Headmaster to retire after 14 years
When Jonathan Lamb took over as headmaster at Storm King School in 2015, he declared he’d eventually retire from the position which he held for nine years. He recently announced the 2023-24 school year will be his last and will step down on June 30.
“It was just time,” Lamb said regarding his decision to retire. “My wife and I have been talking about it for a while. I enjoy it all, but it’s time to let somebody else push the truck a little bit.
Lamb’s career in education has spanned 42 years at three different boarding schools, the last 14 at Storm King. He attended Bethany College, in West Virginia and earned his Bachelor’s Degree in elementary education. He later earned his Master of Arts in Liberal Studies in literature from Wesleyan University, and his master’s degree in leadership education from Teachers College, Columbia University.
His first teaching job saw him serve as English department chair and summer school director at a junior boarding school in Connecticut. In 1990, he was hired as director of studies at another boarding school in Pennsylvania, but later became head of the upper school. After 20 years, he applied for an opening at Storm King School. Lamb, who once had aspirations of becoming a forest ranger, fell in love with the Hudson Valley and soon found he’d be able to partially live out his dream hiking the trails of Storm King Mountain.
Lamb was hired as academic dean, but within a month was named assistant head of school. He served in that capacity for four years before Paul Domingue stepped down as headmaster.
Lamb assumed the role of interim head for the 2014-15 school year. The board never conducted a search for a new head and Lamb was officially appointed to the position the following year.
The school was in the midst of its accreditation process and was looking for stability. One of Lamb’s first priorities was to ensure Storm King sustained its growth and improvement. The key to doing so is hiring the proper faculty, staff, and administrators to make that happen, but he quickly learned he was surrounded by the right people. Although he couldn’t take credit for the hiring of these individuals, he was able to keep the trend going.
During his tenure, Lamb oversaw the physical growth of the school, as well as infrastructure improvements. Unsure if it’s actually a highlight, but he did see the school through the COVID-19 pandemic and commended the faculty, staff, and students for responding well to the parameters put in place. Lamb noted Storm King School wasn’t a bad place to be during the pandemic as the kids were able to get outside in groups.
“We did what we had to do,” he said. “Because we’re smaller, we were able to do it better than some other schools.”
Reflecting on what he’s going to miss most about Storm King School, Lamb replied just being in that space, at the top of the mountain adjacent to Black Rock Forest. Of course, he added, he’ll miss the students. As the academic dean, he had students in his office daily, but as headmaster, Lamb made it a point to meet his students. During the summer, when most schools shut down, there was rarely a lull as programs were conducted through the vacation months.
“The kids brought life and energy to the campus,” said Lamb.
The next chapter of the headmaster’s life will take him and his wife to Virginia where they will be relatively equidistant to their two daughters. If there’s a school in the area, Lamb said he’ll consider some consulting work, but definitely isn’t looking to start another career. Instead, he and his wife will be traveling domestically and abroad. There are a number of national parks they’d like to visit, as well as Europe.
On July 1, Lisa Shambaugh will take over as the school’s 18th headmaster. Regarding a transition period, Lamb said she’s welcome to visit the campus between now and then. He keeps in touch with her regularly and said he will do everything he can to support her to ensure she’s successful, but the outgoing headmaster doesn’t believe she’ll need it.
“She’s going to have her own style and bring her own vision and energy to the role,” he said, thinking back to when he stepped into the position. Although he had already touched upon some of the elements of the role as academic dean and assistant head, once Lamb took the helm, he too wanted to apply his own strengths.
