.

However, Mr. Anderson also conceded that the school is sometimes too obsessed with divisions between Forms. One primary example is Form-specific seating in the chapel. Fifteen years ago, all students sat together in the pews and the latecomers in the choir stalls, but now there is a stringent seating system determined by Form in place. Mr. Anderson hopes to balance the issue, saying, “The school is happier and healthier if everyone feels included.”

Joining the ranks of Mr. Maqubela and the rest of the Groton community, Mr. Anderson’s children approve of their father’s appointment.

“He came to Groton first as a crew coach,” said Ella ‘17, who listed his greatest qualification as his passion for the school, “so the sport has a special place in his heart, but I have constantly heard him say that the values so important to the sport equate to some core values of the school–cooperation, grit, and devotion to work. I think that’s partly why he loves Groton so much. It’s a place which seamlessly combines those different aspects of daily life.”